Steering Column Cowl Instrument Pack Dashboard Heater Control Panel
Steering Column Cowl - Removal

Begin by opening the fuse panel which is located under the steering wheel. I always use a coin for this, in this case a 20 pence piece.
With the fuse panel beneath the steering wheel open, using a Philips head screwdriver, undo and remove the first of the three retaining screws.
This picture shows the second of the three screws I needed to undo in order to remove the steering column cowl. The third one is adjacent to it.

The cowl clips together and the three screws merely attach it to the steering column. Prise apart the two halves and remove the top part first.
The reason for removing the top part first is because the bottom part slots over the ignition and needs a little more manoeuvring to remove.		  

Instrument Pack - Removal


The next job I completed was the removal of the instrument pack. To do this job I needed a Philips head screwdriver to undo the 4 retaining screws, I also had to remove the steering column cowl so that I had enough space to slide the pack out of its' mounting. This picture shows one of the top retaining screws, there is another like it on the other side of the binnacle, both needed removing.
This picture shows one of the two lower retaining screws. I had to remove both of the lower screws (one each side of the steering column).
Now for the tricky part! There are three multiplugs and the speedo cable to disconnect before you can remove the instrument pack, this is a fiddly job and I found it impossible to take photos of it because you are working behind the pack by feel. The next photograph shows the back of the instrument pack and I have ringed in red the locations of the multiplugs, hopefully if you need to follow these instructions the photo will help.

This picture shows the back of the instrument pack, the red circles have been added by me and show the locations of the three multiplugs and the speedo cable attachment.
This last image shows the inside of the binnacle. I took it in response to a recent thread on the MGF BBS Technical forum which concerned the mounting of the instrument binnacle. It looks to me like it is retained from below and behind, making removal extremely difficult insitu.		  

Dashboard - Removal


The main event! Begin by using a coin (I used a 20 pence piece) and turning the cover caps on the windscreen demister vents through approximately 30 degrees. The image has arrows on it to show the direction to turn them.
Using an 8mm socket and a very small ratchet (I used a 1/4 drive on Mike Satur's recommendation), slacken off the 4 concealed bolts. This is a bit of a tricky job as access is very limited, my advice here is use the ratchet for as long as possible, then detach it from the socket and, with the socket still located on the bolt, work it undone with your fingers.
All four bolts undone, the next step is to lift them out of the vents and place them aside with the cover caps.

Whilst we are on the subject of the windscreen demister vents, the next step is to disconnect the hoses that feed them from the main heater box below the dash. There is one for each side and the image shows me disconnecting the passenger side one.
OK, with the four 8mm bolts in the air vents and the hoses under the dash removed, I next slackened off the pair of 8mm retaining nuts on the passenger side of the car. The picture sort of shows you what I did, but I took it through the space where the passenger air bag blank was and it hasn't come out entirely satisfactorily. The next image shows the same nuts but on the drivers' side, this one is clearer.
This picture shows the drivers' side dash retaining nuts. Taken through the opening for the drivers' side air vent, this photo came out a lot better and you can see the nuts quite clearly. I needed a short extension in addition to the 8mm socket to slacken these off.

After slackening off the four side nuts (no need to remove them), I then performed the same operation on the four 8mm nuts inside the centre console (a pair each side)
In addition to the central nuts there are also a pair of spring clips, both needed releasing and I used a small flat bladed screwdriver for this job.
With the central nuts slackened and the bottom clips removed it is possible to work the heater control panel module out of the dash.

IMPORTANT! Everything is now released, but you still can't get the dash out of the car because the steering wheel is in the way. Mike Satur recommended releasing the steering column so that it drops, wheel and all, out of the way. With the wheel out of the way, you can pull the dash out of the side bolts.
Work the side bolts and the central bolts out and then rotate the dash forwards so that the air vent hoses thread their way up and out, you can now remove the dash from the car.
With the dash out the car will look like this - Ahhh poor Scarlet !!

Heater Control Panel - Removal


The next job I did today was the removal of the switch panel for the heater. The first step was to release the panel from the dash module by undoing all four screws...
Now that the dash is removed, this is much easier as you can manoeuvre the entire module to get good access to the fixtures. The picture shows the second screw, there are another pair on the other side.
The next step is to unclip all the multiplugs to this module, there are two to the heater control panel and a further two to the black box (anti-theft alarm ECU) underneath. The temperature control and distribution knobs on the heater panel are attached to a pair of wires that operate the heater gubbins. The wires are attached to the heater panel by being bent into a Z shape, to release the vent distribution wire you first need to release the retaining clamp by undoing the screw shown in the picture with a Philips head screwdriver, you can them work the wire out of it's hole.

The temperature control wire is a little more tricky, not only do you have to release the clamp, but you also need to take off the metal plate on the underside, and to do this you need to remove the black box. Tools for this job are the 8mm socket and ratchet and both a Philips head and a flat headed screwdriver. The wire can now be worked out of it's hole and the panel is now free of the car.
Lastly, the usual 'final' picture of the day. I am quite pleased with my progress so far, future jobs include stripping out the heater components and carpets, this latter job will entail seat removal.