Well, the time appears to have come for doing the dashboard covering,unfortunately, i'm being a picky bast@rd - i don't really like the idea
of a vinyl/leather dash, but i equally dislike the idea of a radius on it.
On thinking about it, i came to wondering about making a padded dash, but with thin alu sheet on the front, rather than something sensible. 
made in the style of
blah
1) would it work? i figure the only real problem would be it getting a beating from knees
2) would Mr. SVA pass it?
Cheers
Mr SVA would not like it... needs to be 19mm radius IIRC
It's done for a porpoise you know to stop you rkness getting a battering...
Good to see/hear you again (?) 
i thought the rules was padded like a bast@rd or radiused?
my knees aren't the problem, more like my shins.
hehe, it's good to be back, for a while i nearly had something better to do 
[Edited on 11/5/05 by Staple balls]
Hello again local!
The rules are that is must have a 19mm rad minimum.
I have exactly the same view as you, hence my question below! I hate padded dashes, ok in a Rolls Royce but not in a 7!
I think I am going to try and beat the radius onto an ally sheet dash.
I that's not successful then I will get some carbon fibre matting from CFS and try moulding a dash in line with one of the replies to my question
below.
[Edited on 11/5/05 by NS Dev]
having had looked a bit more, i've taken the option of going for a padded leather dash
it'll pass the sva and accidentally be somehow replaced with a decent dash shortly after
edit: ooh, just noticed you're around here, whereabouts are you? i'm in enderby
[Edited on 11/5/05 by Staple balls]
we've had the location conversation before a long time ago!
I am about 4 miles away then, I am in Barwell!
hehe, i thought we might've, but i couldn't remember 
As I understand it if you have a padded dash the radius requirement reduces to 5mm. an unpadded dash needs 19mm.
Not sure however if padding with aluminium in front counts. I'm not sure I would risk it for SVA. Why not put a temporary padding on to get
past then remove it afterwards.
Chris.
Just been looking in the SVA Manual.
It seems that you must have a 19mm radius only if its a solid dash. 5mm radius if covered in with a non-ridged material (i.e. padded)
The definition of "a non-ridged material" is as follows:
A "non-ridged material" is a material which has a hardness of less than 50 shore A. For the purposes of this examination it will be deemed
to be a material which is capable of depression under thumb pressure and when deformed retains a degree of protection agains contact with any
structure which it is covering and when released returns to its original form. (So aluminium on top of foam would be out unless it was only a very
thin flexible foil!)
So guys, I read this as solid dashes are ok but needs 19mm radius at the bottom, or, if padded 5mm is ok.
I don't like padded dash's so I am going to mount an aluminium cross tube (40mm o/d) under the dash, and have a flat carbon panel above.
Cheers
Mike
By the way chaps. If anyone wants to do a similar thing to me I have a couple of spare lengths of 40mm o/d aluminium tube 1.6m long 3mm wall thickness
available at £25.00 each plus postage if anyone wants one.
Cheers again
Mike
[Edited on 11/5/05 by Mike S]
Does the whole dash need to be padded? I have a luego dash, its not got a radiused edge, at Stoneleigh, they just had a strip of rubber covering the
bottom of it, would this be ok? or do i need to start making a replacement?
Cheers
David
Is it exactly 40mm OD.?I need a short length of 40mm od to make a manifold for my throttle bodys, but have been unable to get any aluminium at 40mm od
as told its not a standard size.
If so do you have any offcuts ? i need 4 pieces about 100 mm long, i think 1.6 metres is a bit excessive for my requirements.
Paul.
quote:
Originally posted by Mike S
By the way chaps. If anyone wants to do a similar thing to me I have a couple of spare lengths of 40mm o/d aluminium tube 1.6m long 3mm wall thickness available at £25.00 each plus postage if anyone wants one.
Cheers again
Mike
[Edited on 11/5/05 by Mike S]
Paul
The tube is exactly 40mm O/D, 3mm wall thickness, just been and checked it with digital calipers!
I have a piece which is the remainder of the tube that I have used for my dash.
It's about 650mm long so should be more than enough for your purposes.
Take your point about the longer length being a little excesive for your requirements. Had the same problem, to get what I wanted at 1.2m I had to buy
a full 5m length (hence the spare bits)
If you are interested then send me an Email to mikeshaws4c@aol.com with your address and contact info.
Don't know what postage would be on this, but what if we say a tenner all inclusive?
Regards
Mike
[Edited on 19/5/05 by Mike S]
You need to find a metal supermarket near you ! they do absolutley any length you like of any of the common metals and always have a great selection in stock. I seem to be in there every week as I progress, I got some 40mm OD ali tube to weld on to radius my dash bottom, few quid for 0.5m.
that's the cov one you're talking about then!!
I go there a bit, got my ally tube for throttle body manifold there too!!