Dash ideas for a 1971 MGB GT

[lucebayjack]

Hi Guys,

Just thinking of doing something with my dash. I currently don't have a dash on the car but do have one i have sourced. The special paint affect is long gone so i have decided to paint strip it and scrub off all the rust. I'm now left with a bare metal dash which got me thinking.............

I have always loved the series 1 E-types dash boards with their mixture of checker plate steel and leather upholstery on the dash. Should i upholster the dash in leather and have some details cut in checker board e.g. round the dials, glove box front and perhaps the centre speaker console? In my head it looks beautiful but in reality i fear it may look like a 1970 rip speed mod from halfods.

Any ideas where i could get good checker board from? I don't want to end up with the stuff they use on walkways as i think the pattern is to big.

[alfa pint]

Always liked the black crackle tbh. But anything is better than walnut! Have you checked the mgoc? Vague memory of them doing something aluminium ish. Or was it the beehive in cambs?

[mgtony]

alfa pint said:

Always liked the black crackle tbh. But anything is better than walnut! Have you checked the mgoc? Vague memory of them doing something aluminium ish. Or was it the beehive in cambs?

They do the carbon fibre one. BUT, like the walnut one it is individual pieces thet screw onto the existing dash.
I can't see the point of this (not the fact that the wulnut job that makes the car look like a 1950's cocktail cabinet!)But it would look so much better if they done a whole dash in some modern material.

[lucebayjack]

Only dash i can find that isn't walnut is carbon, which to me seems like a terrible idea. Seems the easiest idea would be to buy a new ripple dash but i' would quite like to commit to my leather aluminum idea and see how it ends up

[jason156v6]

Here's another vote for the original black ripple dash.

All the aftermarket stuff looks a but tacky and "stick on" IMHO

[mgtony]

Here you go, a selection on this link. If you choose to copy any of them, don't go moving your steering to the left!

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.m...fficial%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1

[lucebayjack]

Tony that link looks quite broken

[mgtony]

whoops! try this

http://www.mgnuts.com/gallery/index.php?cat=30

[P9]

My dash was scruffy, so I put this £40 dash kit on - made of real burr walnut laminate, very thin and then covered in a coating with an impact adhesive backing.

I wanted to just tidy it up for now but it looks OK, might not worry about a full wood kit for a while.

Edited by P9 on Tuesday 8th June 13:25