Dash wood type - photos.

[cappedup]

I have a '74 US 6 which is about to get a dash renovation.

 

Everything I read says the dash was originally veneered, mine is solid something.

 

I'm not so fussed about keeping things original, just clean and correct looking.

 

Is mine a replacement dash from some time? It certainly looks 43 years old......

 

Really pleased to have sorted out the intermittent dash lights issue. Found a badly done wire splice and the grounds were not good at all.

 

Annoyed to have broken the wash/wipe plastic stalk. There is a little hole to push a 'thing' into. Not the brute force and ignorance technique i used.. doh.... Grr.

 

Photos to follow of rejuvenated wood.

[openroad]

Hi Capped, looks original to me.....nothing special buts that's how they were.

Have fun,

Conrad.

[Alec Pringle]

That's a proper OE dash, albeit somewhat dilapidated . . . . . and that's how a restored dash should look, a plain veneer and none of this fancy walnut swirly wirly veneer which is out of place on a humble TR . . . . . an overdone dash makes it look like a local trollop wearing paste diamonds . . . .

 

Cheers

 

Alec

[Tom Fremont]

Yeah, you don't want one like this

 

 

 

4A dashes were lovely; later ones not so much. Couldn't bear an " as original " in my cream puff.

 

Prestige make the best, then there's the rest. I don't know if Randy does RHD though.

 

 

Cheers,

Tom

 

 

[cappedup]

Yeah, you don't want one like this

 

CD8315L9-6-8 010.jpg

 

 

4A dashes were lovely; later ones not so much. Couldn't bear an " as original " in my cream puff.

 

Prestige make the best, then there's the rest. I don't know if Randy does RHD though.

 

 

Cheers,

Tom

 

That is shocking.....

 

I think this one might be Prestige Products. I'll have a look tomorrow. There is a sticker on the back I am leaving 'untouched'.

 

So, which ones were plywood, with a thin veneer on top? Mine is solid timber.

 

Which kind of wood is it, were they all the same, or whatever was available?

 

It's coming up nice. 15 mins with 220grit and 2 coats of polyeurerthane done so far.

[YankeeTR5]

All of the factory TR wood dashes were a veneer. A solid piece of wood will swell and warp over time. The plywood/vaneer combo is structurally more stable when it comes to the various heat cycles and humidity cycles that a wood dash in a car endures. The TR4a used a dark burl wood vaneer thats pretty attractive. The TR5 & early 6's used a medium veneer (forget the wood type) and the later (post 72 ish?) used a lighter vaneer. Both of these had very little grain to them. Personally, having seen some of the Prestige dark burled product in a couple of 6's, I really like them.

[cappedup]

All of the factory TR wood dashes were a veneer. A solid piece of wood will swell and warp over time. The plywood/vaneer combo is structurally more stable when it comes to the various heat cycles and humidity cycles that a wood dash in a car endures. The TR4a used a dark burl wood vaneer thats pretty attractive. The TR5 & early 6's used a medium veneer (forget the wood type) and the later (post 72 ish?) used a lighter vaneer. Both of these had very little grain to them. Personally, having seen some of the Prestige dark burled product in a couple of 6's, I really like them.

Ah, so it was fitted aftermarket as a replacement. Understood.

 

I wondered about the stability of it. Trying to get even coverage with the finish to give it the best chance.

 

Will update with finished pics.

[ed_h]

Hard to tell from a picture on a monitor, but the pics in the first post look like veneer to me.

 

Which way does the grain run on the backside of the glovebox door? It was vertical on the TRs ('74 at least).

 

Ed

[Alec Pringle]

Hi Tom,

 

if you took that cream puff dash out on the street . . . . . . . .

 

Heck man, you could be arrested for soliciting . . . .

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

[Steves_TR6]

I reveneered mine using teak, and oiled it rather than varnish, looks great and not too shiny.

 

I'll try to dig out a photo, or have a search on here as i posted a thread at the time, 2013

 

Steve

[MostEasterlySteve]

That's a proper OE dash, albeit somewhat dilapidated . . . . . and that's how a restored dash should look, a plain veneer and none of this fancy walnut swirly wirly veneer which is out of place on a humble TR . . . . . an overdone dash makes it look like a local trollop wearing paste diamonds . . . .

 

Cheers

 

Alec

 

This more or less sums up my feelings too.

[Tom Fremont]

I picked that one, termed " Qtd. Figured Movingui " and NLA because (1) it is light in colour and (2) its pattern complements the roof panel's.

