S4 & Sprint Crashpad (Dash pad) mounting

[pharriso]

I've always been unhappy about the way my crash pad sits in the car:

significant gap either end....

Reading up here & Buckland et al I have only ever read that the crash pad is glued to the scuttle & the vertical flange trapped between the dash & the scuttle. I tried gluing mine down again, but largely due to the dash flange being removed at some point that was unsuccessful.

I believe my dash pad to be an original which was covered in vinyl during restoration. Maybe the flange was cracked / damaged & removed during restoration? As I have the dash out to replace the heater I took the crash pad out & have discovered what appears to be a mounting hole either side, with corresponding holes in the scuttle:

3/16 hole through pad from underside

After peeling back the vinyl on the top face it looks like there was a washer with a through fastener to hold the dash down either end.

Hole from top face

Has anyone else seen anything similar?

I'd like to confirm this as original & then replicate the fastener, which looks to have been a 3/16 countersunk screw, possibly with a countersunk trim washer like

washers-type-countersunk-washers.jpg (20.41 KiB) Viewed 1498 times

I have a new Matty Crash which I will cover with vinyl before mounting in the car.

Crash pads R US...

I may well have a go at creating a flange & add it to the original dash in a quiet period (do they exist )

[oldelanman]

Is your car a DHC ? My S4 DHC has a tenax fastener at each end of the crashpad to secure the front of the tonneau cover ..could that be what's missing from yours? There are also tenax securing the demisters grilles and on top rear of the front wings.

[pharriso]

Is your car a DHC ?

It is indeed.

My S4 DHC has a tenax fastener at each end of the crashpad to secure the front of the tonneau cover ..could that be what's missing from yours?

That makes perfect sense!

There are also tenax securing the demisters grilles and on top rear of the front wings.

Yes I have those.

Thanks Roger, I'll just add 2 Tenax (as you call them...).

Love this forum!

[elanner]

Phil,

My crash pad is a slightly dented, poorly fitting, fibreglass replacement. When my dashboard was out I spent some time trying to improve the fit, but with little success. I decided that gluing it down wouldn't improve things and would make any future attempt to work on it even more difficult. So it's simply held down by the Tenax and heater vent fasteners and the flanges. This is not perfect but has been adequate - however, it's important to put felt anywhere under and around the pad that could squeak/rattle against the windscreen/body.

With typical bad timing I only managed to acquire a new crash pad sometime after I had fitted the new dash, so one day I'll get the dash out again to fit it. I'm glad I didn't glue the current one down.....

Nick

[Craven]

Easier said than done if the dash & windscreen is in place, original fitments are of the type in pic.
This requires a nut on the underside; I fitted rivnuts to the scuttle so they can be fitted from the top.
FWIW

shopping.jpg (14.6 KiB) Viewed 1438 times

[pharriso]

I have completed the installation of the crashpad in my Federal Sprint. I'm pleased with the outcome, but I have to say it was one of the most frustrating jobs I have ever done on an Elan.

I started off with one of Paul Matty's crashpads:

New CrashPad on the right...

This was one of the discounted crashpads sold by Matty - note the distortion around one of the vents. I was going to recover the part, so this does not show.

The Crashpad does not have any foam like the original, so to give the pad thickness I glued a 1/2" sheet of scrim (foam with fabric on one side) to the underneath of the crashpad.

I then attached the crashpad to the glass fibre of the car with large strips of velcro & then attempted to install the dash. When I did this I found the top mount holes for the dash were 1/4" too low. I had to remove the dash & add 1/4" pads of plywood to raise the crashpad up.... Even then aligning the 6 holes in the dash with the bottom bracket & Glass fibre dash mounting was difficult.

Anyway, it is in now & I am pleased with the outcome:

Just be aware that if you are going to fit one of the Matty Crash pads it's not a quick install & that you need at least 3/4" of foam or padding under it.