Help needed on instr & toggle placement | MG TD TF 1500

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MG TD TF 1500 - Help needed on instr & toggle placement

Good evening gentlemen:

Enclosed is a picture of the walnut dash with tach and speedo in place. We were able to build a steel collar for the backside of the dash so that the two big gauges sit on the collar and fit into the holes - a little like the way 120/140/150 Jag dashes look.

Here's my concern: There's enough room inside the scuttle for both oil pressure and boost gauges to sit the way I've positioned them, but I also want to make room for at least three toggles: heater, driving lights, and signal lights. For the heater and light switches, I'd like to get those black plastic toggles like MKII and Series I E-Jags use, but I'm not sure that there's room underneath the aluminum plate in the way that I've arranged them. For the signal switch, I was hoping to find one of those long overdrive-type switches from a MK II.

So four questions:

i] What advice do you have for instrument and toggle placement?
ii] Do you know where I could get a pair of those flat-bladed black plastic Jaguar toggles?
iii] Do you know of any really elegant [and matching] way to get a left-off-right 3-position signal light switch on to the dash?
iv] I thought that I'd balance the toggles on the other side with two or three more - I'd like to label them something silly like MAG LEFT and MAG RIGHT - these could be wired through the ignition so that the two or three of them would have to be in the correct position for current to flow. I plan on driving this thing a lot, and I'd like to have some measure of ignition lockout, even if it only slows the bad guys down for 30 seconds, maybe it's worth it.

As always, thanks for the advice,
Dave Jorgensen

Dave Jorgensen

Dave: The best place for Lucas type toggles is searching ebay, especially ebay.uk. I've lots from there. Or, you can order from Tim Hodgekiss here:

http://www.vintagemotorspares.com/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/hodge?opendocument&part=4

As for placement, I use a Lucas chrome under dash panel that is screwed up into the inner dash. See the pic below. I opted for push/pull types, but toggles work too.

Cheers

Larry

Larry Karpman

Dave , I'm not sure about the rest of your issues but the signal switch should be pretty easy. Just get the same set up that I had on my 63 Sprite. I've got one in the shop but I believe the lever is broken. I have something similar to Larry's on my TF although not as elegant. It a black plastic affair that I mounted under the dash. It has a switch for the heater, a push/pull for the water to the heaterand two unused toggles of which one will some day be wired to either the ignition or the fuel pump. The toggle switch's themselves you can probably pick up at a Radio Shack type store although some genuine old stock Lucas would look more appropriate.

LaVerne

LED DOWNEY

The p/o added two fog light switches and the turn signal switch to a metal panel to the left of the speedo...I changed it to a polished aluminum one... these are old rally toggles that you can switch without letting go of the wheel (have never found any duplicates)

gblawson (gordon)- TD#27667

Dave,

Nice job on preparing your layout. I am mulling over the same thing, perhaps taking months longer than I should. I now have the boost gauge positioned where you have it. I also have an oil temp gauge, but have not yet installed it.

What I would like to do is reposition the boost and the oil temp gauges to the center panel, having all four small instruments located there. If I remember correctly, the late Skip Kelsey had this arrangement on his TD and it looked pretty nice. I believe the best way to accommodate this would be to position the ignition switch off to the side of the speedo, where you have the boost gauge in your photo. The horn push would need to be on a separate backet, somewhere. That is the part I am struggling with.

Tom

Tom Balutis

Dave, I dont have as many switches, etc. as you plan but here is a photo of my layout.