One of the first things you notice about a Cobra replica is of course the shape. But what do you depend on when driving any car? You need to know the speed, the temps, etc. of what is going on with your car. These cars were designed long before computerized dashboards, touchscreens, etc. But you still need to know what is going on! Factory Five offers a several choices, from mild to wild!
The dashboard is the visual input/output of your car – and hopefully it’s following along with your feet and hands! There are a few optional dashboards that you can order:
11194 – BLANK DASH $110 – this is about as basic as it gets, you get a cutout for the steering wheel and you can put WHATEVER you want, as long as it passes DOT inspection.
You can check out all the requirements here: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations to see if your ideas will pass muster.
16039 – Vinyl Dash with Glovebox molded to fit Factory Five Vintage Gauges (Note: Not compatible with heater-defroster in stock location or 289 kit)
This version is pretty standard on most FF Roadsters – you’ve probably have seen it a dozen (or more) times when checking out Cobras. The bad thing (to many) is that the heater/defroster will not fit behind the glovebox. You can customize the Vinyl Dash as needed.
Personally, I’m leaning more toward the competition dash layout. I just like the visibility of the gauges more. You can order several from ActonCobra
But the Competition dash doesn’t come with a glovebox, and I’m really digging the look of the glovebox – even though it may be super tiny! It just completes the dashboard IMHO. You can order them aftermarket as well! https://www.finishlineaccessories.com/p-92-glove-box.aspx
This is a great example of a competition dash that I like and will most likely plan for in the upcoming weeks. Note how the speedo drops to the center of the dash, and the tachometer is behind the wheel – not having to stuff both BIG dials behind the wheel is good (to me).
Next we will talk about gauges…
