Questions arising

[wsnaith]

Hi Andi

Looking good

I can't tell from your last photo but have you cut holes for the little warning lights

I thought I had fitted my dash for the final time and started fitting the instruments only to find I'd forgotten them

Cheers

Warren

[andicole0]

Yes I have Warren, but thanks for asking.

Andi.

[TINKA]

From the pictures it looks like you have only just cut out the holes for the Speedo and rev counter If this is correct you will have to cut out more unless you want to have to unplug all the connectors on each when ever you remove the dash, this will also apply to any other bits you have cut out.

[andicole0]

Not quite sure what you are getting at Tinka.

Andi.

[TINKA]

Originally Posted by andicole0

Not quite sure what you are getting at Tinka.

Andi.

If you have only just cut out circular holes behind the dash what will you do with the wires that go between the dials as they will be sandwiched between the dash and the body. If that makes sense

[dolphinboy400]

from your pic it looks like you have just cut holes in behind your dash instead of trimming the body above the dials i think thats what tinka means. You can see a bit of blue round the bottom of the dash holes which would suggest this.

[craggle]

I removed quite a bit of material from this area to clear all the gauges and glove box hole.

Picture shows a bit more.

I left the tabs in a hope they would line up with some bonded on big head fastenings but they failed. In the end I made aluminium brackets that were bonded on the underside of the body.

I also drilled a hole in the bottom of the dash board and fitted a 6mm bolt from the inside with a nut on the underside to hold it in place. This left a 6mm stud sticking out the bottom of the dash panel. When I finally lined everything up I drilled a 6mm hole in the top of the transmission tunnel and pushed the stud down through it. Holds the bottom in place perfectly. (That was a Dave Brookes solution)

Craig.

[andicole0]

OK, so someway of leaving the wiring connected to the instruments and still able to remove the dashboard.

Andi.

[slogger]

Originally Posted by andicole0

OK, so someway of leaving the wiring connected to the instruments and still able to remove the dashboard.

Andi.

Yep, that's it Andi. As I said in post 406. Mine has a lot more left than Craggle's but the same idea. Basically if you had drawn a line 3 1/2" from the underside of the scuttle and then cut out the extra to clear everything in the way. The 3 1/2" measurement sort of suits mine but this all depends on your dash fixings. You need to leave enough meat to stop the fixing holes breaking out with movement and vibration. The dash is quite heavy when fully loaded.

Would post a picture but mine is not a good example as the car has had so much cut off, put back, cut off etc. in it's life.

[craggle]

It wasn't really necessary to remove quite as much as I did but once I cut the two round holes for the gauges, The hole for the glove box and the clearance for the warning lights and steering column, I was left with little more than thin webs in between required clearances.

Seemed little point in leaving these in place so I just smoothed it all out and neatened it all up.
Didn't seem to weaken the structure either. Certainly destroyed some hacksaw blades though!

Craig.