Reverse Engineered Land Rover Defender Center Dash Cover

These center dash instrument covers are no longer available, and I had plans to modify one to accept a custom controls panel for the motorized slide-out drawer project on my Defender. I opted to reverse engineer and build my changes in from scratch rather than making the cutouts and mounting holes in my original cover. Since these are no longer available I also thought it would be useful to have the data to produce replacement parts as well.

I started with basic caliper measurements of key datums and then got some 3D scan data using my hobby grade Revopoint unit. I’ve had the best luck when using ample 3D scanner spray (for black parts) and optical tracking dots. The scan was still a bit rough but it had enough fidelity for my purposes.

I pulled the scan data into Solidworks and went about reproducing the part in CAD. To accept my controls panel I added a few mounting holes, locating features, and a large cutout for wire routing. The finished 3D printed part turned out great and aligns nicely with all the key datums and hard points in the actual truck.

I’d be happy to share the files so Contact me if you’d like to 3D print your own replacement.