Hi folks,

Is it correct that you need to have a 19mm radius on the lower edge of the dash if it is solid?

Less if it is padded? what constitutes a padded dash?

my dash is recessed under the scuttle by about an inch so i have the edge of the scuttle ally facing me when i sit in the seat, what radius does this have to be to be safe 5mm? 19mm?

Cheers

Colin

Good Q Col.

Looking at the SVA manual -

Page 2 section 6 Interior Fittings: (y2k version)

Reasons for failure:

#"3 An instrument panel lower edge has a radius of curvature of less than 19mm (5mm if covered with a non rigid material)"

To me the top edge of your scuttle gets classed as the usual interior projection.

eg: "a, rough sharp edge or projection of over 3.2 mm or more likely to cause injury i.e having a radius of curvature less than 2.5mm"

or

"b, has a projection less than 3.2mm - The height of which is more than half its width having a radius of curvatur less than 2.5mm"

Clear as mud then?

I spent all afternoon looking into getting a new dash panel as the current layout on mine is an SVA failure sheet in itself.

Tried several local engineering shops and the like. Everyone can do the cutting and
top curve but its the 19mm + radius on the bottom that has them sucking air through teeth. "Well over a ton with the radius mate" was the best I got.

I'm gonna have a rummage through the ali pile at my local metal scrapyard. See if I can find some sheet with a round edge already properly set into it and cut the thing from that.

Or buy one from someone - any opinions on the available commercial dash panels?

PS

I managed to scrounge a rummage in the scrap bin at one of the enginering places "take what you want mate - 50p for our T fund sound ok?" er yeah!

Two carrier bags worth of various thickness steel plate plus another with all sorts of lengths and sizes some weird cuts, circles all sorts drilled plate, angle iron, rod, hollow tube etc - for 50p - blinder - try it if you need praccy bits or bracket metal.

ATB

Dave

I wonder how they define padded? what if it was razor sharp with a mm of loose foam on it, so it looked more than 5mm? when i get there i'm definitely gonna do as syd suggests, though it may need to look perminant as they seem to moan about stuff looking like it will 'fall off' tommorow!

19mm radius is huge!

anyway its all hypothetical cos im never gonna finish at this rate...

i bent the bottom of my ally sheet dash round a 1" dia pipe simple!

Theconrodkid - Did you get a tidy finish with that method?

Did you just beat it round or have I got to get the soap and blowtorch out?

ATB

Dave

Whatever you use, these days it's got to look "permanent" How permanent is down to you and your imagination!

Cheers

Chris

sideways,i just bent it with my bare hands,used the soft grade of ally sheet

I've been mentally toying with this one for a while now.

As I intend to extend the centre of the dash down to join the tunnel rolling the bottom, (oo-er!!) is out of the question/beyond my capabilities. My current plan is to fabricate the bottom profile in MDF and then route the 19mm radius onto that, (easy for me to say and hopefully do, as woodwork is one of my other interests). I would then attach this to the dash surface. I may even make the dash from MDF which would simplify the construction.

Just an idea

Mick

My dash is going to ba made of MDF too (12mm) then i also bought some PVC round 25mm conduit which i planned to take a 12mm slice out of and put on the bottom of the dash and then cover the whole thing in some nice brushed black nylon we have at work, ( it has about 1mm of open foam on the back)

Then i realised that the 25mm conduit will not give me a RADIUS of 19mm Doh!

So bought some pipe lagging which i will cover first with the nylon then cover my dash and velcro the lagging onto the dash so it looks permanent enough but may vibrate off later!

Im still stuck on the scuttle edge though.

any other thoughts, ideas or definate failure methods!

col

Mate of mine said that the examier said it is only deemed to be NON RIGID if you cant feel the main dash material through the padding!

bring on the mr blobby style dash!

Col

just an idea, but has anyone experimented with a camping roll mat ??? they dont cost more than a fiver, and you can get em from your local millets / blacks

i was thinking of using evo stick to make a double thickness (theres no way you'll feel the dash behind it) then bond it to the surface of the dash, cover it with vynal to finish

it'll just be a shame when it gets damaged, and i have to replace it with somthing a bit more permanent

conrod...........
you mean like this ??? Not fitted the ally yet tho
Rescued attachment Dash Tube.jpg

Do you think my dash will pass the SVA ???

Any gen ?

dash is a single sheet of ally bent round at bottom,havnt even got tube,ill send a pic morra

mines crap. nowhere near as nice curves as that. Dammit.

quote:

---

Originally posted by theconrodkid
dash is a single sheet of ally bent round at bottom,havnt even got tube,ill send a pic morra

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by JoelP
mines crap. nowhere near as nice curves as that. Dammit.

---

Made the dash from 10mm MDF with bottom edge built up with 2 pieces of 19mm radius wood quadrant glued to the bottom edge. Covering with expanded vinyl from Woolies. Couple of pics in photo archive.

Here's the pics:
Rescued attachment Dash_1.jpg

and again
Rescued attachment Dash_2.jpg

Hey wicket,

I think your fuel gauge is faulty!

David

(Sorry - it's Friday pm)

[Edited on 26/9/03 by David Jenkins]

Guys,am I right then in suggesting if making a dash from say mdf as I had intended it is better to mount onto the front edge of the scuttle instead of mounting the dash behind the outer edge of scuttle because that edge would then be considered solid and require padding as well as dash or have I the wrong end of the stick??Can i cut out mdf dash ,mount it behind scuttle and also what thickness padding are you using behind vinyl-does this also mean the carbon fibre look dashes of MK etc. are NOT sva friendly??
regards Mike

Mike,

I think the thread has managed to confuse you a bit....sorry!

If the dash is solid, ie Mk type Carbon fiber look ones it must have a radiused edge of 19mm, this can be solid too if you want.

The only time the 19mm edge is not required is if the solid dash is padded.

The regs state that in order to be classed as Padded the inspector must not be able to feel the dash material be it MDF, ally or plywood throught the padding using reasonable force with the thumb only.

So in short if you want to avoid the 19mm edge you need to have a pretty well padded dash ie camping mat as mentioned earlier on.

As far as the scuttle is concerned you would be well advised to keep the dash out of the the scuttle to avoid any sharp edges being introduced into the cabin area.

Hope this helps

Hi,yes still abit confused-so it is ok to have a plastic or fibre dash but if you pad say ali/mdf the padding has to be thick enough you cannot feel the panel behind!!
Therefore if i rout the bottom of my mdf dash to 19mm radius (which could be done by adding a second strip of mdf to run across bottom of the back of the dash )I could then bond fake carbon fibre panel onto front and not have to worry about padding??Right or wrong??Mike.

Mike, sounds right to me.

Correcto!