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I've been searching/ reading and looking at pictures, on the subject of dashboards,  specifically for a 1970 CP.

Currently I have an aftermarket walnut burr style dash, but would prefer to go to the more simple and lighter original one. 

Where would one source a new but original style finish, I've looked at classic dash and a guy on ebay, but I'm not really sure they offer what I want.

Any info would be great. 

Thanks

Gareth

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On 6/26/2022 at 2:46 PM, Mk2 Chopper said:

I've been searching/ reading and looking at pictures, on the subject of dashboards,  specifically for a 1970 CP.

Currently I have an aftermarket walnut burr style dash, but would prefer to go to the more simple and lighter original one. 

Where would one source a new but original style finish, I've looked at classic dash and a guy on ebay, but I'm not really sure they offer what I want.

Any info would be great. 

Thanks

Gareth

Gareth,

I know that you have looked at Classic Dash! But you will have to select yourself the veneer that is acceptable to you. This can be very difficult to find the right one. The CR TRs often had a lighter colour than the CRs. In my view it is best to visit them and choose!

Bruce.

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8 minutes ago, astontr6 said:

Gareth,

I know that you have looked at Classic Dash! But you will have to select yourself the veneer that is acceptable to you. This can be very difficult to find the right one. The CR TRs often had a lighter colour than the CRs. In my view it is best to visit them and choose!

Bruce.

Thanks Bruce, 

I think you are right on this, I have contacted them along with some other places to get their thoughts, but ultimately I really need to see it as you say. Really liking this rosewood dash I found on this page http://www.74tr6.com/dashpanel.htm although hardly original spec it is truly beautiful.

236991286_dash038(Small).jpg.1b38afd2a35e9c62fe9773e19ae35b59.jpg

Gareth

 

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I remember reading that the originals were American walnut which is very different from European walnut.

I picked up some rosewood (for a different car) from http://www.freedveneers.co.uk/contact/

They were happy for me to wander round their massive warehouse until I found a bit I liked. Think it was a tenner.

 

Jerry

dash.jpg

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That might well be the way to go, been reading up on re veneering a dash. Certainly is a nice pattern on the rosewood and a great price. 

Gareth

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I got my veneer from the veneer hub at Leighton Buzzard. They had a massive selection and as others have said I could just wander around and choose what I liked.

One sheet cost about £15 and would do around 6 dash boards I would think. I went for oak, I just liked it and felt it went well with my biscuit interior.

Quite easy to do because the dash is flat, no curves do deal with so no need to use a vacuum system.  Care needed when cutting out the holes for the gauges and with a big bit of veneer you can pick a nice bit of detail with the grain. The varnishing became a bit of an obsession, 10 coats in all then polishing to get a nice high gloss.

Go for it, you can make it just the way you want.

Rob

B6A94FDF-CA31-40F2-A742-C70006FF8E1C.jpeg

B91B5221-9135-47AE-8594-9B7E76010DDC.jpeg

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Gareth and All

With these entirely cosmetic things the decision over what it looks like is a 100% personal thing.

So whatever you do on your car is correct, even polished carbon fibre or body colour (lol)

When refurbing my (Original, as afr as i can tell) dash I decided to stay with what I think is reasonably close to the original look.

Luckily my dash veneer was I quite good nick and just needed a few repairs.

The lacquer as normal was not so needed to be completely stripped. To replace it I went with multiple coats (5+) of satin with a light key between each.

I’m happy with the result and think it suits the car well.

Cheers   Keith

Dash.jpg

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I'm loving all the input here guys, who'd have thought what seems like a simple thing can turn into a rabbit hole, but I'm excited by the idea and just need to formulate my ideas. 

Gareth

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So much variety going on. I take it American Walnut is the standard original fitment? 

Gareth

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Here's a few images of a new old stock USA spec dash part no 917550. This hadn't seen daylight since being made other than being taken out of the packaging for the photos. Amazing how the grain isn't that obvious and how matt it is compared with the modern take on dashes .

Derek

dash nos 1.jpg

dash nos 3.jpg

dash nos 4.jpg

dash nos 8.jpg

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I don't know if this helps but this is an original untouched 1968 TR5 dashboard.

