6/6/04
Continuing With the Dash

Well after over a month away from my Ferrari, I finally got some time to work on her last week! My work schedule seems to have misplaced the time for my “Ferrari Friday,” so it’s been tough finding time.

The dash looks great even partially installed, and I’m sure will look even better when I finish. I had to methodically reinstall each of the gauges, making sure all the wires were hooked up correctly.

As I inspected the gauges before I installed them, I really noticed how badly fogged the lenses were. This had been an issue as far back as 9/29/00 when I had the clock repaired.

Back then, I felt that someday I would have all the gauges cleaned up, but with so much to do four years ago, it was low in the priority list. I had also planned to refurbish the gauges when I got around to re-doing the dash. Now with the dash about to go back in the car, I really had no excuse except for the cost of the repairs!

I decided to take one of the gauges apart to see what was causing the fogged lenses. The front chrome ring is crimped to the gauge with small tabs that need to be carefully pried back enough to separate it from the gauge body. A small screwdriver, patience, and care not to pierce your hand will eventually get the face plate off.

Upon closer inspection, I found two transparent layers in the water temperature gauge, the front lens that was made of glass, and the second one plastic and had silk screened characters on its surface.

Some of the cloudiness was from dust on the front glass, but most of it was on the plastic lens. There seemed to be a haze on the plastic that no amount of cleaner would remove. Fearing the removal of the markings, I began with just a soft cloth and water, but progressed to stronger cleaners with no luck removing the dirt. It seems that something was inside the plastic.

The decision is to get these gauges fixed before I install them. If I can get just the lenses, I will install them myself, but if they have to be sent out, I will do so. I’ll make some calls this week, and let you know how it goes.

Jumping onto the last few interior pieces that still need covering, I began laying out the trim pieces that surround the window frames inside the car. Soon they will be covered, and will be ready to be installed!

Some of the final pieces that need to be worked on are the door sill plates. These soft aluminum pieces get all scratched up when passengers get in and out of the car. Mine are no different, and will have to buffed back to a shine. I’ve heard of people re-anodizing aluminum pieces like these, but was wondering if people have had any success with this process. Are there any other processes that I should research? Any thoughts?

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