603 Dash veneer

[will7262]

My restoration is coming into its last phase at last.
New carppets made an uholstery reoaired and connlised.

I now need to get the veneered dash wood removed as the clear coat is badly cracked.

Now this is not a jobe I wish or can undertake so I got Bristol to quote me.
£4,100 plus VAT split £1,300 to remove dash, £500 for dash work and £1,300 to put back.....so the best part of £5,000 was their quote.
Now I know these are expensive cars but fee this is just plain excessive and certainly not a figure I can afford.

Now I am sure lots of you must have had your dashes done and so would appreciate knowing by whom and what sort of cost.

Thanks you in advance

Will

[mjolner]

rolls bentley wood repairs are a good contact 01514270220
will get more info monday ken j

[sv8predator]

Classical Dash - exquisite veneered automotive & aviation wood trim

[peter dowdle]

try these people

Wooden Dashboard Restoration | Chapman and Cliff | Our Price List

[Kevin H]

£5,000 to re-veneer a dash?

You can get a whole car for that

Having done some work on my 411 dash I can say that it is incredibly fiddly and time consuming removing and replacing the instruments, labeling all the wiring and putting it back together.

However, if you're prepared to do the time consuming stuff yourself, a good cabinet maker should be able to reveneer and varnish it for you for a fraction of the price.

If you want to pay someone to do the whole lot, any decent car restorer could do it for you. There's nothing particularly complex or proprietary about it.

[will7262]

Gentlemen

Thank you for your replies and apologies for the spelling in my post...no spell check on this thing.

My problem is getting the dash out and back in is the problem due to my spinal arthritis.

Getting the veneer re-done as you point out is not an issue and there are plenty of firms who can undertake this work.

My question is does anybody have experience of someone or a company in the UK taking the dash out and putting it back in or have you all done this yourselves?

Regards

Will

[Geoff Kingston]

I acquired a 603 where all the dash panels and instruments had been removed for refurbishment and all the lables on the wires saying what went where faded, salvation came in the form of another incomplete badly damaged 603 with all the dash and instruments still in place, this one had seen some weather as well so not all the screws holding things in place came out easily but any good mechanic should be able to do this for you for a lot less than you have been quoted. I stripped the spares car myself and refitted the dash and instruments to the other 603, in both cases this required removal of the steering wheel, this is achived by carefully easing off the centre cover removing the screws to its retainer and the large nut retaining the steering wheel. Then the covers over the indicator and cruise control switches have to be removed and the switches themselves slackened off as you need room to gently pull forward and lower the instrument panel to remove the instruments. Prior to pulling this forward you need to release the control end of the trip recorder cable from the small panel below and to the left of the steering. The only panel I found awkward because it was a very tight fit was that immediatly above the transmission tunnel, to fit this the tunnel cover and selector surround panel I already had fitted had to come off again but the lower dash does differ in design on the 603's so you may not have that problem.
One way I found to overcome the lable issue was remove switches one at a time and reconnect to the appropriate wires, the same approach can be used on the instruments though some warning lights have to be left suspended as they slot into the lense covers in the dash panels.
The eyeball air vents are retained by long screws covered by spacers which drop out easily which is another thing I found out the hard way and the under dash covers above the foot wells have to be off to help get at everything. Very important to make certain the speedo drive cable is fully home as well otherwise it is a fiddle to get at without pulling things apart.

[will7262]

Geoff
Thank you for that very good description of what is needed.....hopefully I can pass this on to whomever I can find to do this job.
Did you record in photo any of this exercise?

Regards
Will

[Geoff Kingston]

Will,
Sadly no photographs except before and after, basically having the two cars together I took all the panels off refitting switches and instrument to the wires as I went and then used this as a reference when putting everything back on the other car, even then not everything was identical colour wise and a bit of careful study was needed to make the right connections.
Taking photographs as things come apart will help a lot as will refitting the screws to the dashboard frame in the position they came off, then you know you have the right length screw in each panel in their correct position.
All the originals are cross head, because the spares car had been exposed to the weather not all were reusable and as some of the other cars original ones were also a bit rusty I used slotted head replacements which needed extream concentration when tightening them up to make sure the screw driver didn't slipand mark the restored dash that came with the car.
Some of the switches are mounted to the backs of the panels with small screws,I seem to recall one or two had wood spacing blocks which are best taken off before you send the dash to be done, unless the glue is still strong, they could be marked to confim positions.
Depending on the layout of the lower dashboard , I think from memory it is the heating/air conditioning controls also have metal backing plates behind the retaing rings, whoever took them off on my car has the presence of mind eo mark their backs with top and bottom. left and right.
The job is time consuming and at times a bit fiddly but I never realised it was worth £2600! I must have been in the wrong job!
Regards.
Geoff.

[Kevin H]

Will,

...no spell check on this thing.

On what "thing"? (your browser?)

You can find a wiring diagram for the 603 on this site in the Resources section of this site here Resources - 603 (E & S) - Bristol Cars - Owners and Enthusiasts Forum

[will7262]

Thanks for that but sadly I am colour blind so dealing with colour coded electric wires is just not on.
Cheers
Will

[will7262]

Gentlemen

She is booked into American Car Care Services in January for dash work and a new AC compressor etc. all at a price I can make sense of.

Thanks for all the advice.

Cheers

Will