Cheers,

Tim

IMG_5809.thumb.JPG.67437489a0cb05fa78863f27277ebfd8.JPG

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Hi everyone - I can hopefully add some info to this debate - I'm fairly sure the original dashes for all TR4A, 5 and 6 were the same veneer, namely American Walnut - they were not teak and it doesn't help that Rimmers continue to describe this veneer as teak - I can be 100% certain of this as I know their supplier, and this info came form the horses mouth, as it were.

TR4A dashes had a gloss finish as original, and TR6 dashes were satin - I'm not 100% sure about TR5s but I think they were satin as well.

Original dashes tend to fade in sunlight to an orangey colour, as in Tim's photo above. It's almost impossible to replicate this colour in a new american walnut dash as they start off quite a lot darker, as in Derek's original never been out of the box example in the post above. Harry's dash is a good example of the colour of new american walnut dashes ( he's had his modified to take an extra small instrument which is quite a popular mod)

Hope this helps clear up some of the confusion - of course, if you want to be different and go for more outrageous veneers, colours and finishes, feel free as it's your car!

Cheers Rich   

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I spoke with Ian at Classical Dash, and he said the original dash was American Walnut also, and that due to the ageing it goes an orange colour which is very like Teak.

I noticed on TR Shop, they describe it as 'matt finish crown cut walnut (teak)'. So I think a lot of people assume it's teak due to how it looks when it's old. 

That NOS dash looks amazing. 

Gareth

 

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16 hours ago, Rob Y said:

Hi Gareth, 

I'm pretty sure my original dash was teak with a satin/matt finish. 

It will be interesting to hear what others say. 

Hi Gareth,

I was always told that my OEM CR TR dash was teak. American Walnut is darker with a much more defined grain.

Bruce.

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25 minutes ago, astontr6 said:

Hi Gareth,

I was always told that my OEM CR TR dash was teak. American Walnut is darker with a much more defined grain.

Bruce.

I'm pretty sure the CP was darker, and CR lighter, so that information could be correct for the later dash and would certainly explain the confusion around the two wood types. Who's to say it didn't change according to what was available at the time either? 

Gareth

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24 minutes ago, harrytr5 said:

I veneered this dash (American Walnut) on my then concourse winning TR5 around six years ago.

20140925_171741.jpg

That really does look the part, nice job. 

Gareth

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On 6/28/2022 at 7:17 AM, Rob Y said:

Quite easy to do because the dash is flat, no curves do deal with so no need to use a vacuum system.

HI Rob,

Did you go the hide glue/ hide hammer route or another glue system?

Cheers,

John

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4 hours ago, JohnC said:

HI Rob,

Did you go the hide glue/ hide hammer route or another glue system?

Cheers,

John

Hi John,

I’m not sure what you mean exactly, but basically I used wood glue and plenty of weight to hold it in place while the glue set. To be honest I was a bit nervous about this and probably used too much weight which opened up the grain a bit in places. Not an issue but I’d probably not use so much weight if I did it again.

Cutting out the holes is fun, you need a very sharp knife or scalpel and I found it best to cut from the veneer side so as not to pull the edges away from the sides of the holes. I had a glass top table that I put the dash on with a bright light underneath to reveal where the edges of the holes were.

It is a very satisfying job and you can make it exactly how you want. Since it sits in front of you whenever you’re driving it matters that you like it of course.

 Rob 

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1 hour ago, Rob Y said:

I’m not sure what you mean exactly

Hide glue is a foul-smelling concoction made (I believe) from animal hide. It's applied hot and grabs as it cools down, which happens when it's thinned out by the action of the hide hammer. A hide hammer is basically a rounded-edge straight-edged thing (tm) you drag across the veneer to squeeze out the glue (like a roller but it doesn't roll). I have not done this, only read about it. Experts say it's easy :rolleyes:

Do you mean you could see through the veneer with the backlighting? Sounds like a really smart idea.

John

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Ah right, sounds interesting. I just used PVA glue and it seemed to work fine. I think this is because the dash is just flat so no special veneering techniques are really needed. 

Yes, I could see through the veneer with the back lighting, it worked really well. In fact the table was a glass topped computer table, so I put a bright light on the sliding shelf for the keyboard and slid it under the dashboard which was on the glass top, so it was well supported. 

One other thing to consider is that the bezels don't cover the edges of the holes so it's important to finish the edges well. 

Rob 

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