Fitting some wooden trims
 

I know this question has been up a few times, and I was most impressed by Dave Hockley's interior modification, especially the dashboard, and the steering wheel. I have ordered a kit from the Walnut dash company, which I hope will fit, but I don't think it will include the wood underneath the gear shifter, also not the dashboard. How did he (you) get the hold of the nice steering wheel and the dashboard? I would very much like to fit my ZT 1.8T from 2005 with similar interior. I live in Sweden, which is why I need to have a lefthand drive interior. I also wondered how he got hold of the nice steering wheel. Did he take a Rover 75 wheel and put the airbag cover from his MG steering wheel?
If I would find a wrecked Rover 75 with interior still intact, is it a difficult job mounting the wooden dashboard?

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...384df274ae.jpg

I appreciate any help I can get.

BTW, I have done one modification, and that is to tune my engine from the original 160 hp to 200 hp. You can REALLY notice the difference, and milage is increased. So far everything is working well after approximately 1000 miles.

:welcome: to the Club, You will soon find your way round all the Information on Here.

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He helps many a Member with Recyled and New Parts. http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...ons/icon10.gif
Not sure about Left Hand Drive, but you never Know.

How exactly have you tuned your 1.8 Turbo to 200BHP?

As I live in Sweden I used a company that plugs into the car's computer, then reprogram the turbo charge, and probably some other stuff as well.
It was not easy to find one that did the MG/Rover, but this company did. I know it is based out of Germany, so maybe you can go there instead of Sweden. It is a 2 year warranty on it and they will change it back to original whenever you want to. The whole procedure took about 20-30 minutes. There are no soldering or changing of chip. Everything is untouched except from the software of the car. I thought all companies BS a lot, but they were very knowledgeabe, and I don't doubt that I got another 40 hp and 75nm. It is reallya whole new car. Before it was more or less OK, and did 0-60mph in 9 seconds (according to the handbook). I would estimate it to do it in 7 seconds now. Not bad. The bottom end is not a whole lot better, but at around 2400 rpm you can definately feel the difference all the way up to just under the redline (6800 rpm or so).

www.tmchiptuning.com

Here is the London Branch that Does the Above, GG.

http://www.tmchiptuning.com/index.php/London.php

I'd be very interested to know how the engine is shaping up after say 10,000 miles. Please keep us informed of how the engine is going as and when.

Don't forget to let us know when the head gasket goes...

;)

I hope the head gaskets will not go. :-(
I found a few Rover 75s at the junkyard, and wonder if it is difficult to take our the wooden parts in the dashboard around the speedometer and around the airbag. Or do you have to take out a lot more? What can this cost if I would have an authorized Rover/MG dealer do it?
If I get hold of a steering wheel, the same question. What is the cost to replace existing steering wheel. Can I take a wooden steering wheel and use the airbag of my own MG steering wheel in the middle?

Hi Mathias,

If you have a look on ebay for Rover 75 Walnut I am fairly sure there are some left hand drive real walnut dash panels available. They have been coming up for months.

It is possible to remove and refit all the other bits around the cluster, gear stick etc but it will be a bit awkward and I imagine fairly easy to snap clips etc unless you are very careful.

The steering wheels are originals, have their own part numbers and are fairly rare and expensive. Light Oak wheels are around £100 each, Walnut wheels can sell for around £300 when they turn up. Not sure if the ZT steering wheel centre would fit the 75 wheel, I am guessing it would but somebody else will need to confirm. Might look a bit weird though. You can get Walnut & Black wheels which I guess wood look better.

In theory you could pretty much swap the entire interior around, including the centre column, glove box, door cards etc if you found a scrap yard 75 that you liked. It isn't that difficult to do but would take some time. I have no idea what a main dealer would charge for this sort of work but I doubt it would be cheap. It is something you could do outside your own house if you are comfortable with a screwdriver and have a bit of time on your hands.

I am not aware of anybody in the club undertaking a full interior swap but between us we have all done enough work to probably advise on how to do most of it.

Are you aware that there are 3 different wood colours? i.e. walnut, light oak and black oak. I think the general consensus is the the walnut looks best.

This Seller has LHD wooden dashes: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=150196389358

I think the reserve on most of the auctions is £75, although you may be able to get a LHD cheaper as I don't think they sell as good as the RHD version ;)

Don't forget you can also get a wooden handbrake grip and a wooden gearknob. These bits are available in walnut only.