For 1960 MK2, I just purchased what I think is suppose to be the under dash panel for a LHD car. My car when purchased did not have one. It does have the panel that is under the glove box. The under glove box panel is made of thin plywood and is covered with matching vinyl/leather to the car. The left panel I just purchased is made on AL sheet metal. I have not fitted it yet but it does have what appears to be the holes for the clock and odometer set.

So the question, is the Al panel I bought (which I paid dearly for) seems to be home made. Is this the correct material? Does anyone have a photo of the LHD panel installed or uninstalled?




Thanks

jjsandms

 

John Skinner UK can provide exactly what you need. Looks like someone has been fiddling.

https://john-skinner.co.uk/

 

Sorry is this for a Mk2 as you have not said and there is no indication as to what car you have in your signature.
Not something I recognise as coming from an S Type anyway.

 

Sorry this is for a 1960 MK2

jjsandsms

 

I'll see if I can find the corresponding bits from my RHD Mk2 (1962-63) tomorrow, but they may be inaccessible - my collection of spares occupies as much floor area as two cars. I'm sure that they are aluminium covered with some sort of leather cloth on the driver's side .and probably also on the passenger's. The vertical side panels in front of the doors are fibre board.

 

It was all the same on SA built cars and Fibreboard/Hardboard

 

I managed to reach the piece above in my store. I think it goes under the steering column (RHD). As I said, it's aluminium covered with leathercloth. I could see, but not reach, another aluminium panel, which probably fits next to it on the car. Sorry I couldn't provide more, but the interior items are the last that I need access to and there's mechanical and body parts stacked in front of them.

 

Well it looks like my piece is close to what it is suppose to be. I did reach out to John Skinner who returned a photo of a new piece they provide shown below. So it does appear my piece may or may not be original, as it sure looks like it was made. Thanks to all for replying.
jjsandsms

 

Great ~ pleased Skinner could help. All SA built cars had local upholstery but UK wood in the CKD kit ~ 53% by weight had to be local content in phase 2 of our program which is why we built engines here from rough cast blocks & heads. Machining equipment was the latest state of the art for the era & paid for by the SA taxpayer, unlike Browns Lane's ancient stuff from Standard & the Daimler purchase. After that we changed to a value formula. By XJ6 time bodies were pressed here by Steelmobile. As I say above ours were formed hardboard.

 

Jon for Jonathan Skinner is the most helpful chap you could meet. John Skinner was his Dad after whom the company is named.

 

The original MK1 & MK2 under dash panels were made from a black card material which over the 50 to 70 approximate years ends up sagging.
I have replaced numbers of these with 1/8 (3mm) marine grade plywood. I always paint the plywood with clear lacquer or varnish for protection prior to covering.

Those under dash and kick panels were covered in a very thin material which was called "leatherette."
The closest material I have found to match it is book binders finish which is used on hard book covers.

 

I've searched my parts and service books for more info. In Jaguar speak, these are 'scuttle top panels', which is a bit confusing as for most people that's the external body panel in front of the windscreen.

There are one or two on eBay listed under the logical name, under dash panel. Looking at those and looking through a small gap in my pile of spares, I think the passenger side is fibre board as Bill wrote. The driver's side is definitely aluminium. I can see the logic as the driver's is a complicated shape more cheaply formed in ali, while the passenger's is flat. Some of the eBay prices suggest precious metal.

The covering definitely falls in the leatherette/leather cloth category. It's very thin, but strong and nicely pattered. In those days a material of this type called Rexine was popular in the UK car industry. It was excellent for the purpose. However, it disappeared from use due to its flammability and is no longer made.

 

Peter
You are quite correct in the under-dash area on the driver's side being aluminium in a MK2. Mk1s were never that "flash".
Interestingly the idea of using the book binder material came from a visit to a book binder in Malaysia while I was in Singapore.
It is inexpensive and does the job nicely when compared to modern vinyls which are generally very bulky and don't look "right".

 

Bill, I intended to say that I thought the book covering material was an ace idea. I'd vaguely thought of using felt, but it's not original and more difficult to keep clean. Something like 25 years ago, I bought some leather look fabric that's used for clothing; I thought it might be useful for covering parts of car interior. It would have been a little thick for this purpose. Worse still, over five years in a draw, it seriously degraded; the shiny side turned to something like glue.