TR6 TR6 Dash help

[ichthos]

Hello All,

I need some help on my dash. My dash was a disaster, but I am almost done with repairs and new veneer. I hope to be done with the finish in another month. One area that is still a little worn is the recessed area the four small gauges and the two warning lights sit into. The tach and speedometer stick out where just the triangular part of the outer rim sticks out about the dash. My question is how far do the four small guages (fuel, oil, amp, temp.) stick out? How far do the two warning lights stick out? I plan on using various thicknesses of O-rings for adjustment if needed.

Thanks, Kevin

 

[Brosky]

You need answers from Tom and Dale....where are you guys???

 

[tomshobby]

This has turned out to be an interesting question because I only refinished my dash and was very careful to not remove material from the original surface.

I just went out and made some measurements and found a considerable variance. The tach and spedo seem to average close to .150" and the small gages seem to average about .040".

Notice I used the terms "seemed to" and "average". The reality wandered between .2 and .125 for the large gages and .05 and .025 for the small ones.

The interesting part is that I, a person that normally is drawn to such variances and well aware of metrology (the science of precision measuring), never checked it out until now. Actually, it does not even bother me know that I know, again something that normally would, simply because it is not really noticeable or seem out of place. And that might be because nothing else on these cars seems to fit with anything representing "precision". The normal fit criteria seems to be more in tune with being in the general area. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

Kind of like a machinist I once knew that operated on the theory of "sneak up and allow" to reach tight clearances.

 

[kodanja]

not perfect but...

 

[tdskip]

As an FYI - that smoke you see in the last picture is my brain going up in smoke based on how nice Kodanja's dash looks.

 

[Brosky]

Nice picture, but tach at ZERO again...

Hehehehehe....

 

[ichthos]

Thanks for the pictures; they are a great help. I think I will put O-rings behind them so that the triangular portion of the outer ring sticks out above the dash.

My TR6 is a 69. I am amazed at the variances in my car overall. When ever anyone points the variances out, I just let them know it is the sign of "British hand-craftmanship."
I try to make my car a little better every year, but I am OK with the little flaws - I figure it gives my car a little character. My car will probably never look like the pictures I see posted on the forum or ones I see in the shows. I just enjoy driving my car too much to have that much down time.

Bach to my dash. I am fairly certain that my dash is original since the car sat for over 25 years and still had the original finish. Some unusual things I found with the dash are that they didn't completely drill the screw holes to attach the dash (The holes were drilled from behind, but not all the way through the veneer.) The glove box never appears to have been fitted correctly (I had to shim one of the hinges to make the gap half way uniform.) Not one of the small instrument holes appears to have been cut to the same depth. I did notice the rheostat on my dash sticks out a lot further than the picture - is that normal? The holes for the guages seem a little too large also. The original finish was quite thick - maybe that decreased the diameter some.

Kevin

 

[Brosky]

Kevin,

It sounds as though you have taken the time to do this correctly, from the start. Please note (in the close up picture) the "bead or edge trim" that Kodanja added to his, which fits around the wood and seals the gap in between the wood and vinyl. You may want to consider doing that as you reassemble.

Good luck!