I finally got around to writing a brief description of my Banks dash pad installation. I originally posted this on the Lotus Europa email group, but thought I would add it here too. I hope it helps.
My Europa is a 1973 with only 24,000 miles. It was last driven in 1980 and then parked in a barn in Buffalo, NY. It is extremely original, it even had the original Exide battery. I don’t know why the car was stored so long, but at one time it must have had a leaking windshield. The top of the windshield trim was covered with a very messy coating clear silicone sealer. This leak must have destroyed the dash top as it was missing (the rest of the interior was as delivered by Lotus). I therefore had to replace the dash top and as the windshield trim was original and in good shape I did not want to remove the glass. Before I get the car on the road I will have to figure out how to make sure the windshield is sealed. I ordered the dash top kit from Banks and a new dash from Prestige Autowood. I reviewed the article by Jerry Rude on replacing the dash top without removing the windshield
http://gglotus.org/ggtech/europa-crashpad/europa-crashpad.htm and the article by Michael Hilt on the dash top replacement with the windshield removed
http://www.lotus-europa.com/manuals/misc/Banks_Crash_Pad_Installation.htm I used a combination of both articles along with an idea or two of my own (at least I think they were my own) on how to attach the dash top with the windscreen in place. I am indebted to Jerry Rude and Michael Hilt for their articles. They made my job much easier.
If you have the old dash top I will have to leave it to you to remove. Jerry Rude said his was so brittle that he was able to break it off. He also posted a picture of a tool he made to remove the screws on the defroster vent.
http://lotus-europa.com/mar2004.html Before the dash top can be removed the dash itself must come out. I found it important to mark all of the wires. I used file labels, but the ones I had were old and some did not stick very well. I suggest making sure each label will not fall off. As a backup I made a list of where each wire went in a notebook and I took as many photos as I could.
The Banks dash top takes a lot of fiddling to get it to fit. I used a belt sander and besides checking the fit about a thousand times it was really not too bad. Since I did not remove the windshield I could not bend the VIN tag up so I notched the dash top to fit around the rivets.
Copying from both Michael Hilt and Jerry Rude I made small brackets to help secure the dash top and the dash. I did things a little different, however. I did not trim the fiberglass tabs (Michael Hilt) and I did not attach the brackets to the dash top (Jerry Rude). Instead I mounted them behind the tabs. I used a bit of body panel glue to hold them in place and when finally installed with the dash screws they are not going anywhere.
I also made a small metal bracket that I riveted to the back of the fiberglass dash top. I could then slide this under the existing rubber dam to help secure the dash top.
When I was ready to cover the dash top I had to decide if I was going to put the vinyl directly over the fiberglass or if I was going to use a foam pad. I decided to use some foam as I thought it would give me some practice in gluing and stretching and it would hide any imperfections in my fiberglass work. I used foam underlayment from Home Depot. The brand is Traffic Master. It is very thin and went on very well. Unfortunately, the Banks Dash top fiberglass has the openings for the defroster vents off by about ½ inch. I also found that I had notched some of the fiberglass a little too much. To correct some of my mistakes I used fiberglass body filler. Once dry, it sanded very easily and fixed most of my mistakes.
For gluing the foam and the vinyl I used Weldwood Landau Top and Trim adhesive. In doing my research on line this seemed to be the most recommended. I just brushed it on, but it can be sprayed.
To attach the demister vents I came up with the following idea. When I purchased the dash top from Banks I also purchased a set of demister vents (RD Enterprises has these listed as Demist Grills. However, the RD Enterprises grills are a little different as the slots go from bigger to smaller ). What I did not realize at the time was these vents are actually for an Elan and not the plastic vent surround (RD Enterprises has them listed as Defrost Bezels) that goes on top of the dash. The Demist Grills are made of metal. What I ended up doing was to turn these upside down (I needed to trim one side of the metal). They then fit inside of the plastic vent surround. I removed the speed nut from the dash top and installed it on the metal vent cover. I then drilled holes through the plastic cover and the metal vent and screwed them together. This way the Demister nozzle can be screwed into the Defrost Bezel from underneath the dash.
As mentioned by Jerry Rude I found that the front of the dash top drooped a little too much. I tried rubber shims as he suggested, but I could not get them to work. Instead I took a length of small wood pieces, painted them black and used them as a shim between the dashboard and the dash top. It moved the dash top up enough that I was happy.
After the dash top was installed I used some piping I found online to fill in the line between the dash and the windshield. Where the piping goes under the VIN plate I used a trick I learned from owning an MG TC. The trick is to open the piping and cut out the plastic cord where it would go under the VIN plate. This allows the piping to lay flat and fit under the VIN plate.
If anyone wants more pictures please let me know.
Regards,
Sherman