 

Especially noteworthy are the thinnest gap extant around the glovebox door and the incredible longevity of these dashes. My driver's ( which came to me with the car ) looks just as it did 21 years ago when I first beheld it.

 

 

 

Cheers,

Tom

Edited September 12, 2017 by Tom Fremont

[Tom Fremont]

Hi Tom,

 

if you took that cream puff dash out on the street . . . . . . . .

 

Heck man, you could be arrested for soliciting . . . .

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

I think you're right, Alec, as I nearly do each time I take her out for her weekly exercise ( the rest of the car is of a piece with the dash )

 

Cheers,

Tom

[Alec Pringle]

It's a work of art Tom, I'll give you that, and so is that amazing roof . . . . and its chequerplate stablemate !

 

But it's still a blonde on blonde thing !

 

Cheers

 

Alec

[Tom Fremont]

..but it's a working dash, Alec!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm0dUxeX6DY

 

Cheers,

Tom

[Mark69]

 

Re veneered in light oak,diy home job real pleased with results.

Mark

Edited April 14, 2020 by Mark69

[rogerguzzi]

Hello All

I re veneeded my Spitfire dashboard and used Rustins plastic coating(about 12+ coats) with light flating down in between every 3 coats and finished with paper you could not tell which was the rough side and finally Rustins burnishing cream.

 

I picked a different veneer not to plush but a bit up market from Triumph(I can not remember what it is called off hand) but I like it and its not burr.

 

It is not hard to do just takes time(I stuck my veneer on with Gorilla glue) I did not trust PVA etc and did not want it to lift!

 

I has sat in the Spanish and Italian sun and got wet in Ireland etc with no ill effects.

 

As you can see I added a few dials and moved switches(I am not a conkers man and its my car) and its on EFI with 4 throtle bodies with fuel pump in the tank(now that should upset a few?)

 

Roger

 

ps it will be wet tested again this week as we are off to Northern Ireland

Edited September 12, 2017 by rogerguzzi

[jean]

A 1970 dash.. total Original..

[cappedup]

Hard to tell from a picture on a monitor, but the pics in the first post look like veneer to me.

 

Which way does the grain run on the backside of the glovebox door? It was vertical on the TRs ('74 at least).

 

Ed

Definitely solid, not ply. It had undergone a really bad paint/stain job, which almost looked like a veneer.

 

Plank was made by a company called Peterson products, not precision. Cant find anything about them online.

 

So, with all the clues in, any idea which type of wood might have been used for this. if its any help, it isn't very heavy.......

[ed_h]

Definitely solid, not ply. It had undergone a really bad paint/stain job, which almost looked like a veneer.

 

Plank was made by a company called Peterson products, not precision. Cant find anything about them online.

 

So, with all the clues in, any idea which type of wood might have been used for this. if its any help, it isn't very heavy.......

 

Yup, that end grain shot settles it.

 

It's hard to tell from a picture, but your first pictures looked to me like walnut. This last pic looks a little more like teak. There are quite a few lesser known woods that have s similar look.

 

Ed

[cappedup]

Thanks Ed. I'll do a bit more research into wood types, see if i can match it with something.

 

Dash nearly ready to go back in, waiting on some bulbs to arrive......

[Andrew Smith]

A 1970 dash.. total Original..

70TR6 Dash.JPG

 

Another view of an original teak dash:

 

 

Cheers

Andrew

[cappedup]

Finished. So pleased with how it has transformed the interior.

 

It's a fiddley job getting all the gauges wired and back in place, I'd be twice as quick a second time.

[Mark69]

Well done looks fab, but I think your dash top is sitting to high. Did you remove the metal dash frame, the vinyl should be sandwiched between that and the body. You can just work out the hole in the vinyl above the glove box that should be located on the fixed bolt.

Mark

[cappedup]

It is too high, you are right. I didn't remove the metal frame. The vinyl has come out of where it is supposed to be at the very ends. The whole dash top seems to be bent up at the ends, I don't know if thats due to heat, or sunlight, or what. The whole thing is very stiff, and I don't think it will easily go back to where it should be.

 

I was going to take it completely out and see if there was a way to straighten it up a bit. What is it made from, some kind of moulded plastic?

 

Attached photo with all bulbs working. Very satisfying.

 

I just used LEDs on the speedo and rev counter, as a test. Think I will be swapping them all over, apart from IGN....