Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: Richard48Y on Sunday,April 13, 2025, 11:20:17 PM
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My red S2 project is falling behind schedule.
I need to just spend the dollars for a new dash if possible.
Madera Concepts appear OMG expensive, anyone else that is still in business?
I can re-veneer if I must but don't feel like I really have the time.
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I presume you’ve already tried Dave Bean and r.d. It looks like after them, it’s either do the restoration yourself or go to England. Sadly my favorite, Prestige Autowood, has closed down.
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Got a couple of quotes, OUCH!
So being a cheapskate I will be doing them myself.
I already have most of the equipment, it is Time I never have enough of!
I will be doing one in Rosewood and the other in Birdseye Maple for myself.
There are a lot of impressive woods available and most are not all that expensive, currently.
Of course the best are not available in large enough sheets to be done as only one piece.
With practice I will get to the point that I may join two pieces to match the grain but that is not where I am now.
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I have an extra that I started , veneer on and most holes cut out . The holes not cut out I can trace somewhat . I may even have the lettering for the entire facia. PM me if interested.
Dakazman
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After taking it down I found it to be on 3 ply plywood. I was making a desktop version.
Dakazman
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I am now looking for an overhead pin router.
Almost certainly what was used originally to make them.
Found a few really cheap, but getting them home from too far away is a problem. :headbanger:
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Richard I sent you a PM about a different subject....
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Richard I'll post as many dimensions as possible that I can accurately give you.
Dakazman
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I "Can" do wood work on the CNC mill but it is not considered best practice for machine life.
Most pin routers are old, HEAVY at around 800#-1,200#, 3 Ph., and very obsolete to almost anyone but an analog guy like me.
They typically end up as scrap once sellers figure out that no one local will take them unless paid to get them out of the way.
I can get one for only $200, and another $900 to go get it. ::)
At that point I may as well look for a used CNC router.
My hope is that something will turn up closer to home.
I found a nice big 36x60 CNC router but it also has a fairly big price.
Insult to injury, the local electrician is three weeks out from getting me my 3 Ph. power. :headbanger:
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I used the old panel as a pattern and a flush trim router bit easy, fast, cheap and accurate. Leave out holes you don't want add new holes to old panel first
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I did that too for my first effort.
It is my practice piece that I need to complete.
I had a little trouble with the router and got a low spot in one edge.
It is the correct plywood but the finish is too light and I have to remove the factory varnish before I may laminate something nicer onto it.
If I can get or get access to a Pin Router aluminum master patterns are the hot ticket.
I have gathered up all my laminate supplies and readied the workbench.
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Richard, I'm surprised that you have 3 phase power available in your area from the POCO. I'm in a mostly residential area with no big power consumers in my area so no 3 phase power even available here. I only have one piece of equipment requiring 240 3 phase, my Bridgeport mill so I decided to go with a VFD rather than a rotary phase converter. Only a couple of hundred bucks for the VFD.
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Joji, my 3 Ph. will be courtesy of a Phase Perfect 10 HP.
Paid $2,800 for it never used, from a Face Book ad.
The same unit is now $5,500 from the factory!
I have it mounted to the wall, getting my power from the meter is being the issue.
As a true glutton for punishment I am looking at getting a CNC Router now.
Pin Router would be fine and cheaper but I have no way to bring one home since I sold my flatbed truck.
If I succeed in getting the large router I will be able to make any dash I can produce geometry for.
But this HAS to be my last machine purchase!
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A dashboard isn't so expensive that it makes sense to buy special equipment to make one or two dashboards. OTOH, if you're planning to go into the dashboard production business then you'll need to be able to finish/varnish the dashboards to a professional standard, and I reckon that is the expensive part of the operation. Cutting 'em out is easy by comparison.
https://www.lotus-supplies.com/part-category/interiors/dashboard
https://www.sjsportscars.com/parts-and-accessories/X054B0237Z.htm
I'm always surprised at how reasonable UK to USA shipping is from these suppliers and of course you don't have to pay VAT.
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Right about $500 in our hands.
Veneer choices are limited and no glove box door available.
Compared to $1,200 from Madera Concepts the UK are cheap.
My hope is to do one in Rosewood and Birdseye Maple for my own car.
I may be able to re-use the original matrix after carefully peeling away the old veneer.
A CNC router can do much more than dashboards.
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A dashboard isn't so expensive that it makes sense to buy special equipment to make one or two dashboards. OTOH, if you're planning to go into the dashboard production business then you'll need to be able to finish/varnish the dashboards to a professional standard, and I reckon that is the expensive part of the operation. Cutting 'em out is easy by comparison.
