As most of you know, anyone who has ever driven a car knows, the dashboard is the driver’s link to the mechanical systems and the outside world. It is a critical part of any car, and even more critical for the sports/racing type of car. One little problem, this basket case project had no dashboard: none. There should have been a metal dash, which was mostly flat with some rounded edges, and also a padded section that went over the instruments, which would have been upholstered along with the top of the cowl. If I can find them, I will include a couple of photos of other MkIII Couriers with the proper dashes.
In among the boxes of parts I got was a piece of a dashboard that I later found was the instrument cluster from an Alfa Romeo Giulietta. So I built my dashboard out of that cluster section and two other metal dash pieces from a 1967 MGB. The final assembly into one welded unit was both a nightmare in the process, and a better-than-expected success in the end.
Add to this, the interesting quandary: First, it should be functional for the race track; secondly, it will occasionally be driven on the street. So, because I will have two separate engines, I also have two separate sets of gauges for the oil pressure and the water temperature. One set is electronic and feed information to the original-style 3-in-1 gauge. The other two will use a mercury tube and oil capillary tube to the separate instruments. The two recesses which were used on the MGB for heater and defroster controls are being replaced with low oil pressure and high water temperature warning lights.
Elva Courier MkIII Restoration Blog 