padmos

Try and picture it in high gloss and in a nice car instead of a layer of primer and in my jalopy.



I’ve been working on this thing for a long time now and it is finally nearing completion. I like how it is coming out but I wanted to see what everyone else thought of it.
At this point I have to decide if I’m going to finish it up as a working dashboard or as a plug to make a mold of so that I can duplicate it a few times. So if anyone is interested in getting a copy of this dashboard or one like it with minor modifications let me know.

Right now it mounts to the factory mounting points and has space for the defrost vents. I don’t have any AC vents since I don’t have AC. It can use either factory or aftermarket gauges but for the aftermarket you would have to make a plate the same size and shape as the factory gauge cover to hold them. There is also plenty of open space behind the passenger side of the dash incase you are looking for extra space. I’m going to use it to hold a computer.

I’m planning on making a matching center piece to hold the CD and climate controls since I’m going to use the mounting area on this section to hold a flat screen, but it would be a big help if I could sell a couple copies of this section to cover the cost of all the fiberglass, bondo, and endless hours of sanding.

Anyway it still needs some shaping and smoothing but it’s light wight, one piece and completely rattle free and doesn’t need anything besides hand tools to install so when it’s done is any going to be interested?

Fiberglass dashboard almost ready, anyone interested?

Here is a photoshoped version that makes it look a little closer to completion:

Johnny Blaze

iTrader: (15)

Nice work, but to round imo.

RestoRoc89

Is that dash deep enough to house all the stock HVAC components behind it (i.e. heater box, ducting, etc). I'm not actually going to use the stock parts, but I'm mounting a Vintage AC unit which is similar is size. Also, is there any chance of the design behind slightly reworked to have a separate, removeable dash pad? I've been thinking about making my own dash, and that was is essentially what I would try and do, except I'd want the dash painted body color and the dash pad covered in black leather to avoid windshield glare. A matching console would be awesome as well. What sort of pricing were you thinking about?

slammed_z

thats pretty sick...first off how much?

and does the console line up with this one?

padmos

I actually have almost all the stock equipment in there now. The only thing that I removed was the plastic ducts that lead to the vents but that wouldn’t be hard to modify or remake in the right shape out of tin or some other material. As for the dash pad something removable would be really difficult since most of the dashboard’s strength comes from being one solid piece, right now the whole thing pops in and out with the stock 8 screws on top and about 4 on the bottom. You could paint the bottom your body color and then vinyl the upper half to get the same visual effect. I obviously haven’t taken it on the road painted but I’m hoping that since it curves down from the top the shape of the dashboard will keep glare to a minimum even when it is high gloss. The center consol is definitely going to complete the set nicely but realistically it’s probably a couple months away.
I’m not sure about pricing I was hoping you guys could help me feel that out. Depending on how much the materials for each copy turned out to cost I was thinking something like 300 for the main dash, maybe less since there was a lot of wasted materials with this one, and about 200 for the center, or maybe just 250 each. Basically I have an idea of the size and complexity of each mold and I’m aiming for a 400-500 dollar price range for the basic set. If could sell a couple copies of that I would probably add more features like molded vents and additional gauge mounts and any other requests, but that’s getting ahead of myself since all that’s definitely going to be ready soon is the main section.

padmos

I actually don’t have the center piece anymore since it was falling apart and I’m banking on making a new one but I could grab one from a junk yard to take some pictures of the lineup if that is a big issue. Since the bottom of this dash is curved though and I remember the stock center piece being flat on top I already know that it wouldn’t be a smooth transition unless some modding was done to one or the other. I could spend time making a transition piece for that but I’d rather invest the hours in an entirely new center.

slammed_z

oh i didnt know you were makin a center console also

where are the vents for the heating gonna be located?

im a big fan of the lay out..and the cost really isnt a bad price

creepingdeath

Looks very plain and bubbly. if you made some vents and changed a bit of the shape a bit that would be awsome. i think it would be cool to have like the stock guages vents etc. and then put them into a custom fiberglasss dash so it looked almost stock.

padmos

I don’t have AC just defrost so for me there aren’t going to be any places to put the regular vents. However it looks like that’s going to be a big issue with people so I could include two flat areas for mounting close to where the original vents were in the design. That way people could have vents and I have more space to stick some gauges and the lighting switches.
Here’s a rough sketch of what I could do pretty easy.



starting from the center of the dash, which when you are sitting in the car looks a lot lower than you think, and moving up to slightly above the height of the top there would be a flat rectangular area that would be wide enough to cut out and either mount aftermarket vents or maybe the stock ones, but why keep 20 something year old plastic vents in if you are swapping the whole dashboard. The areas would be smoothly transitioned back to the rest of the dash and would add some cool shaping. Basically it would feel even more like sitting in the bat mobile with those on the ends.

