Christopher Neil Sports Cars had my order - for lots of parts - for a couple of months. But one thing was holding it up - the dash. So Ian said to me one day "why don't you let me do it".
I went to Riter and we pulled the dash out of the pile of old stuff that is (was) my Lotus. I had to get all the stuff off it, in an orderly, retrievable, restorable way, so that Ian had a pattern to go by.
First, Ian used a high-resolution camera to take a picture of the old dash then he digitized it. From this he used his computer-controlled cutter to do a plywood test dash.
He sent me the drawing with the admonishment "be sure about the holes", so I marked them for sure. We eliminated the choke and a rogue toggle switch. Ian had also added a new button on the bottom. I don't know why he felt a need for that.
Gosh, what a difference! It is gorgeous.
It is a teak veneer; Ian cut & applied the vinyl letters then they varnished and sanded till everything was super smooth. The backs of the switches have a tidy extra layer of veneer to accomodate different thickness.
In 1978, after proudly owning the car for a week, I got backed into by a very large station wagon which then went on its way. Unknowingly as far as I know. I had the bumper straightened and re-chromed, but the passing years (and sitting) have made it rather old. This time I want to make absolutely sure that it is properly straightened (I think it is a little bit splayed) and well chromed. And chrome is expensive!!.
Here's a good example of the type of fixup needed. Seatbelt brackets bolt onto the body - they were cleaned, sand-blasted, glass blasted then painted with eopxy paint before being remounted.
