I am starting a project soon. I am going to be building a custom dash in my 87' iroc. Updates will be slow due to school and work. Here is my dash now....

I drew up a scetch of what i want it to look like. I have the idea of how im going to do it but if anyone ideas or advice, please i can use the input.



For the bones of the structure im pplaning to use mdf ribs to get the basic shapof the top of the dash and the darker inset parts in the drawing. over the ribs i will use bending plywood for the basic shape. for the two horn like shapes that run under the gauges on the driver side and then across the passenger side will be molded using foam that ill shape. Then i will fiberglass over the top of that. the bottom of the dash i will use the same rib and bending ply idea. the center console im not completly sure of the exact design yet. and the door panel i havn't thought into yet. I am a wood worker at a custom home furniture upholstry and reupholstry shop.

The finish on it i want to do maybe pearl white for the dash. and the darker inset areas are going to be upholstered using a dark vynle.

The darker panel for the gauges and on the pasenger side are going to be made removable along with the panel in the center of the dash. This will make it easyer to add the electronics later.

I havn't invested in any of the electronics yet. I figured i will when i get the dash and everything to close to done. There is a long ttime before i will be needing anyof them.

Supplies i have right now is:
Two - 4'x8'x 3/8" sheets of bending ply
One - 4'x8' sheet of pink foam insalation(for some of the fiberglassing)
20'x54" of 2.5 once fiberglass matt
only two gallons of resin
two 4x8 sheets of mdf
gallon of bondo

If anyone has any ideas or anything please let me know thank you.

The basic layout and design are awsome. Can wait to see it finished keep us posted.

very nice sketch, i'd love to see how it unfolds

My fiance says GOOD. LUCK....

thanks you all. I will keep everyone posted

The sketch looks interesting, but you seem to be searching for ideas...
The 3rd Gens are somewhat wedge shaped and angular- the 4th Gens are rounded and more windswept. If I were you- and I intend to mod my door panels and center console later this year after paint- I would keep the theme a little more angular. Not a criticism of your plans, just a suggestion...

Interesting drawing… If you’re really looking for suggestions…
- Door handles don’t make sense there, they’ll be behind your shoulders
- Center consol/radio pod will have to be wider to fit standard width components
- If you’re going to do the wrap around thing commit to it and angle the console toward the driver

Looks just like a mustang's dash?

Instead of MDF & plywood, both of which could be heavy, consider using ABS plastic, or sheet plexiglass. With thin plexi, you could paint the inside, maybe like 1/8" thick? The paint couldn't be scratched that way, and it could get a good polish, if you wanted. For that matter, consider vacuum formed plex. Then, you could easily construct multi curves.

Your making me think! Too bad I have the knowledge, just not the $ to try it myself.

The lines of the dash i plan to make a little straighter with less curvyness. Your right micktroup. The design needs to have sharper angles to go along with the third gen body style.

83 crossfire, you have a good point of the position of the arm rest. I haven't completely work the doors design out. The drawing is not to scale but you have a good point i need to remember to design the center panel and console to be able to fit the components properly.

I don't think it will look anything like a mustang's dash. My drawing isn't completely accurate.

I'm no good with plexi. I work with wood everyday. It just seems like it would be easier and cheaper to use wood for me. The finish on plexi would be insanely beautiful tho. If you can you should check out the bending plywood at your look plywood supplier. Its insane, i was able to roll a sheet up and carry it under one arm.

Thank you all for your input! Im going to post more pictures soon enough. i plan to start working on the framing (bones) of the dash tomarow. ill keep you all posted!

Plex, vacuum forming & welding aluminum was my thing making signs. Welded aluminum frame, plex faces, would be my choice. What I can't do, I know where to get it done.

Good Luck!

good luck....i dont think it looks too much like a mustangs. an the door panels are a bit confusing. but i want to see a finished product

buy a 4th gen dash and just mod it a little, otherwise you should do all fiberglass don't mess around with wood in a car.

What the heck is wrong with wood? Almost every custom console, dash, speaker box… has a framework built of wood at least, and in most cases most of its hard structure made out of wood.

Weight... a quarter inch of wood is unnecessary when you can use three layers of fiberglass and save 50-75% of the weight.

weight, warpage in high humidity areas, etc. Speaker boxes are made out of much thicker wood then would be needed for this dash and a box screwed together wouldn't be able to warp, in fact I'd just use aluminum box tubing well before building something that isn't stereo related that typically wood would be fine for.

Yeah, warpage is a possability because i live in hot and humid florida. I plan to use a layer of fiberglass over the top. The bendy ply is actualy 3/8 thick and is light weight compared to 3/8 plywood.

Today i had about two hours to work on the project.

I started with the framing for the curv of the dash....

And cut a peice of the benable plywood....

Putting the two together was tricky. The mdf likes to crack with screws even when i predrilled the holes. and the brad nails liked to slip out of the 3/8" ply. but i got it to hold tight enough.


So far i havnt made much of any mounts to hold the dash inplace but its a good start for today. I have to peices of mdf holding both sides up evenly. Tomarow i plan to have the mounts complete and so more of the framing done.

Thank you all!

When you look at custom cars at local show and shines, most of what you don't see under fabric and paint is wood. We're not talking high end bling fabrications. Home built customs have been using wood for decades to fabricate interior pieces.

And those cars are trailer queens that stay in garages.

I have been to florida and know the spring, summer, fall... hell even the winter is humid.

Using wood to make the first product is fine. But learn a bit about fiberglass (if you dont already know enough) and build a plug with this wood. Then make a fiberglass mold with wood bracing and finally a fully fiberglass final product with aluminum bracing.

It will save weight and down the road, one hell of a headache.

