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TR4/4A New switch plinth - cutting holes

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TR4eh

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Got a replacement plinth which came without any cutouts for the switches. I'm hesitant to have at it with an Xacto because I doubt my ability to cut clean, round holes. Any advice here? Shower it down on me, please :smile: It will bring you gratitude and positive karma and who doesn't need some of that?
 
hole saw or one of those cutters that electricians use for cutting holes through meter boxes.
 
Could you "pinch" the plinth in two pieces of wood and cut it with a drill? The wood must clamp down on the vinyl such that the material cannot creep.

I have not done this - just throwing out an idea.

Note - doing a search (to make sure I knew what a "plinth" is), I found the following comment: "I got one from The Roadster Factory in the US. It's made in the USA and of good quality. One thing with replacements is that they don't seem to come with the reinforcing bracket that supports the choke cable - it bolts to the dash panel. I solved that by cutting off the bracket from my tatty old plinth and I'll fit it under the choke cable on the new plinth when I come to assembling the car. " https://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/34093-tr4a-switch-plinth/
 
Are you sure the holes aren't in the foam? Mine were buried down in there. I just followed the holes with my exacto to cut the openings in the vinyl. Can't imagine drilling my own holes and shaping the anti-spin contour.
 
KVH said:
Are you sure the holes aren't in the foam? Mine were buried down in there. I just followed the holes with my exacto to cut the openings in the vinyl. Can't imagine drilling my own holes and shaping the anti-spin contour.
Click to expand...

Yes, the pattern for the holes is in the foam. Here's my plan: clamp the metal bracket up to the back of the plinth to use as a jig then cut the holes (carefully) with a rotozip bit in a dremel. I hope to report success.
 
KVH said:
Are you sure the holes aren't in the foam? Mine were buried down in there. I just followed the holes with my exacto to cut the openings in the vinyl. Can't imagine drilling my own holes and shaping the anti-spin contour.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing for mine. The switch bezels are large enough to cover any uneven edges.

Scott
 
I just want to add. I've now done this twice. On the first, because my car had the bezel frame with the strengthening arm for the choke cable, I actually scraped away part of the foam on the back of my new plinth and used my old bezel frame as well. In other words, I used the new one and the old. The switches all had long enough necks to extend through both. It wasn't easy but I wanted that extra strength in the support. And I did not want to throw away that stock part with the side strengthening arm. Both times I just used an exacto knife to cut the new holes in the vinyl. My knife was so sharp I had to be careful not to cut the aluminum frame inside the new bezel cover.
 
I used a uninitiated! Worked great
 
That was a "unibit" not what spell check said it was.
 
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