Here's what I ended up doing (with out high jacking your thread)
1st removed all the old gauges (they didnt work anyway).
2nd made a cardboard template as it was easier to make and get the shape right.
3rd copied template to bit of ply and marked out gauges to get placement right then marked holes on what was left of the original dash.
4th carefully and that's really carefully plastic is 40 years old and brittle cut the around the inside edge left about 3/8 inch around the outer edge more where gauges didn't go.
5 I used a bit of 1/3 - 3mm sheet steel and cut it out the same as the ply (easier to stuff up the ply 1st) then once it was a nice fit drilled and counter sunk 6 mounting hole hence reason for leaving as much of dash outer edge as possible. I used nuts on the back side rather than screws.
6 primed painted and installed steel to dash re sanded and painted the whole thing as one.
I also sanded and painted the gauges as they where a polished alloy finish and I thought the matt black looked better.
End result dash fits just as the original the indicator light and high beam are push in led bulbs as are the green back lights in the gauges. I left the head light and wiper switches out as the where already mount on the under side of the dash one on each side just where the dash rolls under by your knees. also didn't want to cut anymore of the plastic than I had to as it had broken in one spot (cant tell super glue and paint covered it )
If anybody wants one of the plastic pre cut gauge dashes I have the carbon fiber looking one I removed.
