Which dashboard option (to match dark blue leather)

[Chris71]

I'm thinking about changing the dash panel in my Chimaera. The existing unit is very odd. I strongly suspect it was homemade as it's an un-varnished wooden panel, rather than the usual veneer on a metal backing plate. There's nothing wrong with it as such, but I'm really not keen on the look. So, I'm thinking about changing it.

Initially I was thinking of one of the deeper wooden veneers (I think you can get one which is sort of cherry wood?) but now I'm also considering turned aluminium.

The interior is very dark blue (almost black) leather and the exterior is bright yellow. What would you go for?

[Chris71]

deeen said:

Wood looks OK if you want the car to look olde-worlde, goes well with green paint and sand leather, for example.

However, with yellow / dark blue, ally would keep it much more fresh and modern, IMHO. And that carbon dash looks great, never seen that in a Chim before!

This is precisely the logic that made me think about something other than wood.

In general I'm a traditionalist, but I think it's fair to say my Chim is not a traditional example. It's very, very yellow and pretty shortly it's going to be running on some contemporary alloys (not the dubious boy-racer ones in the pics, but still something non-standard). If it was blue with cream leather and a set of pristine Estorils then I'd go straight for the wood. As it is I think I might be a bit more adventurous.

Also, I suspect I might find a huge mass of dark-coloured materials a bit overpowering. A shiny metal dash might contrast nicely and brighten it up a little.

Whatever I go for I need to do a few odd jobs while I'm there:

• Change the stereo head unit (it has a Minidisc unit there at the moment which is annoying!)
• Correct an intermittent fault in the wiring to the heater control LEDs
• Stick a decent bulb in to illuminate the speedo - as it is I don't know how fast I'm going at night (honestly officer)

Oh, speaking of stereo matters (going a bit O/T...) am I likely to need to get to the back of the head unit again if I change the speakers? I'm just trying to think of any up-coming jobs I might want to do while the dash was out.

[Chris71]

900T-R said:

Chris71 said:

Oh, speaking of stereo matters (going a bit O/T...) am I likely to need to get to the back of the head unit again if I change the speakers? I'm just trying to think of any up-coming jobs I might want to do while the dash was out.

Only if you wanted to upgrade the speaker wiring. Mine came with the correct spade connectors for any run-of-the-mill aftermarket speakers you may install at the door end, so being the lazy barsteweard I am I left well enough alone.

Thing is you will likely end up with 5 1/4" speakers as no one seems to make the true 16 cm speakers the car orginally came with anymore, and anything with an outer circumference greater than 165 mm dia (grills included) will pose an installation challenge...

Just as you can't get Bridgestone tyres to replace the OE front Bridgestones the car came with anymore, you can't get Pioneer speakers to replace the OE Pioneers, these days... how's that for OE supplier support...

It's already on non-standard speakers. The thing is they come from the same school of aesthetics as the giant bling alloys and the kick plates. They work perfectly well, but I'm thinking of changing them for something a bit more discrete. That said it may just be a surround, maybe I can exchange it for the usual black mesh sort of surround on the same speaker?



You can't really see the dashboard material in that pic, but, trust me, it looks like someone's butchered a 1980s flat pack cabinet.

I also need to change the kick plates - does anyone know what's involved in doing this? As I understand it they're glued on; do you need to slice the top layer of paint off to get them flush or anything?

Many (small-ish) jobs on the to-do list in the new year!

Edited by Chris71 on Tuesday 28th December 13:40

[Chris71]

Lord Candleford said:

I consider the carbon fibre'dodgy' stick on stuff looks great!

This is a very practical solution to the known problem of wooden dashes splitting. Let's remember, TVRs are all about fun and bringing a smile every time we jump behind the wheel of our pride and joy.

True, but mine no longer has the original metal-backed dash strip - it's just a strip of wood.

Continuing to ponder. If it was a more traditional car overall with cream leather and so on I'd look to maintain that, but it's always going to be a slightly extrovert choice.

[Chris71]

900T-R said:

It also looks like someone has inserted a bigger speaker than the stock 16 cm ones already (do you have a pic up close? Depending on how clean the install is I might want to emulate it) - in which case the Pioneer TS-E 1702is (as opposed to the normal 'i' version) would deserve a closer look. Discrete aesthetics and supposedly good enough for some to use it as a main speaker for SQ competition installs - all for seventy/eighty smackers or so! Unfortunately their grills are a whopping 2 cm (outside diameter) bigger than the original Pioneers...

It's not an especially neat install when you look closer. The speakers mount on what appears to be a 155mm pcd (7" total diameter), but they're not flush all the way round. You can't see it on casual inspection, but the leading edge (towards the hinges) actually protrudes away from the door.







On the upside, that nasty chrome grill type thing appears to be detacable. Presumably they're a standard fit and I'll be able to swap them for the usual black net type cover?