More dash and centre tunnel

 Looks like I missed a few photos again, but this week has been filing, sanding, shaping and painting. Oh, and 3D printing and drilling and all sorts of stuff. So by lunchtime I had a dash;

I'm really happy with the shape, as well as the bolts along the top which I think has worked really well. Going for more rather than less has kept the same 'aircraft fixing' kind of design. The only doubt I have with this now is the bottom edge. Even if I make metal fixings to keep the fibreglass attached to the body, it won't actually be any stronger. 

But the multiple fixings idea did give me an option, I could simply screw through the front to the back and add a nut. I think I'll need to consult the LCB collective now that I have it complete. 

Well, I say complete... it still needs leather on it. 

But on to other things, the centre console. I needed to trim the middle section of the centre console, an hour or so with a dremel, file and sandpaper got me a good line front and back. Then I could start work on the other sections. I think I got the join pretty good to be honest;

Although using a 123 block to hold things in place was really stupid because I now have two marks on the lid!! More on that later though.

Getting the two sides matching was just a test of patience, but the result is really good;

And since I had already removed more of the plastic, I carried on;

I need to do the front section but it is quite tiring so I finished up for tonight.

Oh, the scratches. I'm starting to think the raw aluminium is not going to last. Even with my best efforts I've picked up a few dings and scratches, and I'm not going to be able to reproduce the matt sheen of brand new aluminium. At some point I'm going to have to polish every panel to remove the marks, and it just won't be the same again. But then I do want a weathered look to the aluminium, so perhaps some oxidation and damage would tie in with the whole 'used rally' look. 

So I'm not going to do anything with the metal yet, but then I'm also not going to throw spanners around in there. 

Next job will be a shroud for the handbrake, it'll be an aluminium sheet bent into a very narrow U, then it can be bolted using the same fixings as the handbrake itself. I did notice the handbrake itself has an 'edge', so I might take it back off and fix that as well. Alternatively I could reuse the handbrake shroud if I still have it? In fact I will take a look for that now.

Roll on Sunday and another full day of mechanicing...