Spring clip to retain a component mounted through an aperture in an instrument panel

The present invention relates to a spring clip (75) that may be used to mount a component (1) such as a radio through an aperture in an instrument panel such as a motor vehicle dashboard (54). The clip has a base (70) with means (31,35,36,72) for affixing the clip to a side (2) of the component. A ramp section (40,41) extends from the base and terminates in a shoulder (42,43,44,45) for a sprung engagement of the component against an inner surface (55) of the dashboard (54). Means (78,79,80,81) are provided for pre-tensioning the ramp section, as the clip is affixed to the side of the component. The clip has an alignment surface (88,89) which is dynamically aligned with respect to a component reference surface (22) during the attachment of the clip to the component. The tension pulls the clip alignment surface forward against the reference surface to align the shoulder with respect to a front part (4) of the component.