Ever refitted your wood effect dash to your S3?

[sleeptalker]

Hiya

Having removed the 'wood' dash and centre console from my S3 last weekend, I plan to clean up the parts (down to bare metal - removing the flaking veneer as I go) using Nitromores Varnish remover and some sandpaper, and then have a go at sticking on some wood-effect fablon I saw recommended on here. Got a roll of Mahogany effect which looks nice from ebay for a fiver.

Before I do this however I have a couple of questions I thought some of you may be able to help me with:

1 - How do I refit the long dash panel and secure the heater control unit in the centre? It seems that its fitted and secured from BEHIND the panel so I can't see any way of securing it and the pully cables without seriously bending the dash (again!) in the process? I've tried and there's no way I reach behind the dash and tighten those 2 clamp/nut assemblies?

2 - I'd really prefer to have a proper wood veneer applied to the panels but am hesitant to fork out the money due to the bending and twisting I think the dash will need to go through to get the heater control back into place and secured. Did anyone else have this problem?

I'd really appreciate some guidance on this problem as it's keeping me awake at night at the mo! ;0)

Cheers all as ever!

[PompeyTim]

I had the same issue with the heater controls when I did mine. In the end I disconnected the temperature control cable within the engine bay so that I could pull the control lever assembly back into the cockpit by (from memory) 6 to 8 inches. This gave me enough slack to get the nuts on & secured.

I had both of my panels veneered by London Carriage Craft, and whilst not the cheapest option the quality is absolutely stunning. I'd highly recommend their work

Oh, if it's any consolation, I found refitting much easier than removal!

[ketvrin]

If you are simply after a tidy looking dash and dont need it to look original (to your car) and keeping the cost way low, then consider covering the panel with more Leather/ambla to match or contrast the colour already fitted to your dash. Many S3's including mine have this as an alternative to the difficult-to-get-right veneer. It is much easier to keep in good nick and does not detract from the look of the dash if well done... (IMHO of course)

K

[sleeptalker]

PompeyTim - I get the idea about getting more slack (good idea!)- but how did you then get the rear clamps on the heater into place on the rear side of the main dashboard so they pulled the unit toward the engine side of the car?

[PompeyTim]

Not sure if I'm understanding exactly what you mean, but lit sounds like you may well have a slightly different set up to mine.

My car has the later design which has only the 2 sliders protruding through the dash panel and the laser cut triangular apertures to denote up/down and circles for hot/cold. The slider mechanism was attached directly onto 2 studs (M3 / M4?) on the rear of the veneered dash panel. There was no direct attachment to the fibreglass on which the dash panel mounts.

[sleeptalker]

Ah yes your's is indeed different to mine.

Mine is the same as this one:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[V8S]

Do you have a link to the thread or the supplier of the veneer stuff you bought?

[sleeptalker]

Yes here you go:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

It worked quite well (i'll post some pics later) only snag is I still haven't reseated the heater control (as I can't work out how to!) so it's sitting loose in the hole in the dash, and the dials were a tight fit in the panel due to the small fold-backs I did of the veneer through to the rear of the dash panel. As a result they've 'lifted' the veneer ever so slightly around the rim of the hole but it's not too bad and I may hide by adding some outer rings to the dials if such things exist?

Worth doing though and for now has saved me hundreds in 'proper' veneer costs. Took about 4 days work (2 weekends) and despite cuts, swearing etc. was worth it.

Let's see how long it lasts!

A