The discussion about dash-top covering in foam/vinyl began here, and should be read too by anyone interested in that aspect of the dash.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4391&hilit=dash+top+foam
To start with, can someone tell whether these 1/4" BSF centre dash-panel pivot bolts are indeed meant to have 1/4" ID x 7/16" OD shoulders or spacers on them ?
The LH spacer or shoulder one needs to be 3/8" long apparently, the RH one more like 1/4". The 1/4" bolts were swimming around in the 7/16 holes of the side-cheeks, but now I've sleeved them down the centre panel won't pivot like it used to because there is a pair of 2BA cheese-head screws that tie the vinyl-covered returns of the dash facades to the cheek-plates on the bulkhead - before there was so much slop in the pivots that the contact was avoided, but now it's all a bit more precise these screws foul ............
.................. and I'm wondering if the centre support brackets for the dash-top are meant to be sandwiched against the same vinyl-covered returns, since the surface is inevitably irregular and such an assembly doesn't seem very elegant ?
I'm presuming that they are intended to pivot like this to help the studs clear the bracket when dismantling and refitting .............
...........even though on mine I've blanked the slots and holes off and will re-drill them when everything's in the right place, using pillar bolts screwed into the captive nuts I've brazed onto the dash-cover top ; so no studs to get in the way of assembly any more.
On a more general note, the height and alignment of the three dash panels had looked wrong ever since I got the car nearly 15 years ago, and so it seemed like the right time to attack this properly.
I'm no expert on this, and am hoping more experienced contributors will throw their knowledge into the ring, but nevertheless thought what I had gleaned when sorting the dashboard out seemed worth publishing for anyone who is still at the shell-stage and might be needing to address issues like these at the right time, instead of being like me with a complete car and running around after the PO who had just botched and thrown stuff like this together.
I decided that the humps behind each wing were the best visual reference for levels ; by adjusting the pads on the 2-post lift I could get this area level, and was pleased to see that similar areas on the windscreen edge at the base of the pillars gave a similar reading .............
............. as I had found there was 5mm out of true on the caps of the windscreen pillars.
The tops of the dash were way out of alignment, and at first there seemed to be enough spring in the bulkhead cheeks to get away with a nice delicate tool made from acacia planking
only to find that severer stresses were needed, hence this ghastly but highly efficient steel version that enabled me to tweak to my heart's content.
Alright, Alright, not the most ELEGANT tool I've ever made - but very good for sorting out sardine-can misalignments.
With this it took just minutes to get a satisfactory alignment.
I have always found the outer mounting studs on the dash-top to be complete swine to access, and had resolved to move them inwards, away from the nest of glued and folded vinyl in the outer corners.
and re-do the support brackets (which are true Jaguar flimsy bean-can offcuts) so that a) the fixings became more accessible, b) everything remained invisible, and c) the edges of the dash-top could at last be neatly trimmed without having to leave a loose bit of vinyl to reach the hockey-stick side-panels as Jack at BAS in Wales had warned me.
Below is what I've ended up with, prior to re-galvanising, and whilst it isn't "original" I think the result will be a discreet yet big improvement.
The new studs were SIF-bronzed into place and new brackets made up from 15/10 strip - seen here just held in place with a self-tapper before the definitive TIG once the whole dashboard has been removed, plus the old brackets, when access will be better.
The raised sleeve is to give a better seating when all the vinyl edging is glued into place around it, unlike the originals where mine was a mess of vinyl, glue and washers.
By grafting in some more 10/10 strip I was able to continue the rounded profile at each end of the dash-top and make it easier to trim -I can live with losing concours points and listening to teeth-sucking in exchange for a neater finish and easier removal and re-fitting of the dash-top.
As usual with the VERY clever and crafty people at Jaguar, it's not easy to change anything on an E-Type without stumbling across an unforeseen additional complexity, and by moving the brackets forward you have to be very careful not to foul the windscreen-rubber, hence the kink in the brackets and the gusset to cope with the fact that the overhang is greater, albeit for derisory loads.
. Could you update it pease.
(English name and good English)