Topic

Having read the How To's on binnacle repair the first thing that stands out is how great a job people have done on this but the second is how much is involved and therefore how long it takes.

Is there any advice on a quick and dirty temporary fix that will just stop the curved edge (front of car end) of the binacle rattling over every bump ? Doesn't matter if it leaves visible clips, screws or adhesive tape showing: the binacle has some damage on one side of the curved edge so will have to be replaced or repaired properly when there's time.
For now I just want to silence the rattle quickly- I've spent much more time working on the car than driving it since I've had it so just want to drive it for a bit without the rattle as a soundtrack.
For instance the repairs described all seem to focus on keeping it as a detachable part but it strikes me that it's not a part that anyone would actually need to remove. Unless I'm missing something it may as well have been part of a large one piece dash moulding and was only made as a separate piece for ease of manufacture, not because it would ever need to be separately removed. As such, can it be permanently sealed to the dash or is there a strong reason to avoid this ?

I had used sugu which is like a mouldable rubberise plastic which starts soft but hardens up. I attached inside the binnacle and stopped the rattle also have seen Tiger seal (seam sealer) used which was effective.

All the clips on the rounded (windscreen) end are long gone which means that once the screws around the instruments are removed the dome can be lifted away. If that weren’t the case I would be inclined to brake them as I have no idea what sort of prehensile appendage you require to access the multiplug & Speedo cable (Mk1 f). To overcome the attendant clatter caused by the lack of fixtures, I pushed out & recovered the original screws, which was one source of noise dispensed with, I then inserted M3 nutserts, held by my favourite adhesive, into which I screws an M3 screw, well who would believe it! I then made rubber washers with eccentric holes, which cold be adjusted to take up any slack & silence. For me at any rate.

A quick addendum. “Nutserts & rivinut” I use interchangeable & the original fixings can be retrieved by poking a magnet on a flexible rod down the heater trunking accessed by popping out the central vent.

Quick addendum number 2.
There’s a lot of space under there & I find it a useful place to tuck my supplementary electronics, the space behind the centre air vents is another useful hiding place. Changing a dash lamp would remain undone if I couldn’t remove what I consider to be a cover.

I split some 6mm PVC tube along one side and eased it over the edge. With a bit of paint, it was a good fix.

Did you use the 6mm tubing in conjunction with repairing the brackets / adding the fixings or did the tubing stop the rattle on it's own ?

That’s an interesting idea as you can buy some neat edgings of eBay, which I’ve used on other jobs. I’ve had some 6x4 mm C section with adhesive in the inside of the section & it’s tidied edges up really well. It’s the sort of stuff that find applications where you never considered there was a need.
On another note, a few days ago I said that I wouldn’t be posting, however the more observant of you will have noticed that I’ve been as verbose as usual. Instead of walking the byways & field paths of Hertfordshire I managed to get a tummy bug which has laid me low, the only walking/dashing I’ve been doing has been between my bunk & the bog & that view is somewhat tiring by now. As usual you are all good company when I can’t reach my spanner’s

With the dome/cowl lifted off i can see the sharp ends of the 3 screws holding the remains of the plastic tabs that at one time secured the curved front edge of the cowl down to the dash. Does anyone know how these screws can be removed please as the heads don't seem to be accessible from underneath from what I've been able to see

Can I refer you to my first addendum from earlier on. First poke them out with a pin punch, then when you hear them rattle into the heating duct, pop out the central vent, a paint scraper under the lower edge is ideal & it can be lifted out. I have a (and here’s one for Cobber to mangle) long flexible pearl catcher, into which I attach a magnet, that can then be fed into the trunking & providing the screws haven’t gone too far around you will be able to retrieve them. It’s a long time since I did this & the memory fades, you might have to pop the off side vent out to collect any stragglers. QED
One thing to note as you have the off side vent out is the clear view you have of the OBD port, I’ve reposition mine by making an extension, but prior to that, rather than root around in the fuse box, I’d pop the vent out & plug in via that, a couple of seconds as opposed to a couple of minutes of contortions.

Thanks. Il remove the vent and try that now. I don't have any rivnuts to bond in. Were you using them and the m3 screws as buffers / standoffs to stop the cowl clattering or did you attach them to the cowl to tie it down ? I'm trying to visualise what you did

The tubing was enough to prevent rattles.