"How to" carbon fiber dash panel for a 2nd gen bird. Anvil, Autometer, Vintage Air...

[NOT A TA]

The first thing you need to know is that this is not a quick project. If you don't have a lot of patience for detailed time consuming work stop reading now, just enjoy the pictures.

For the purpose of these instructions the gauge panel assembly and pieces will be refered to as follows

Bezel: The aluminum trim ring that surrounds the part with the gauge openings.
Facia: The flat part with the gauge holes in it.
Hood: The stamped sheetmetal section that has 3 screws holes where the upper part of the assembly is screwed to the upper dash.
Panel: The Bezel, Facia, and hood attached to each other as an assembly

The first step is to remove the hood from the panel. This is accomplished by filing or grinding off the heads of the rivets holding it to the panel. Don't try drilling them out, it doesn't work well.




Once the hood is detached, remove the 2 screw clips on the bottom of the panel where the screws that come up from the bottom hold the panel in place when installed in the dash. Be very carefull not to bend or twist the bezel which might deform it enough to see from the front after reassembly. I find the clips are most easily removed using a dental pic and small pair of needlenose pliers. PUT THE TWO CLIPS SOMEWHERE YOU WILL NOT LOOSE THEM!

[NOT A TA]

The Bezel has several folded over tabs which hold it to the facia. These tabs need to be VERY GENTLY straightened out. This allows the bezel to be separated from the facia. Remove the bezel and put it in a safe place where it cannot get bent.






Wiggling the individual gauge rings will allow them to be removed from the facia. Also remove the Radial Tuned emblem. Once this is done get a piece of posterboard and lay the facia on it face down. Then put a heavy weight on it to keep it still and hold it flat to the bench.




Use a pencil to draw an outline of the facia and all of the stock openings on the posterboard. It is important to mark all of the openings of the stock controls for reference when aligning things later. The panel does not have any straight lines on the circumference and even openings like the heater control section are not a perfect rectangle. all of the elements of the dash were figured out to make everything seem straight and level from the drivers position. Whoever designed the original dash did a fantastic job and must have put a tremendous amount of thought into the layout and design.