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Whatcha guys think about this?

2K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  pepi 
#1 ·
I've just been experimenting with some project ideas I've had inside my crazy head for some time and I got thinkin to the interior since I'm basically redoing everything again this summer, guttin it out, endless sanding, repaintin, bla bla. But an idea came about my dash. When I bought the 64 el camino, it had an aftermarket kinda boring plastic dash from summit I think and it's supposed to have a "brushed aluminum" look to it but it's just plain tacky. I got to thinking and said to myself while everyone was just wonderin who the hell I was talking to :D "What ifff... I made a wooden dash to replace this?" I think this would be pretty cool and unique. I would try and make it a 1 piece dash which would mean a helllll of a lot of chopping and sanding. It would be a direct drop in and stained of course. I have some nice carpentry skills, a pretty good artist and like to create things so I always like trying out some new stuff without worrying about if I'm up to a difficult task. What do you guys think of this weird idea and would it be better if I constructed the dash out of something else and maybe place some thin sheets of wood over it and stain those? If I want to make it a 1 piece wooden dash, it would have to be a fairly large chunk of wood :sweat: If anyone's tried this idea out, I would love to see how it came out and maybe some tricks you used. Making an aluminum dash is another option but I'd rather try out something a little different. You think this idea is "practical" and if I'll have to use more than one piece to make my erm.. "dream" a reality because I don't want to have the seams showing where the pieces of wood attach to each other.
 
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#5 ·
I was thinking of replacing the center consol, sorry for not being a little more specific. This isn't by any means an original restoration so I'm not worried about it dropping in value. I just want a nice restored 64 to have and be proud of something that I worked on myself. Oh and hotroddr, possible to post pics of it in your 39? Here are some shots of the dash to help you get an idea. By the way, the pictures make the dash look a lot better than it actually is.
 

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#8 ·
Fiberglass is a possibility but I think it would just be cool to go the other route and use wood but I'm not sure how I'm going to keep it as a one piece setup since I don't want any seams showing from gluing/nailing together. If anyone has any suggestions on how to approach this, greatly appreciated.
 
#9 ·
I'm still not sure from the pics what you want to do. If you are going to rebuild the flat face that the gages are mounted to that would not be a problem If you want to build the hood around it as well and make it all look like one piece of wood that would be more work. You could build it in two pieces. The hood would be one piece that would have to be cut out of a big piece of wood. To the back of that you could glue your flat face plate and cut out your holes and mount your gages. You could also build a modified dash out of metal or fiberglass. If you keep the curves gentle and flowing you could then glue wood veneer to it.

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#10 ·
Study up on veneer

what we do is "book match" the veneer so we get the fine furniture look..Google up fine woodworking for tips on how to go about it and spend some time looking at fine furniture and also look at what the wooden boat guys do with vacuum laminating..this way one can mold in curves as well..

Do a good job of it and it will look fine..The final will depend on design and execution of the work..

Sam
 
#11 ·
This is just my opinion. If you wanted to do a wood dash, I wood ( :D ) just make a little dash insert that goes only on that flat part that the gauges mount into. Put a nice stain to it, and I think it would look pretty classy, without a whole lot of trouble, or really taking away from the value of the car much.



Brad
 
#12 ·
Keep this in mind

If you used wood on the top of the dash you would have to allow for wood movement. Wood shrinks and expands with changes in temp and humidity. Also the finish you use on it would have to cope with some pretty extreme temperatures. Unless the wood was extremely dry to begin with it would probable crack and check as the sun dried it. I would just go with a wood dash insert as well. It wouldn't get the sun baking it as bad thus lasting longer less sun fading concerns

don
 
#13 ·
Thanks guys for all your suggestions even though I know you're all holding back from flaming me against me dreams :D But I won't get around this for a while, more important things I need to get knocked out first, I might get around to it before the summer's over and I'll definately show how it came out. Plenty of time for me to think over different custom dash options.
 
#15 ·
I was thinking of replacing the center consol, sorry for not being a little more specific
I think you are talking about the instrument cluster. The center console would run on the floor between the bucket seats. If you want it to look like wood, try painting it a base color and get a 'graining' tool that they use to make fake wood. You may be able to get one at Lowes, Home Depot, or a craft store.

How about some overall pics of the car so we can see what you are working with?
 
#16 ·
This is a rather minor point but something to keep in mind. Wooden dashes are usually fairly thick (1/2" or more) in order to reduce warping. This might present a problem in mounting certain instruments and switches. A normal sheet metal or fiberglass dash is probably 1/32 to 1/8" thick - and most switches have a stem on them sized accordingly. So the depth of the dash material can make a difference. Some after market gauges also have limited stem sizes - although most would be adaptable to the thicker wood. Just look over all the items you need to mount to your dash and insure they can all fit before embarking on the carving project.
 
#17 ·
Whoops haven't been in this section in a bit, sorry bout that. Here's a better gutted shot of my interior from last year when I was cleaning up the rusty floorpans and installing a carpet and my bad again Kevin, I did mean the instrument cluster :sweat: damn this idiotic mind sometimes :D I need to take a better overall picture of my car sometime but this is what you have to work with right now sooo.. DEAL WITH IT!!! :thumbup: kiddin guys, I hate you ;)
 

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#21 ·
WakBordr7387 said:
This is just my opinion. If you wanted to do a wood dash, I wood ( :D ) just make a little dash insert that goes only on that flat part that the gauges mount into. Put a nice stain to it, and I think it would look pretty classy, without a whole lot of trouble, or really taking away from the value of the car much.



Brad
good idea here but I , if I were doing it I would do it with aluminum , more racy nascar kind of look , functional , purpose built , anyway that is not a bad looking dash except for the plastic look , I see what you are talking about. The insert is the way to go. JAO
 
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