Having reviewed some of the original pictures, I realized that some of the instruments had been moved around. I recall Ray saying he'd relocated some of them to make them more convenient. Knowing that few things are convenient on this airplane, I'll put them back in their original position. Not that many would know. But hey, I have to try for some level of authenticity.
The most useful picture of the original panel is attached. The layout of the instruments matches those from other, less clear photos.
A few things worth noting:
Front Panel:
1. The front panel is missing an instrument in the top left corner. All photos showing the original plane, and the way the panel was received suggest that this hole was never filled. I've installed a spare CHT gauge that I have. Useful information. There are some spare pins on the Jeager connector that I can use, so everything will be bundled as before.
2. The small gauge on the lower right hand corner of the front panel is missing. It's a pressure gauge, likely manifold pressure, since it's reading close to 1000 mBar in the photo. Since a manifold pressure gauge isn't critical on an engine with a fixed pitch prop, I've installed a very useful Ammeter instead. Fortunately, I had an extra one sitting around from a previous project and there's already extra wiring from the Jaeger connector.
3. Just to the left of the above mentioned pressure gauge, is a small hole labelled "CASQUE". There is a similar hole on the rear panel in the same location. Using google translate, CASQUE translates to "HELMET". Having thought that the hole was a light, I couldn't understand what it was for, until I reviewed the attached picture again. When zoomed in, they appear to be some sort of plug in. My "Aha" moment came in the middle of the night. They were the plug in for the headsets. They didn't use the dual plug system that's now the standard worldwide. I'll have to make some modification.
4. The slip indicator on the front panel is mounted upside down. This presumably is to assist in keeping things centred when flying inverted. The rear panel has the slip indicator mounted right side up. Unfortunately, the slip indicator on the rear panel was removed years ago and is long gone.
Having flown a lot of aerobatics, I can say that a slip indicator is useless when inverted. When flying inverted, you're not trying to keep the plane balanced and centred. After all, if you're inverted, you're flying aerobatics and you're likely tossing the plane around.
Since the plane is over 50 years old and I'm not going to get the plane cleared for aerobatics, I was tempted to mount the slip indicator right side up. But in interest of authenticity, I might leave it inverted and mount a second one right side up on the rear panel. Again, I have a spare one from a previous project. Of course, it won't be authentic, so what do I do? Original upright, or original inverted and a new one upright?
Rear Panel:
5. The original compass is missing. I have a replacement in my collection. Yay. Not a perfect match, but the chance of finding a compass identical to the original is slim.
6. The original altimeter was missing from the rear panel. Not a big issue. I have a replacement in my collection. Besides the original altimeter read in kilometres. Since the standard in aviation is to refer to altitude in feet, it's an important safety factor to have an altimeter in feet.
7. The original ASI from the rear panel is missing. I know that it was on the airplane when Ray received the project. If my buddy Ray can track that instrument down, I'll reuse it. It's in km/h, which is abnormal, but comparing measured speed with other aircraft is not important except for bragging rights. Knowing where you are within the plane's performance limits is what matters. The units aren't critical. I have a spare ASI in knots and MPH that will work and the range is suitable for this aircraft.
8. The radio is long gone. I wouldn't have been able to use it anyway, even if it had worked. It likely emitted so much stray signal and EMI that it would likely sterilize the pilot or create a tumour. I'm considering installing a Trig TY91 remote radio instead. I have one in my 1-Design and it's a wonderful unit. It fits nicely in a small and shallow panel. It's designed to fit into a 2-1/4" instrument hole. There's a spare hole there where the G-meter went, beside the compass.
9. The G-meter is missing. Fortunately, I have a spare! Although it's a 3-1/8". But that could fit into the old radio location if I choose to use it. I might not though as its presence might encourage aerobatic flying. To be decided.