[Mick O'Malley]

Over the last few days work on the front section of the loom has been progressing. My first task, after donning the customs officer gloves, was to remove both the self-amalgamating tape and the horrible sticky tape wound around each junction and terminus. I replaced the latter with loose-ish cable ties as I went along to preserve the layout.



A couple of weeks ago I was pondering how to shoehorn my dash into the scuttle without its interfering with the gear lever/steering column brace/scuttle brace. I hit on the idea of having a bend in it in a similar fashion to my A352. I made a cardboard template marked with the instrument/switch locations and offered it up with a couple of trial folds before bending the real thing. Once I'd decided I clamped the dash blank to the workbench with a length of inch box packing and, using a block of 8" x 4" wood, bent it to the required angle. It will now sit further to the nearside with the instruments central.

Next job was to fit all the clocks and switches to the dash, reverse it and lie the naked loom along in the correct orientation. I then commenced connecting everything, feeding the cables through the ties to shorten or lengthen them as necessary. I removed the redundant wiper wires whilst I was at it. I then realised that I hadn't made holes for the dipswitch and horn cables so I left sufficient slack in them to feed through. I searched in vain for a voltage stabiliser so bought a solid state one on eBay which arrived this morning. I've also ordered in-line blade fuse holders and a two pin flasher unit. I'll also need a switch, warning light and dash holes for the reversing lamp, as I hadn't originally anticipated fitting one.



The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that there are no earth wires - these will be the last fitments once I'm happy with all the positives. Hopefully, my next update will detail finishing the dash connections prior to moving on to the engine bay. Happy Days!

Regards, Mick