Dashboard - part 2

So now it was down to cutting the big holes (102mm) for the speedo and rev counter. To cut these I used the Dremel hole cutter. Both holes were cut out slightly undersized, then opened out to the correct size with a half round file. The backs of all the holes were slightly raggy with strands of fibre glass. A flapper wheel sander in the drill soon sorted this out.

Holes cut in dash panel

The instrument holes in the dash panel were used to mark where the instruments would overlap the scuttle lip at the top. This was trimmed with the Dremel, so that no gauge would touch the scuttle lip. In my case only the two large gauges needed to be catered for. The panel was rubbed down with wet n dry to provide a key for the adhesive.

Next I fixed the four countersunk screws into the holes previously drilled in the dash panel, using Araldite adhesive.

Now I needed to glue the foam to the dash panel. Spray contact adhesive was applied to both surfaces and after leaving for a few minutes the dash panel was laid over the foam and pressed firmly into place. The netting side of the foam was stuck to the dash panel. The foam was fixed to the underside of the dash panel, but not wrapped right around to the back. The foam was cut with scissors, leaving a 10mm overlap around the curved part of the panel. This was glued and wrapped around the edge of the panel and glued to the back of the panel. Finally the holes were cut out of the foam using a craft knife. This sounds easier than it was. Not perfect holes (but nearly). These will have the instruments fitted in them and be covered by the leather, so any hole imperfections won't show.

Back of dash panel - foam glued, but holes not yet cut.

Captive screws can be seen, as can the thinned areas for the switches

Front of dash panel - holes now cut and awaiting leather trim

Now the panel has been left to cure/dry, before the leather is applied.