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Alloy Dash Mask
Brighten up your dash with a bit of alloy

This modification shows you how to make your dash (1998-2003) the same as the Sport 350's, by adding a aluminium mask. This will brighten up the fascia and give a modern feel to your interior. Add this to an Alloy Gear Surround, Alloy Gearknob and Alloy Handbrake sleeve and you won't know if you're in a Sport 350 or the latest V8.

 

You will need the following parts:

Alloy Dash Mask from LEW shop £40

You will need the following tools:

5mm Allen key
philips drive screwdriver
10mm socket with extension
silicon sealant or PTFE tape.

 

Remove two 5mm Allen bolts marked A. (pic1), Lift and slide off top of binnacle towards rear of car. Remove two cross head screws at either side marked B. (pic2)

 

Remove two 10mm bolts marked C. After doing this remove connections to dials only and the associated illumination bulbs from their holders. Do NOT remove warning light bulbs marked D and E. If you do this will only add to the time on this install and you have to mark out where all the bulbs go to. If you place the bulbs in the wrong holes you will end up with incorrect warnings being illuminated on the mask. To remove the dials from the mask unscrew the collar marked F (pic 4). You now have enough room to lift out the dash and able to work on. Lay the new brushed stainless steel mask over the dash and install in reverse order. Tip, the plastic collars need to be positioned at the rear of the dash first before refitting each dial as there isn’t enough room for the dials to be fixed first then collars screw after.

 

Before and After. It should take you around 30 min to complete this modification.Note:- this time has been reduced from 1hr 30 min due to not removing all the warning lights. It makes this mod more attractive to perform now!

Additional Tip:
The locking rings for the Speedo and Rev counter are indeed a very loose fit, wrapping the screw thread around the case with PTFE tape first will aid a better fit. I actually pushed one edge of the collar to cause a cross-thread which made a tight fit. Not sure this is a method I should recommend but it worked for me! You could try silicone perhaps.

LEW's Verdict

As it's only for cosmetic purposes, the change isn’t big but I think it's a marked improvement as we're a fan of the Sport 350's interior. It’s an easy modification to do and now they are available at a fraction of the Lotus price, it’s now makes even more sense to do. These retail from Lotus at £106+VAT These are now available in our E-Shop at a much cheaper price of £40. See below for details and order from our shop.

This mod was performed & supplied by Chris sabbatinell on his GT3 and updated by Dave Walters on his V8 GT. .

If you try this, feel free to e-mail me with your Verdict at kato@lotusespritworld.com

Brushed Stainless Steel Dash Mask

Now available to LEW's E-Shop are these beautiful Brushed Stainless Steel Dash Mask to update the look of your post 98 Esprit black plastic dash. This has been remanufactured in quality brushed stainless steel which is more scratch resistant that Lotus aluminium one which retails at £130. Comes with protective film which you peel off during installation.

Prices: £40
plus £3 p&p UK

AVAILABLE AT THE E-SHOP NOW


V8 Dialled Up
Esprit DIY inside the cockpit
Here are a couple of pictures of a carbon fibre dash pod an owner constructer for his V8 GT a few months ago (July 2011). He really loved the dash in the post 98 V8 but thought it lacks vital instruments. The gauges he has added are Battery Volts, Oil Pressure, Oil Temp. The pod was constructed using a standard aftermarket Subaru one. It took many hours of filling and sanding to obtain the desired contour. The gauges came with the relevant transducers and were quite easy to wire in. Nice work from another Esprit owner.

   

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