Dashboard / Steering Column

There is a fair amount of work to do to get the dashboard in place. The holes that AK have marked up aren't particularly accurate so I set about lining up the dashboard and marking where the fixings were going to fit through the body. These fixings have large penny washers and butterfly wingnuts on the inside so there is a certain amount of tolerance which allows you to make the holes slightly larger. All of the fixings go at different angles so it wasn't straightforward to fit, however I found drilling the holes for the outer two fixings first seemed to work best. There was also some trimming required at the top of the dashboard to stop it from fouling on the body. I will tackle the holes for the switches and dials at a later date however I did want to sort out the access for the steering column.

I refitted the steering column (BMW E34) which we purchased from AK. AK had temporarily fitted these to allow us to manoeuvre our rolling chassis's easier on collection. This meant that AK had already removed the lefthand side mounting arm on the steering column. We had purchased BMW boss kits and also a really nice Moto-Lita style steering wheel from Jon at AK, he has these specially made to fit the AK's. This steering wheel won't pass IVA so we will fit something else to start with. I offered up the steering column to get an idea of what area I needed to cutting away on the dash. There are some markings that AK make for this and they were reasonably accurate. I gradually opened up the area until the steering column fitted in place. I was then able to more accurately mark out the area to accommodate the plastic fitting which fits around the steering column. I still need to take a slight amount off the dash around the top section of the steering column however it fits fairly well. 

There is a metal bracket with a plastic collar inside it (purchased from AK) which needs to be located the other side of the footwell to allow the spline section of the steering column to fit through. The plastic collar needs prising apart to get it over the column, I also found the metal bracket didn't fit and therefore I had to file a small amount off. This bracket has fixings top and bottom and to say this is hard to fit is an understatement, the top nut inside the footwell is almost impossible to do up. I did eventually manage it with the help of my Dad! With the steering column now in place I straightened up the wheels, added the steering wheel and all works as expected...