Bit more work on the dash

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that my dash blank, being one of the first from GD (that seems like a long time ago) wasn't marked out with the gauge position so I had to do it myself. I borrowed a layout originally set up by Simon R which seems to have found its way around the web and marked the positions onto the blank before cutting out with a combination of the trusty Dremel with a radius cutter for the two large gauges and a holesaw for the smaller ones. Here's a before picture.



This was all part of a plan to mock up the dash so I could get an idea of where to mount the ECU, relays's etc that from part of the engine loom and need to be concealed behind the dash.

I also fitted the brace bar, which fits across the width of the car and bolts through the windscreen legs, and the dash support bar. This enables the under dash plates to be fitted into place.



The back edge of the plates is bolted onto the brace bar by drilling and tapping it, I used m5 with button head bolts. The front edge is simply wedged between the support bar and the bottom edge of the dash which has a right angled return but because I wanted to work with the dash plates and needed them to be held a little more firmly without relying on the dash to hold them in place, I made up a couple of brackets from some angle iron and welded them onto the support bar so they could be bolted at the front aswell. I used some m5 rivnuts for this.



Here's a picture with the bracket in place prior to welding which I wouldn't win any prizes for, but it does the job



The dash blank held in place with the support bars and under dash plates fitted. The dash itself is held in place along the top edge by some m4 button heads which pass through the lip on the underside of the scuttle and tightened from the back with some wingnuts. The button heads are self tapped into a 3.2mm hole and held firm with some araldite.