Straight fiberglass/plastic tends to have a cheap rickety/squeaky feel to it. Add a structure of light hardboard or even heavy cardboard, aluminum… and it feels much more substantial. Even more so if padded and upholstered.

sometime back seen a website about a guy with a fiero that build a custom dash. I will try to find the like...... he used aluminum then covered it with foam and vinyl. nice work

Good job, keep it coming. People have been using wood forever. What you could do is make a mold from your final product, then build a lighter fiberglass dash out of that (with a metal frame). It might be lighter and give you more room behind it.

You said the top piece was tricky to get to attach to the frame...

Will it hold? Will the vibrations of the car "knock it loose", after everything is done? Did you use a wood glue, in addition to the nail/brads/screws?

why not get heat treated wood or spray it with some of that water repellant spray that way it may never warp or rot on you. Sure fiberglass may weigh alittle less, but it's all about preference. If this guy knows how to work with wood alot better than glass, than why bother and try to push your opinion on him?

I like what you have done so far. It looks like you can cut it to fit the lines of the car quite easily. Once you have that shape finalized, I agree with some of the others; either use it as a buck to shape Aluminum to, or to build a mold to pull a fiberglass finished dash from. Or, you could go with carfon fiber! That would be totally trick!
Either one could be covered in 1/4 inch closed cell foam and ultraleather or vinyl.
Keep us informed on the progress!!

I've never done anything like what he's attemping, I'd like to some day, but I think if I were set on using wood, I'd use very thin pieces and just rough it out, and then fiberglass the whole thing.

I don't know about the weight concerns or the warping concerns that other posters have brought up.

I do tend to laugh about the weight concerns though, because the original dashes done in the 50's up through the late 70's were steel.

My concern would be getting the smooth bends he wants in wood. But from those pictures, he has a good start.

Mathius

I can tell you first hand that the weight of the metal dash in my 68 Cutlass doesn't weigh much...a full wood one like this will probably weigh more...

The steel used in those dashes is very thin.

The reason I know this is because the guy who had the car before me cut out the metal structure of the dash to put in an custom one. I have no idea why. It didn't weigh any less and looked like crap. So I had to cut one out of one of my parts cars.

Its his car though...far as I'm concerned. If hes comfortable doing it this way, great! Have at it.

Most well built customs (i.e. not Cousin Joe's garage hack) will vary in construction materials, but they will almost always take a mold of their creation and remake it out of fiberglass pieces that have a much more professional mounting & bracing scheme. Others may build a metal frame behind the fiberglass to support it. Using wood for a mock-up is a great plan (as is shaping dense foam to get the exact shape you want), but I would definately use a more appropriate framework for the final product.

hey, sorry for the long time between posts i will have pics up soon. my house was hit by lightning three times one night and totally fried my internet modem.

The dash is coming along slowly. i have the top side of the dash's mounts made witch holds it securely for now. i do want to use aluminum for a frame after i have most of the fiberglassing done. I know the wood, glue, and screws thats holding the dashboard together will not last very long.

does anyone have any pointers for me? I'm 18 and not to familiar with aluminum and using it for the frame. thanks all!

i have the two panels cut for the panels on the drivers and passengers side and the ribs built that will form the shape of the underside of the passengers side.

Not much longer till i can get the resin out! I got 5 gallons in last week.

ok, so i borrowed a camera and took some pix. i did some work on it today. i added framing to form the fabric around to get the shape i want. i used small strips of bendi ply and staples for this.







i cant wait to fiberglass but stil have a ways

wow...



good work man, can't wait to see it finished

thats looking cool man, how are u bending the wood?

that's lookin good man. i can't wait to see it after you glass it up. keep up the good work.

holy **** your a pretty skilled wood worker,wish i was that good, great job

grat job so far...i cant wait to see finished product

Lookin good! Make a mold and go into to production!! Not that many people offer unique parts for camaros!

nothing wrong with doing it the way you want to, but if I was doing it, I would have kept it angular and more wedge themed, you know...keep it looking like something a Cardassian would drive around looking for Bajorans to whip up on. (ubernerd reference to Star Trek...sorry)

Haha I'm pretty sure lots of people got it

Amazing work so far. Props for doing something totally unique.

i also made a custom dash for my 82 camaro...
HPNX0046.JPG

Should be cool to see it finished.

Interesting, kinda....Can't seem much more than part of a steering wheel, gauge faces, and some switches. The gauge face looks like my GTA gauge layout.

you goin o fiberglass that. it should look pretty sweet when its done

Did this ever get finished?

Mathius

LoL.. afte reading this post, I clicked the "ads by google" which states " Are you making a digital dashboard? Read howto's get tips etc.." on top of this page. Now, the "dashboards" there, arent even the slightliest car related at all, still that ad have been there for ages.... Just made me laugh hard..

Now how did this wooden dash come out? I wonder that too. Most such projects dont get finished though, after the creator often finds some major flaws with the design, requiring them to start over, or modifying heavily.... that plus if the rest of the car is a POS, people tend to loose interest or find other better/more interesting cars, maybe in better overall shape.

Still, would been cool to actually see a finished custom dash though.

"it B DaT wooooo-grayn dawg!"
nice fab skills. im in the same boat, was it ever completed?

just wondering if you ever finished, have read this a couple of times in the past and wood (no pun intended) to see the finished dash, looks ****ing awesome, and i wood love to try some thing like it myself

He hasn't posted since Dec of last year so I would ( not "wood" ) assume that things didn't pan out.

even though he hasn`t posted in a while, he has the frame all set up and the rest seems to be in place.....nice job! good to see someone actually giving this some thought......reminds me of the old cutlass

I would like to have seen it too. I have fabicated many dashes, but not for a thirdgen, always for a minitruck or *****....