Hey Y'All,

It's pleasant weather here and finally got to some outside chores, so not a lot of Roadster build progress

I did spend some time thinking about how to choose the location of the dash panel. I know...the Build Manual tells us to locate the dash panel top edge 3/16" above the ends of the curved dash tube. Since this dimension can change depending on the side-to-side location, I took my time to locate it. I still didn't get it perfect, but I heard from the experienced builders to not expect too much precision for the panel and body measurements...

The one thing I couldn't rely on was the steering stem hole since I modified the stem alignment a little in order to fit my RT tribute steering shaft support bracket. So that left me to choose what the "critical" side-to-side measurement reference was. I chose the bottom bent flange as my reference. Maybe this choice could have been different?

Anyway, half of the width got me a centerline, and I aligned it with the centerline of the horizontal 2" cross tube, then checked for level on the bottom flange. Pretty close. I think I'm a 1/16" off. I think that's good enough, but I'd welcome any feedback! Here's the "big" picture
dash panel mockup 1.jpg

Next came some measurements against the curved dash tube, just to confirm I'm in the right location. I couldn't get the height measurements to agree side-to-side, so I'm looking for some feedback. Did I make the right decision to confirm "level" first? Then confirm "center"?

Does the height from the top of the panel to the top of the curved dash tube need to be per the Build Manual, or "good enough"?

Here's my dimensions against the top of the curved tube (with the panel "level"):
minimum Driver's side = 3/16" dash panel mockup 3-16 min to driver's curved tube.jpg

maximum height along the Driver's side to the curved tube = 7/16" dash panel mockup 7-16 max height to driver's curved tube.jpg

height at the center = 4/16" dash panel mockup 4-16 to center curved tube.jpg

maximum height along the passenger side to the curved top tube is about 9/16" dash panel mockup 9-16 max height to passenger curved tube.jpg

minimum Passenger side = 2/16" dash panel mockup 2-16 min to passenger curved tube.jpg

Once again, I'd appreciate some feedback -- let me know if I'm losing the forest for the trees...

Happy Building!

Craig C