Skoda Rally Blog

I’ve broken a couple of Felicias (well, 3) in the last year or so, but one thing has always eluded me – being able to remove the dashboard. But to fit a Rollcentre cage, it needs to come out as the front legs are right at the front of the passenger area, and the dash then bolts back in after having large slots cut out. So I needed to get it out, and thankfully, Pete Hopkins (who built N158 UBD) mailed me to let me know that there are 6 bolts that come through from the engine bay, something I’d never thought of. Once they were out (and another 4 screws), it came out without too much swearing. In addition, quite a few kg of soundproofing (really heavy foam stuff) came out, so that went in the bin.

On top of that, the lights, wiring loom, etc have been removed from the engine bay, along with the bumpers and so on. There’s nothing else to do the car now until I get the cage and a new welding set so I can make a nice job of the seam welding and fitting the cage and the seat rails.