The dash pad on my 1964 Dart was covered in this aweful hessian type fabric, a bit like that stuff used on office pinboards and desk partitions. I had nothing to work from other than photos from the internet but "The Dashboard Doctor" in Colac, Victoria (Australia) came up with this. It has a nice amount of padding, but not sure it will save my life if I head butt it...
Before and after photos...