A burr walnut veneer dashboard takes the MGA cabin towards a more luxury-car appearance, closer in feel to a classic British saloon or GT than the relatively utilitarian original facia. The original MGA dashboard was painted (1500 and 1600 roadsters) or covered in Vynide leathercloth (Twin Cam, 1600 Mk II and all coupé variants), neither of which carries the wood-veneer look that became standard on later British sports cars. Veneer dashboards are an inherently non-original modification but a popular one for road-driven cars.
Burr Walnut Dashboard
The reproduction MGA veneer dashboard is supplied as a complete replacement panel finished in burr walnut, the same material widely used on British saloons of the period and on later MG models including the MGB GT in some specifications. The instrument apertures are pre-cut to suit the standard MGA gauge layout, allowing the existing instruments to be transferred from the original facia panel into the new veneered panel without modification. The finished panel is supplied lacquered for protection against UV and minor wear in service.
Right-Hand Drive and Left-Hand Drive Variants
Two variants are produced, one for right-hand drive cars and one for left-hand drive cars, reflecting the mirrored layout of the steering column aperture, the glove box position and the overall instrument configuration between UK and export specification cars. The instrument layout itself (which gauges sit where) was always the same regardless of drive side; what differs is the steering column aperture position and the corresponding placement of grouped gauges around it.
Dash Fitting Kit
The dash fitting kit supplies the screws, washers and small fixings needed to mount the new veneer panel to the existing dashboard support brackets and to refit the instruments and switches into their pre-cut apertures. Ordering the fitting kit alongside the dashboard avoids the project being held up at the final fitment stage waiting for fixings.
Originality Considerations
Veneer dashboards are not original to any MGA variant and should not be specified for cars being restored to factory-correct or concours specification. For owners of road-driven cars where the wood-veneer look is wanted, the burr walnut dashboard is a sympathetic period-style modification that fits cleanly to the existing dashboard structure and uses all the original instruments and switchgear.
Ordering Considerations
Confirm two points before ordering. First, drive side, RHD or LHD, to match the car's bodyshell layout. Second, whether the dash fitting kit is also required, which it normally is unless the original screws and fixings are being retained in serviceable condition.
The original instruments and switches are transferred from the existing facia, so no additional gauge purchase is required to complete the change.