Crash pads design?

[Richard48Y]

Some of the post here are downright scary.
Dash's and crash pads are related as being terrible task.
Door repair is apparently no joy either.

Seems I've broken every resolution of the past several years in buying my Europa.
"No more buying projects", "No more %$#! Restorations, just build it custom", "No more impractical* cars", " No more race-engined cars", etc.

Having spent more to purchase this car than any other but my former XKE Roadster I am perhaps too eager to get it back on the road.
I MUST complete and sell a Dio Tipo build first, but I should be able to continue gathering most of the less expensive parts.

Looking at Dash/Crash Pad threads has me wondering if anyone has tried fabricating the bottom layer from thin soft aluminum?
Fiberglass units appear to be too stiff and difficult to trim.
Some plastic apparently are not accurate and I cannot imagine them looking right unless covered in vinyl.
So I wonder about making a fresh bottom layer in soft aluminum?
The shape appears fairly simple from the pics I have seen.
Do not have mine out yet as I am putting off disassembly until I may give the car it's proper share of attention.
It would seem to me that thin aluminum, foam, and vinyl or maybe a modern tight weave cloth should give an excellent result.
What am I missing?

*OK, not too impractical if I refit the rear luggage bin.

[BDA]

I had an old original replacement crash pad so I don’t have firsthand knowledge of them but I thought I heard that lotus-spares has something very similar to the original foam-filled vinyl crash pad. I would also check out S&J Sports Cars.They would be very flexible. I’ve also heard of ABS and fiberglass copies. While I haven’t heard anything bad about them, they would be less flexible.

I’ve not heard of aluminum in crash pads.

[Richard48Y]

What are the original bottom layers made of?
Fiberboard would not surprise me and would explain a lot of the durability issues.
I have had very good luck in replacing fiberboard based door cards with aluminum.

EDIT, No luck in locating "Lotus Spares".
Source or link?
Would like to take a look at their product.

[GavinT]

I'm a little surprised someone like Banks hasn't found a small scale manufacturer to make a vinyl or ABS version filled with foam like the original.

ABS can be hand formed with low heat but I'm not sure how a dash top might be done.
Vacuum bag?

[EuropaTC]

What are the original bottom layers made of?
Fiberboard would not surprise me and would explain a lot of the durability issues.
I have had very good luck in replacing fiberboard based door cards with aluminum.

EDIT, No luck in locating "Lotus Spares".
Source or link?
Would like to take a look at their product.

I think BDA means "Lotus Supplies", the one related to Richard (Banks Engineering)  https://www.lotus-supplies.com/ ?

I've no doubt that you could fabricate one in Al, but I wouldn't expect it to be easy. The top and front edge looks ok, but the ends where it curves & shapes for the air vents would strike me as a problem to make in a single sheet, I reckon it would be 2 sections welded together.  Personally I'd just get a fibreglass one and cut/carve to fit before covering.

Why no ABS/Vinyl versions ? I think it's purely down to market size, there just ain't enough folks wanting a new dash top for someone to invest in a run of 50 or more, or at least not when they already have a mold to make a fibreglass alternative.

Brian

[Richard48Y]

I will have to get my old one out, this seems an interesting exercise in fabrication.
No longer have CNC machines but soft aluminum can be formed in/over simple wooden bucks.
Foam may be molded similar to fiberglass.
Vinyl is stretched within limits and glued all the time.
Having read what an ordeal replacing the dash pad is I only want to do it once!

EDIT: Found the Lotus Supplies part, https://www.lotus-supplies.com/parts/interiors/trimmed-item/crash-pad-kit-s2-tc-crash-pad-and-black-vinyl-cover/

Anyone used one of these?
If I understand correctly the original had a layer of foam padding molded over a base for attachment. An integral finish molding was formed over the foam.
Seems similar to what I have seen on other British cars such as Triumph Spitfire.

[gideon]

The original is simply stiff foam with a vinyl cover.  No base.  It could be manufactured using expanding foam and a mould.  Probably a two part mould.

[jbcollier]

Unless you are a very, very short, by the time you hit the "crash pad" most of your body will have gone through the windshield.  At which point, a padded dash is an entirely moot point.

[lotusfanatic]

Unless you are a very, very short, by the time you hit the "crash pad" most of your body will have gone through the windshield.  At which point, a padded dash is an entirely moot point.

 

[Richard48Y]

Yes, like many Gov. mandated "Features" it really does nothing but make for a nice appearance.
Most of my cars have steel dashes with no pretense of protecting me from anything.
Two-part foam and some others can be sanded to shape if you are skillful enough.
I think a single side mold might suffice then sand the bottom to fit before covering the top.
Bottom can be sealed after shaping.
May have to buy a plastic part to make the mold.
I wonder which is most accurate?

[TurboFource]

And you have to go through the wheel and get impaled by the column before hitting the pad....

[gideon]

The steering column is designed to collapse before it impales you.  That's why it's made in two pieces with a friction clamp to join them.  The parts manual calls it an "Impact Clamp".

[dakazman]

Paul Matty sports cars co, UK also has dash pads .
Dakazman

[Nisswa Collision]

 The original pad was designed to protect you from the gauges. They were the best option. I went with the fiberglass replacement and bought their vinyl cover for it too. I'm a little unhappy with my attempts to cover the corners at each end. I couldn't find a solution to the double stitched seam making the ends look right. Always a raw edge showing on the vinyl. My fiberglass fit fairly well but I have a carbide-tipped die grinder that made it so. It was a lot of custom finishing to make the dash and fake pad fit together strong. I think I ended up moving the defroster bezel mounting holes 4 times before i got it right and it still ended up with a slight pucker on the right side front edge that matches up with the aluminum VIN plate on the left side. I had my windshield bonded in with black rubber trim about 3/4" wide after the dash was all done. My car had edge trim all around the windshield on the inside when I got it but I first replaced it and then removed it, when I learned it wasn't going to work right. I thought about sending my badly deformed, but original foam dash pad to "Just Dashes" and see if it's one they could restore. You know, they have a video posted on their website that shows their process so completely that a guy could watch it and then do it yourself. They even specify the materials.

[GavinT]

[...] I thought about sending my badly deformed, but original foam dash pad to "Just Dashes" and see if it's one they could restore. You know, they have a video posted on their website that shows their process so completely that a guy could watch it and then do it yourself. They even specify the materials.

This one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi0zbqNau-4