Dash Cowl Clearance question

[Blitzboy54]

I have been pouring over pictures of my last build but I am wondering if someone has anything definitive. I want (need?) to know how far below the edge of the dash or frame the dash cowl hangs off the body. With my current layout my closest gauge measures 27mm from the top edge. Once I lay on the body how much of that will the edge cover up? Will my gauges as laid out now clear the body cleanly. With 5 inch Tach/Speedo I am using a lot of real estate. I am just looking for something general. I am not ready to test fit the body nor have I decided how I am going to attach my dash. I do have it test fit like my last one where it is sitting just below the corners of the frame as can be seen below.

I appreciate your input.

[Junbug]

Jessie, I used the same carbon dash and have mine dash at roughly the same height as yours. My dash cowl hangs down about 3/4" of an inch directly above my steering shaft hole, and like your picture the top of my CF dash was about even with the top of the square dash support bar. Moving left from the steering shaft hole the dash cowl hangs about 1" down as you get to where the dash meets the door. If my math adds up your 27mm is roughly 1 inch, so as yours currently sits, you'll have about 1/4" between the edge of your fuel gauge and the overhanging cowl. You could drop it a little and still be OK. One other tip is to ensure you can see your gauges once your steering wheel is in place. I shifted my cardboard cutouts around a bit once I had my seat and steering wheel in place.
Lastly, as far as mounting the dash, I went with simple aluminum L-bar sections cut with the back of the L facing the dash and the underside of the square dash bar. I put two rivnuts going into the square dash bar, and one facing forward. This allowed the CF dash to sit flush against the square dash bar. I ended up drilling two holes in the dash, one centered between where your tach and water pump gauges sit, and one centered between your oil pressure gauge and the glovebox. I purchased these for the decorative feel and the color matches my gauge ring chrome. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD1DTZK9...roduct_details

[cv2065]

Yours 'looks' about like mine, except I had 4.5" large gauges, not 5" and 2-5/8" smaller gauges versus the 2-1/16", so it probably all works out about the same. Are your paper templates the size of the hole or the size of the gauge? When level side to side and centered, my dash is flush with the hoop on the passenger side and about 1/8" higher on the driver's side. I left about an inch gap from each gauge bezel to the top of the dash. The middle is where mine drops. All of these are a little different. I still have a little adjustment once the body is on, but I think you're good.

[Blitzboy54]

Jessie, I used the same carbon dash and have mine dash at roughly the same height as yours. My dash cowl hangs down about 3/4" of an inch directly above my steering shaft hole, and like your picture the top of my CF dash was about even with the top of the square dash support bar. Moving left from the steering shaft hole the dash cowl hangs about 1" down as you get to where the dash meets the door. If my math adds up your 27mm is roughly 1 inch, so as yours currently sits, you'll have about 1/4" between the edge of your fuel gauge and the overhanging cowl. You could drop it a little and still be OK. One other tip is to ensure you can see your gauges once your steering wheel is in place. I shifted my cardboard cutouts around a bit once I had my seat and steering wheel in place.
Lastly, as far as mounting the dash, I went with simple aluminum L-bar sections cut with the back of the L facing the dash and the underside of the square dash bar. I put two rivnuts going into the square dash bar, and one facing forward. This allowed the CF dash to sit flush against the square dash bar. I ended up drilling two holes in the dash, one centered between where your tach and water pump gauges sit, and one centered between your oil pressure gauge and the glovebox. I purchased these for the decorative feel and the color matches my gauge ring chrome. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD1DTZK9...roduct_details

Thank you. This is very helpful, I will measure what I have tonight. Do you have a picture of how you mounted your dash by chance? I used a hidden system on my last build but that was upholstered and I covered the screws. I am not sure how to do a hidden bracket with the CF dash, yours seems like a good compromise. My philosophy is if you can't hide it, accentuate it. In which case I would use some thing that stood out.

Yours 'looks' about like mine, except I had 4.5" large gauges, not 5" and 2-5/8" smaller gauges versus the 2-1/16", so it probably all works out about the same. Are your paper templates the size of the hole or the size of the gauge? When level side to side and centered, my dash is flush with the hoop on the passenger side and about 1/8" higher on the driver's side. I left about an inch gap from each gauge bezel to the top of the dash. The middle is where mine drops. All of these are a little different. I still have a little adjustment once the body is on, but I think you're good.

Chris, I agree I think the difference is a wash between the 2 combinations of sizes. My cutouts are the total size of the gauge. Have you test fitted your body yet? If it was marginal I may of considered a different layout. There is always the non traditional approach. For what I want to do the arrangement allows me to include everything in a place that I like it. What is your plan for the headlight switch. Is that going on your dash or under it?

[Jeff Kleiner]

Not sure if this is exactly what you're after or not but maybe it will help. I took these measurements on one a few years ago which show how far over the top edge of the dash the cowl wraps. Note the dash positions on both ends in relation to the intersection of the curved hoop to the square tubes that run forward; in this case the top of the dash was 3/16" below on the LH side and 3/8" below on the RH side. I generally recommend shooting for 3/16"on both but understand that there will be variation from car to car.









Oh, regarding the headlight switch...just don't do like the guy did with one that I have here right now. He must have installed his RT style turn signal lever after putting the headlight switch in the dash and they conflict---if the lights are on you can't signal for a right turn. DOH!

Jeff

[Blitzboy54]

Jeff, that is exactly what I was looking for, thank you. Perfect template for me to work off of. Aye aye on the headlight switch

[Junbug]

Jessie, Here is a pic of my dash as is.

Here is a pic before I dropped the body on. As you can see above, my gauges are very close to the dash lip, but not much I can do now...

Also, here is a pic of the L-brackets I made that hold the dash against the square dash bar. I put rivnuts into the bottom of the square dash bar and secured them in place, then mounted, measured (3 or 4 times) then drilled small holes in the dash, and expanded them to fit the decorative washers.

[rich grsc]

If the gauges clear the dash hoop, it's fine. The body does not overlap the width of the hoop.

[Blitzboy54]

Awesome.... I really appreciate all the pics and responses. Gives me complete peace of mind.

Hey, a message for the new guys around here. This is why this board is just one of the greatest places on the internet. People are always willing to help if they can. I love it here.


Thank you