Greg;
I am, as time permits, making a new dash for my Spitfire out of solid Walnut
Burl. I will be adding two more gauges (oil pressure, ammeter) into the
same area as the existing fuel and water temperature gauges. I will also be
placing a row of lever-type toggle switches in the dash to control lights
and various other functions. Additionally I will probably add another gauge
in the area to the left of the Speedo and tach. One of these days I will
actually have it completed.
Reid
'79 Spitfire (original owner)
-----Original Message-----
From: Growe58@aol.com [mailto:Growe58@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2000 8:13 AM
To: spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Custom dash -- sin or inspired?
Has anyone ever actually "re-designed the dash?" I've
thought about swapping the radio and fuel/water temp
gauges since a higher mounted radio would be more
convenient. And if instead of having the passenger
side dash "kick up" for the parcel shelf, you continued
a flat bottom line, then a proper glove box with a door
could be utilized, like the TR6. And wouldn't it be
useful to have room for speaker grills on the dash?
I guess this would also require some re-engineering of
the metal dash frame behind the wood. I'd be interested
in hearing of anyone's real life experiences.
Greg Rowe
78 Spitfire
Hi Jeff,,
in the process of building a '73 1500 from boxes of junk I came upon the
same problem. I opted to build my own.
I bought a 5' X 5' X 3/8" piece of 7 ply Baltic Birch for $30,
made drawings and tracings of the pits of my old dash and proceeded to cut
newpieces,
I used a dremel router attachment to make the holes for instruments,
switches
etc,
and laminated a veneer of Mahagony (not original I know, but looks good too)
Now Im up to coat numbet 11 of Spar varnish.
So far it looks original!
Total cost about $40 and several weeks of labour!
Cheers, Fred
Jeff McNeal wrote:
> Hi everyone. I've once again found myself in a bit of a pickle. A happy
> one, this time, but a pickle nonetheless. The original, 33-year-old
English> Walnut dash on my Spitfire was intact, but in need of some serious
> restoration. Removing my guages with their gummy, sticky mounting gaskets
> that broke off flakes of the veneer didn't help matters. The original
wood
> and the
> other "correct" and factory new. Which one would you put in YOUR
Spitfire?
>
> Appreciate the feedback.
>
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