Blankety Blank

[paulplom]

None in the transhit as it was top spec. Loads in the relay including a cigarette lighter blank. It does look like it's got a heated screen which I just noticed. Could be for the mirrors though

[mercrocker]

I love blanking plates. Freelander has no Aircon or hill descent so even the gear lever loses that yellow switch that no one ever uses.
I especially appreciate big blanking plates like the the one in the middle of my Sunbeam 90 which covered the hole where the rev counter should have been.
Few had factory fitted tachometers but now it's hard to find a pic with the plate still in place, so you'll just have to imagine it or wait for Merc to provide one.ebay14987.jpg
Note red charge light made in the shape of the opposite side starter button, a nice touch.

Oddly enough, I did possess a blank for the S-T dash (think it had a blue or grey centre with a silver "S" ) but gave it to an acquaintance who was doing two up. One had a tacho and one had a hole. Perversely the tacho got swapped into the hole-equipped dash and the blank went into the donor car. Never really understood the explanation he gave but at least it found a home.....

I still have a Minx blank which is a generic Rootes Group one out of Dad's Series V, not too dissimilar to the general style of the Talbot one. I'd found a Gazelle example (which was model-specific and had a nice silver Bambi on it) and "upgraded" his car for him (he never even bloody noticed) but forgot to swap them back when he flogged it....

Being allowed in scrapyards at the age of 11 or so was very dependent on who was in the weighbridge. Often you got told to scarper, occasionally had a wheelnut thrown in your general direction but even less commonly were allowed in to pillage plastic emblems. Metal ones had to be paid for....I still have a few of the latter that were illicitly extracted....

[cros]

Rootes were bugger for a badge on the dash where there should be a gauge eh? No so BL, on the Allegro they just covered the hole where the tacho should be with a vaguely patterned blanking plate. It's a wonder they didn't go the whole hog and paint on a needle sitting permanently at 3000rpm.

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I had one of these, square wheel, the lot. I got it for free, it was ugly but cheap to run, got me about and gave me a laugh. Not much to laugh about car wise these days.

[Eddie Honda]

No so BL, on the Allegro they just covered the hole where the tacho should be with a vaguely patterned blanking plate.

Proper continental povvo spec Volvo 340s didn't even get a clock, they got a target sight. (But at least they bothered their hole to put their name on it.)

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[mercrocker]

I thought those Allegro blanks were level indicators for the Hydrospaz.....Anyway, owning a Focus Style (sic) and the Cowley, I'm no stranger to blanking plates. Well, more accurately holes in the case of the Cowley. Holes where the passenger sunvisor would be attached and another where the starting handle goes but which is covered with a chrome modesty plug on an Oxford...

[mercrocker]

In my box of scrapyard trinkets I also still have this rather fetching radio blank from a 220SE coupe. I thought I had the steering wheel boss somewhere but can't find it - probably got chucked in an autojumble box, flogged and forgotten about.

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[cros]

A very posh wooden blank. I reckon that Volvo must have been inspired by the Allegro. They were a right pair of ugly sisters.

[Eddie Honda]

I reckon that Volvo must have been inspired by the Allegro.

Looking at the typeface of the speedo, I think that dash was a Smiths effort.

[mercrocker]

They were Smiths - a longstanding arrangement going back to Amazon days (and probably 544 too but CBA to check)

[cros]

The radio sounds shit in my Rover, but since 3 out of 4 of my other vehicles are not equipped with anything at all you might wonder why I'm even mentioning it.
However today I discovered why it was so awful; the tweeter grill has nothing behind it and never did. Rover couldn't even see fit to provide a twin cone speaker which is normally present on the poorest spec car. Admirable.

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