If you have any other ideas let me know or just use paint and hack into one of the pictures and show me.

firebirdjosh

iTrader: (1)

Definitely too round and plain for me, but thats great to see something so unique. Great job.

VILeninDM

it does look a little plain, but you could always add some details and trim. I'd also add vents, even if you don't have A/C, some air blowing in your direction is sometimes nice to have. Otherwise, that is an awesome job.

Now that I see this one, I am definitely convinced to make one myself.

Me and a friend were talking about building one for a while now, my biggest question right now is I can't find LCD screen that I would want to permanently mount inside the dash. Where did you get yours and what are the operating temperature specs on it?

padmos

I got the LCD you see in the picture a while ago from some website I found on Froogle and the specs were something like 35-87 F. It’s not a touch screen though and I realized there’s no point in having an LCD if it isn’t touch screen. I’m going to upgrade to a new screen for the new setup but I haven’t started shopping yet.
For the temperature range I wouldn’t worry, especially if you get something that is made for an automotive application. The old one is a cheap SPL “stand alone” LCD and it survived the freezing winter and being left in the car in the baking sun (way more than 85F). When I first started this I read a lot about screens and cold temperatures beyond the specs wont hurt the screen it will just run slower until it warms up and for the heat you have to make sure is has some ventilation from behind so that on a really hot day when you first get in the car you can cool it down before you start to use it. That’s about all there is to it, I’d just pick based on resolution and a reliable reputation which you can find out easily by looking for reviews on eBay and Froogle.

UCF1Slider

I saw this and had to comment. Although this dash you made is not exactly what I would have had in mind I am extremely impressed at the obvious time and effort that you put into designing and actually fabricating this custom piece. I have been dreaming of fabricating a custom dash and console but had started to lose inspiration because I hadn't really seen anything custom other than swapping a 4th gen console and dash into our beloved 3rd gens. Now that you've done something like this it has re-inspired me to bust out my sketch pad and pencils and get back to designing. I just wanted to say thank you for your efforts!

Keep us updated so we can see the progress of your console as well!

HalfInchWrench

Still looks like you took a 8" plastic pipe and cut in half only this time you flattened out a part of the front.

JMHO, I'd think it would look cool if you put some artistic hints into it every here and there. It's own body lines and hidden objects. Use that pipe theme on the back as a skeleton and carve some of it out and add some more lines. That would raise some eyebrows.

padmos

Slider, thanks for your response that has to be one of the nicest messages I have seen on these boards and has given me new motivation to get this project done. Right now it’s really tough since I’m in my last months of school and the weather isn’t right for fiberglass in my region anymore. The consol also is going to have a lot more curves and corners so that it can hold all the mounting areas as well as fit to the flooring, seats, ebrake and everything else and I’m still trying to find decent materials to use as the base skeleton since I’m out almost everything besides cardboard.

As for HalfInch and everyone who isn’t fond of the round shaping. The stock dashboards for these cars are very square so I didn’t see the point in putting all the work into making something custom that looked similar to the original, hence the roundness. Once everything is done if I have any energy left I might go back and add more character to the shape.
However an issue that isn’t as obvious to anyone who hasn’t tried this before is that in order to maintain the ability to mount this dashboard on the original mounting points and to use the original gauges the number of possible shapes is a lot more limited than you would think. If you opt for aftermarket gauges or abandon the lower mounting points things can get really wild but since I made the decision to stick with those things and most of the stock ac and venting nothing can be cut away from what is already there, the only thing I can do is add pieces on to what exists now.

lxcamaroxl

Hey, i reeally like that, im all about stock, but thats nice. Awesome, stock gauges

birdofprey83

Can you fix the picts?
Thanks!

sgt0704

i don't see anything

crazyjim

red x's

darkhorse91

Firebat

iTrader: (7)

re-post the pic

redcamaro83

pics please

spade

iTrader: (3)

bump....

Rva

yea i cant see them ether

87 formy

I'm going to take a stab at this and say that this guy isn't coming back. He posted that a couple of years ago and only has 14 posts, I don't think he visits us anymore...

creepingdeath

Imagine a ford f150 dash and thats basically what it looked like, it was dull black and was for a truck if i remember correctly

spade

iTrader: (3)

truck?