Hello everyone,

The fettling of my Ulster rep is taking a tad longer than expected, as we decided to check out a few more things, as it will be driven with a high degree of mechanical sympathy and enthusiasm, so it needs to stay together. Having striped down the front bodywork, it was a simple enough task to whip the engine and box out and this was really a good idea, as a big end bolt was secured with a split pin! The crank was fortunately in pretty good condition, although the white metal bearings are being replaced, together with hardened exhaust seats, while the corresponding valves have now been machined to all the same size and the camshaft dispatched to Pigsty Racing for re-profiling.

The old aluminium dash is a mess, featuring incorrectly positioned instruments and a rash of randomly placed switches, so a new one is being made to house correct instruments and will be finished in period style. Having looked at many photographs, I'm trying to establish exactly what finish is correct for the dashboard and the tilting bosses for the speedo and rev counter. A photo of one original shows what appears to be a crackle finish dashboard and what looks like a seam in a covering to the angled boss surrounding the rev counter at the 12 o'clock position.

Most replicas I've seen tend to have gloss painted black dashboards, so what would have been the original factory finish and were there optional finishes to confuse the issue? Also, is my assumption that the round switch panel should be painted black?

Any comments and advice would be very much appreciated.

With thanks in anticipation and best regards,

Bill

Location: Saumur, France

Hi, just a quick edit on the above, concerning the crackle finish and alleged covering of the speedo tilting bevels, as I omitted to add that this led us to consider the bevels and possibly dashboard were leather covered.

Is this likely?

Regards,

Bill

Location: Saumur, France

Look up "What is the correct layout for an ulster dashboard"
Rinsey Mills book on the A7
Chris Gould's book on building a reproduction ulster

Location: Channel Islands

Hi Austin in the Shed and thanks for your reply. I'm familiar with the really helpful forum thread on dash layout and unfortunately, I've left my copies of the Rinsey Mills and Chris Gould's essential book at the workshop in the UK, but will get them both checked again, although I'm not sure they give definitive answers.

The seats and dash of an Ulster are really important to achieve the right look and feel. Tony's superb leather seat kit has that one covered, so it's just the dash to finally iron out.

All the best,

Bill

Location: Saumur, France