1979 Daimler DS420 Dashboard


The walnut burl veneer dash features Right Hand drive (although some Left Hand Drive models were manufactured, these are relatively rare). The instrument cluster has a large tachometer, speedometer, analog clock, fuel, battery charge, oil pressure, and water temperature gauges. This instrument cluster is substatially identical to the Jaguar Mark X, with the exception of the heater controls on the lower section. The heating vents are controlled by a three position vacuum operated switch labelled "off/air/heat" and two small knobs down by the driver and passenger's feet on the outer walls of the car which operate fresh air vents. When the "heat" button is depressed, air is driven downward towards your knees in the front compartment. When the "air" button is depressed, a large vent opens in front of the windscreen and air is forced into the car as the car travels down the road. There are vents on the interior near the windscreen that are fan-driven. Note that the operation of the front heater does nothing to heat the rear passenger area, which has its own system.
A large glove box is on the left of the dashboard. Under the dash on the right side is the bonnet release (labelled "bonnet") and the manual choke (labelled "choke"). Of course, the bonnet and choke handles are exactly the same shape... Under the dash on the left side is the optional air conditioning unit for the front. The rear air conditioning unit is located in the boot (trunk) and blows air through vents on the rear parcel shelf.