Fuse panel cover

My fuse panel cover is secured by velcro tabs at the bottom two corners. I'm refering to the leather covered (black) panel that covers the fuse blocks and dash area. Not the plastic fuse block covers on factory fuse blocks. The cover will vibrate lose and drop onto the floor. The failure most often occurs when someone is riding in the passenger seat and bumps it with their legs getting in or out. Anyone have any ideas on how their's is secured? Photos would be a plus. Joe

 

That sure doesn't sound right...what year again?

On all my cars the RH end fits tightly into a metal "slot" anchored to the dash, or kick panel, at that end.

The once that is engaged the LH corner is attached to a 1/4 turn Dzus fastener in one case, in the other two it's a "pull" type relase fitting that fits over a ball stud securely bolted thru the dash..

No velcro here!

 

Touch base with Ricambi and see what your year parts manual diagram indicates...that left hand end of the panel is too heavy to stay in place without some mechanical attachment.

 

Two Dzus fasteners hold my cover in place, one on each side...... until I hit a pothole. Then the cover comes flying off! I reckon they're "quick-release" Dzus fasteners.....to let you know you've hit a pothole.

 

I also have the ball with the pull lever and slotted RH side. Mine is a 77.

 

Oh, mine's a 1976. It looks like Ferrari discontinued the pothole sensor feature in 1977.

 

Yeah, that was an option I wish that was continued. =)

 

No rhyme or reason to it as the Dzus fastener on mine is on the MIDDLE 1977 car, #22127.

While the earlier 1976 production #20405, shares the ball release fitting with my later #22641.

We'd better start a spreadsheet......

G' day Dr. Barry!

 

I have a '81 GTSi and my fuse cover is held in place like yours.
A rough kind of velcro, more like plastic studs that fit together.
Everytime i hit a pothole, pas over a rough street or if someone bumps it it falls down.

 

Same as my 81 GTSi also :-(


Stephen

 

My '85 Qv has the tenex fasteners, like the ones for the targa top cover. I believe that the '85 was the only ones of the fuel injected models to have those. It sounds a lot more secure than the velcro, I've never had mine fall off.

 

And g'day to you Bubba. It looks like Ferrari ran out of Dzus fasteners in 1981.

 

It took 'em ten years to get it right!

 

I finally made some metal catch hooks for right and left side so the panel is secure yet can bet removed by a push lift push sequence.

Velcro didn't work for me, I dislike having a button protrude where a passengers knees might cause injurt so ruled that out.

The catches are unobtrusive yet provide solid attachment. And although I could draw them on paper I haven't used a pencil in tens of years and I find total inability to verbalize their appearance. Anyone know a decent cad program which doesn't require a tablet.

 

My '82 had two of the hard plastic-type velcro fastening points and they were totallly useless, sometimes letting go with even a solid door closing.

I tried several different types of small and large weave velcro and they didn't work. Ended up putting a small bendable piece of flatstock aluminum in the right corner, bending the bottom to support the right side of the dash cover. On the left side (center area of the dash) I drilled a small hole through the dash cover and the bottom metal bracket under the dash. I put a 10 mm bolt, nut and a couple of washers through the bottom left of the dash cover to hold it in tight. The dash cover hasn't moved over the past 5K miles, including hitting a few potholes.

Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada

 

The trick is to get the panel correctly positioned. Once the is done, hit the panel in the location of the fasteners with the side of your fist. You'll actually be able to feel the fasteners connect properly when they do.

The hardest part is positioning the panel correctly.

 

Nice, but also consider getting a nice 3" SS screw (w/trim ring) and screwing it (the panle) right to the fire wall, lower dash or whatever material is "soild" enough to hold the screw right behind the lower LH corner of the cover....

Not OEM, but works for me and I don't have to explain to the passenger how Ferrari velcro is somehow "exclusive"

JMWO =)

 

Ditto on my '78 GTS. Sometimes takes a little fiddling to get it to engage, but once it does, the panel stays in place just fine, even on NY/NJ/CT Tri-state area roads (certified as the worst on the planet).