Walnut Dashboard

I was very lucky and managed to purchase an as new dashboard from another builder who wanted to make their own dashboard to suit other instruments. I purchased the dash and side formers from Findhorn as it was far easier than fabricating my own. I marked where the position of the holes should be from the build manual and drilled the 5mm holes. I then clamped the dash board and former to the fibreglass tub and after ensuring everything was square and the dash was in the correct place I drilled through for the M5 set screws.

As the screws will be covered by the foam and vinyl trim I used some sacrificial M5 nuts and fastened the set screws and nuts to the former. The screws were then welded to the steel former. I removed the nuts and ground the heads of the screws down a little to ensure that they don't create bulges in the foam trim. The dash was then fastened to the tub and the instruments trial fitted. The steering rack was adjusted and tightened.

I bought a glove box and fastened this with some hardwood strips behind. The glove box door was a little annoying. The hinge had been pre-fitted but wasn't completely square. When the dashboard was tightened up to the body tub it became more obvious. I have removed the cover and will fit a new hinge the next time the dashboard is removed.

I also had to make some modifications for the hazard warning switch and the overdrive switch. I drilled from the front with a hole cutter the diameter of the thread on the switch but only went a short way through. I then drilled with a bigger hole cutter, big enough for the plastic nut for the switch, from behind the hole. At the required depth I stopped and use the original hole cutter again from the front, this time going straight through. I then used a small chisel to snap out the remaining ring of plywood and cleaned the base of the hole. The same had to be done for the overdrive switch as it is designed for steel. As the opening isn't round I used a router from behind, a small amount at a time, being very careful. It was worth the effort and I think the result is very smart.

Seats

Being a little mercenary I contacted another NG Owners Club member, Chris Humphreys, who had recently been subject to a visit by the "Youth of Today" who thought it might be "fun" to spray black paint all over his NG. His insurance covered re-upholstery but he wanted a new set of seats. After a little negotiation he agreed to sell me his old seats which at some stage will need re-covering but for now during the build they are fine.

The padding is still quite firm and apart from the seams that Chris couldn't clean up the seats are in very good condition. I had to buy a set of runners for the seats. These were a little tricky to fit to the seats because of the type of bolts required.

The mounting screws to the body tub were pre-welded to the runners, although the welds have come lose on two of the screws.

I had to reduce the diameter of some M8 sockets screws in an electric drill against a file to allow the runners to slide. Also the runner track narrowed near the ends where the floor M8 bolts were welded in and these needed opening up.

I had some aluminium spacers made to clear the carpet and the seats were then finally fitted to the car. They already look good and will look even better when covered in port coloured vinyl.

Dash Edge Trim

I bought the dash edge former from Findhorn as it wasn't worth fiddling around with sheet steel for the price. 5mm Holes were pre-drilled in the dash former which was then positioned around the dash and clamped to the dash and the body tub. The holes were drilled through the body tub and into the dashboard. I removed the former and attached some m5 stainless bolts with plain nuts behind. My friendly neighbour then welded the bolts to the former creating a permanent fixing.

This method would not be possible for the side formers because of the curved profile so instead I drilled per the build manual and screwed in self tapping screws from underneath. The tub was then drilled to take the screws. I painted each of the 3 sections with silver hammerite to protect from rust prior to covering with foam and vinyl.

 

I bought the D-section foam from a local supplier which does the job superbly. Soft enough to bend around the formers but firm enough to act as padding.

Where the bolt heads were proud on the dash former I heated up a 1/4" bolt and used it to melt the foam to create a recess. The foam is still firm enough that this did not show through later.

I also used this technique to make recesses for the self tapping screws on the side formers. This was glued on with contact adhesive.

The vinyl was cut to 3 5/8 strips and glued around the formers. This was a little tricky and I practiced on some off-cuts of foam and vinyl first.

The result is very pleasing and later I will have the seats recovered to match this trim.

Seat Belts

The seat belts used for the front seats were standard Securon 514/30 units. These are the three point mounting ones where the belt comes up to the shoulder, across to the stalk near the handbrake and then across the lap to mount to the chassis on the floor.

The adjustable inertia reel is mounted to the rear part of the chassis into the predrilled and tapped holes, through the body tub.

From there the belts goes through the seat guide and down to the floor on the outside of the seat. Again the chassis is pre-drilled and tapped for this mounting. The third point is the stalk that goes on the inside of the seats, again pre-drilled to the chassis.

I used some stainless steel spacers 20mm o/d and 10mm thick to ensure the the mounts attach directly to the chassis and that the tub is not sandwiched.

The SVA requirments state that the seat belt must attach directly to the chassis. Also the height above the shoulder is also defined so it would be a problem with this type of car to get the seatbelts to the correct height. This is therefore achieved by attaching guides to the seats. I understand that the seats have been tested with the guides to meet the safety standards so I bought a pair of these guides from Findhorn cars. They are chrome plated and look very smart.

As the seats are second hand the holes had already been cut for the seatbelt guides however this will need re cutting when I have the re-covered.

Rear Boot

I spent a lot of time pondering about what to do behind the front seats. I think that the rear bench seat and seat back looks very smart, but as the seats are practically unusable I didn't feel that they were worth the very high cost. One thing that the car lacks is any storage space so I decided that a lockable boot would be the best option. There are a couple of designs on the NG Owners club website under the "Articles" section.

I chose to base my design on the one created by Brian McCarthy although I did make some changes. I bolted a piece of 9mm ply to the body tub to extend the floor forward a little. This now overhangs where the seat would go and hides the battery isolation switch. (I may fit some doors to the cavities in the footwell later). I fitted some wood into the lip around the top of the tub and screwed through another piece of ply upwards for the top of the boot.

With careful measuring and planing I fixed a sloping piece of ply to join the two previously fixed horizontal pieces.

Once fitted and adjusted I cut out for the door. This can be hinged upward or completely removed. I also fitted a nice chrome locking handle. To finish the job I will put a thin piece of foam and cover with the same port coloured vinyl used for the seats and the dash surround.

I also cut two holes for the seat belts. By measuing the range of movement caused by the sliding seat adjustment there was about a 55mm long slot on the upper surface and a 60mm long slot on the sloping section.

Originally I chose to have the handle operate a hook catch and mounted a U bracket on the base.

 

Unfortunately when finished this didn't seem strong enough so I opted to install a 2 way slam latch. This had a slam on each side of the lid with the handle operating the bars to unlatch the catches.

Before covering I made some wooden blocks to go internally on the boot frame so that the screw holes could be filled and vered so there were no visible fastenings.

I bought some 20mm wadding from my local Dunhelm Mill and some additional vinyl from Interiors Seating.

By using contact adhesive around the edge I glued the vinyl in place, carefully cutting around the seat belt slots and the boot lid opening. This was quite a fiddly job but I am pleased with the results.

The boot lid locks in place and will provide a secure area for when touring.

Because of the seat belt slots I needed a way to cover the opening. By using some brown paper first I created a template for the vinyl. This was cut and tied together using some leather cord.

I fastened some press-studs to the frame and the covers to attach them but I may still in future, when the car is finished, make the covers a little more integral.

 

Looking forward the car is now ready for test although the seats will need re-covering in the burgundy vinyl later and I will need a different steering wheel. The handbrake gaiter is also shown here.