Under Dash Panels

[bpossel]

Hi All!

What are your thoughts, comments regarding the 3 under dash panels?
I purchased new ones from Millers about 3 years ago, and have never installed them.  The more I looked at ones still installed (which seem to be few) I thought they look, sort of, out of place and somewhat ill-fitting on our cars.

As a looked at the recent photos of the 280sl sold by Cascadia, one pic shows the 3 panels installed.  Again, panels look ill-fitting?

What is your opinion on these panels?  Do you have them installed in your car?  How is the fit?

Bob 

[Jordan]

I agree that the panels under the 280SL sold by Cascadia do not look right, they are much bulkier and do not look like they fit correctly.  I think the car would look worse without the panels, exposing the wiring and undersides of the dash.  Mine are tucked under much tighter than shown on the Cascadia car and held in place by several screws.  You can't really see them unless you look for them.  I think they look fine as they are tight and flow from the vinyl on the panels above them.  I am in the process of replacing the one below the drivers side as mine is beat up and torn at some of the screw locations.  It would have been nice if they had used a somewhat more durable material.  I'll just have to watch my feet.

[w113dude]

I agree, they do look odd, once I had seen one in a shop same color as interior color it looked a bit better not as much black. (I know for a fact they do cut down     cabin noise if one drives with the hard top)

[thelews]

These are original.  You'll have to complain to MB if you don't like them.

[Norm]

The MB Classic Center offers replacement material in a sheet that needs to be cut.  I think it was about 3' x 3'.  It is a dark grey / black color rather than the blue original color for my car but in my opinion looks fine.

I only replaced the center panel due to a rip.  I used the remaining material to replace the panels on the left and right side of my trunk (boot).

I much prefer the panels to having the underside of the dash exposed.

Norm

[sjiatrou]

Does anyone have an opinion of the panels available from Miller's? How well do they fit etc.?   I am missing the driver's side underpanel and it drives me nuts not having it there...no one can see that it's absent but I know! 

[J. Huber]

Hey Bob. I went for years with only the middle panel. I still had the passenger side too but it was so tattered I kept it out of the car. The driver's side was long gone. Never really thought about it until about two years ago when I decided to see about buying new ones. I couldn't quite pull the trigger on the aftermarket ones (bona fide cheapskate)... so I got frisky and attempted to make my own. Its documented here somewhere. I used the old ones as templates and dimensions from theLews for the driver's side. They came OK -- and for my car (a driver extraordinaire) -- they are fine. Now in your case ... I would either find the absolute best replicas out there or make them (much more carefully than I did). Your car is way too nice for anything less.

Today while driving I checked them out since I knew of this thread. Really, the two side ones can hardly be seen while driving -- but give a nice round edge to the underbelly. The center one is more visible but gives a nice finish look to the center of the lower dash as it meets the carpeted tunnel. I think its nice to know the wiring harness and whatnot is shielded, and I suppose the panels offer a slight bit of noise and engine heat reduction. Now on the negative side, they are a slight hassle to remove and reinstall if you need to get into the wiring or back of dash. Mine are not as sturdy as the originals and each time I screw and unscrew them to the floor, that area gets weaker. Other than that I am glad I added them back to my car...

Good luck.

[66andBlue]

... What is your opinion on these panels?  Do you have them installed in your car?  How is the fit?

Hi Bob,
when I restored the 230SL I received the three panels from the upholstery supplier already covered with the same leather as the rest of the interior.  I do like the look of it although I am not fond of the hole in the left and right panel. I believe there would be enough air passing around the panels into the foot well even without them.

[bpossel]

Thanks Everyone!  Great comments! 
Steve, the ones I purchased are from Millers.  They seem to be of good quality.
Not sure how they fit as I have not yet installed them.
Bob 

[sjiatrou]

Thanks Bob.

Steve