Agree, don't make it more difficult than it needs to be. Plenty of other tasks you're working on.
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Dash production with choice of veneer is my thought.
I will do my Birdseye and a Rosewood as practice.
Looking like I will buy one dash for the red car that I am in a big hurry to finish.
Hard to choose, Burl or Strait.
The car is very original for the most part and I think strait grain may be more durable so that is my plan.
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Now that Prestige Autowood is no longer in business, a source in the US for good reasonably priced wood dashes would be a very good thing!
One of the things that the owner of Prestige Autowood sold me on was finishing all sides and edges so humidity could not seep into the plywood. I hope you'll follow suit.
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$2,500 CASH 30x60 CNC Router is a very good deal.
But would leave me flat broke right now.
Dashes are pretty simple flat parts so my own CAD skills should be enough.
I wonder where the Prestige files went?
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Ugh, dollar is in the basement for value.
£327 = £440 with shipping, $583 by the time it gets here.
Then add the money transfer fee's.
So over $600.
Definitely an opportunity for a small US business.
Not high volume but if other dashes could be found to be done, and it was not an only income, it should work.
I am giving pause to the UK purchase while I think it over.
I can complete the Rosewood dash rebuild at only about $100.
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A UK Dash is a little over $600 at the current exchange rate.
So I would think that US made at around $400 should have a fair market?
Particularly with a wide variety of available veneer.
It is only 1.5D CAD so I can handle it on my own.
I am trying to get a 30" x 60" CNC router to do them with.
I could get a pin router and make patterns on the CNC Mill, but at 2,000 Lb. pin routers are not simple to move around. 3 Ph. power too.
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If anybody has a CAD model kicking around already, I run a 5x10' router occasionally (ya know, government work) and can definitely crank out a few of these as blanks to be veneered. There's also the family cabinet shop for veneering but that's decently overworked already.
I've been meaning to do this for my S1B in aluminum, but mistakes get expensive there and I wanted to validate the CAD dimensions first. I don't have a way to dimensionally validate S2 dashes.
Seems simple enough, shipping will always be an issue.
I have a 1m^2 CNC router in my garage that's been great for door cards and smaller stuff, but no full-size dashboards fitting on that.
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Moss Motors sells both finished and unfinished dashboards for a few models. There is a big difference in price. For example, this dashboard for an MG TD is $150 for an unfinished version and $590 for the finished version. The money is in the finishing, not so much in the cutting.
https://mossmotors.com/233-540-dashboard-plywood-lhd
https://mossmotors.com/233-665-walnut-dash-finished-veneer-lhd
If you have a drawing you could get a few blanks cut by an online service like sendcutsend, if you think baltic birch is good enough. Their pricing is hard to beat. You could order the first one in hardboard to check the dimensions.
https://sendcutsend.com/materials/baltic-birch-plywood/
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So, to check if I'm talking sense I uploaded Dan Morrison's S2 dash drawing (from groups.io files) to SendCutSend - had to edit it to get a closed drawing, lost a few features because I'm in a hurry, and I had to cut a bit off either end to fit in the 44 inch instant quote size range, but here's what that looks like. Ok, the drawing needs more work, and it'll have to be a custom quote for the full 46 inch width, but hopefully you get the picture.
It needs someone to fix and check the drawing. After that it's just veneer and varnish (ha!). Also, if you want one in 6061, then that's an option too.
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Interesting quote from SendCutSend, Gideon.
Baltic birch would likely be more spendy but if you could get 10 cut for around ~$60 each, that'd be hard to beat in terms of a low volume production business case.
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This evening I was gifted an undersize CNC Router.
After minor repair it will be able to cut half of two dash's at a time.
Then reverse to do the other half.
So one way or another I do plan to follow up on this.
If I can get access to the Group IO file I should be able to edit anything that is missing.
From there I would also hope to do TC, Elan, and others.
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I traced my Twin Cam dash before I put the gauges, binnacle etc. in it.
I could make a copy of it if that is helpful :confused:
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I do not see a TC file anywhere.
I expect that they are "Mostly" the samer perimeter?
I have access to a 4'x8' CNC router locally but no quote yet.
I expect I would earn my money on the lamination and finishing.
Probably a month before I can get to this but if I'm having one cut I may as well do eight.
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I have a 72 Twin Cam dash - veneer mostly all off hanging in my garage along with 2 long pcs of chestnut veneer. You are welcome to them; shipping would be the issue. Let me know and I'll take pictures and measurements.
I was going to make another dash with a glove box door - my winter project. I don't like the open glove box. I am putting this off till I get some of the mechanical stuff sorted.