May be a bit late to post on this thread, but here goes:
2 hrs. seems a bit optimistic an estimate - when I did the panels for my GT6+ it took me four hours just to carefully cut the guage holes, switch holes etc. out from the back of the panel with an x-acto knife. Even with new blades evry few cuts I found that the veneer likes to shred when you cut across the grain. Judicious sanding with very fine paper helped but it still looked a bit rough. The panels were okay, but after spending so long on the GT6 I opted for replacement panels. In my case I was fortunate enough to know a guy whose dad was a master kitchen cabinet maker. He took the old panels and duplicated them exactly in solid Honduras Mahoganey - Three or four coats of a marine sealer called Awlgrip, Allgrip, something like that, with wet sanding in between coats produced breathtaking results. I think he charged me about $100.00 - Which is still less than what Victoria and Moss get for their production line versions.
I might mention that for TR6's and other autos where the dash panel is one big piece solid wood is not really a good choice - The british bodies ( Particularly Convertibles) tend to twist a bit when you go on down the road, a thing known as "Scuttle Shake" and if the panel is screwed in too tightly it tends to break along the grain. I guess the way to attack one piece dash panels is to construct the panel out of premium grade plywood ( Which won't break when twisted ) and go the veneer route. That brings us full circle - I guess my summary would be: as Clint once said: "A man's Gotta know his limitations." - I'm a whole lot better at welding and turning wrenches than fine woodworking - so I opted to let a pro do this critical piece for me.