Here's another one of those projects that I was putting off for too long. About 2 years ago I had an idea of how to modify my factory dash to centralize all the gauges for easy visibility through the steering wheel. I figured I could build an insert for the factory dash, since I liked the look of the factory dash.
Here was the initial concept that I plotted and taped to the dash for test purposes:
It looked great. Everything was easily viewable inside the steering wheel; nothing was blocked by the wheel or my hands. Unfortunately because the factory dash has a compound curve in the center and is sloping downwards I decided to wait and maybe do a Covan's dash for ease of installation. The gauges would need to be angled up to point at the driver's line of sight, I needed a way to form the insert around the compound curve at the center, and the price of the Stack ST-700SR gauge was a bit of a put-off at the time. So I shelved the idea for about 2 years and searched for another gauge that would do all the function of the Stack (tachometer, shift light, speedometer, odometer, trip meter, and 2 other gauges with programmable warning parameters for those gauges all in one, acceleration timers, lap timers, etc.)
Fast forward to this winter... after seeing several Covan's dashes and being unimpressed with their lack of rigidity I figured what the hell and dove in.
I could not find another device on the market that could do everything the Stack ST-700 could so I bought one. I bought 2 pressure sensors for it, one for oil pressure and one for fuel pressure. They both have programmable warning levels with an RPM gate function so it will alert me if either drops below the pressures I program it to. I also purchased all VDO Vision gauges; they are very simple, easy to read, and have thru-illuminated needles & numbers.
First up was to work out a flat pattern for the dash insert. I took measurements from the factory dash insert, drew it up in a CAD program and then cut the flat pattern on a CNC knife cutter onto dimensionally stable mylar. After a few revisions and once I was satisfied how the mylar fit over the curved dash surface, I wrote a program for the Fadal and CNC'd a piece of textured 3/16" ABS plastic. The grain pattern is a near perfect match for the factory dash so it was a logical choice. The texturing also made for a nice non-glare surface. As I expected, the plastic didn't fit exactly as the mylar did, so I had to revise the flat pattern and machine a second revision.
After cutting the new insert out, I primed it and painted it using SEM plastic dye in satin black.
Next up was to cut out the factory dash for gauge clearance. I then heatformed the new ABS insert with some persuasion from a heat gun in the center where the compound curve is located until it fit perfectly. Then came some final sanding of the insert and match-drilling the insert to the factory dash insert for 8-32 stainless button heads. After cutting the left side of the insert to clear the factory AC vent, I then bonded the new insert to the original dash using 3M EC2216 structural epoxy. I really like EC2216 for plastic part repair for original dashes and consoles; it bonds very well, has very good peel & tensile properties, has a plenty high Tg so it doesn't soften when you park a car in the summer sun, and it's slightly flexible even when cured so it copes well with some flexing and movement.
Finally, I installed all the gauges. The VDO gauges were installed using Autometer angle cups. I machined a piece of 6061 aluminum bar stock to make an 80mm angle cup for the Stack gauge in the center. It was then bolted & bonded to the dash. The curvature of the factory dash and how it faces the driver is non-symmetrical about the steering column, so the aluminum insert for the Stack is angled more to the left. Once installed in the vehicle the multifunction tach is parallel with the steering column and angled up towards the driver's line of sight.
All of the lights are LED (blinkers, water temp, brights, e-brake, and water injection pump on) with small bezels & lenses. The pushbutton and knob at the upper right are for control of the Stack's functions. The 2 switches below those are a manual electric fan override and also a manual override for my Kenne Bell Boost-A-Pump. The lower right switch is for the factory rear window defogger.
One problem I didn't take into account was dash stiffness. The factory cluster is pretty deep and stamped steel and added a great deal of rigidity to the dash. Since I cut a lot of the original dash away for the gauges and the factory cluster won't be getting bolted back on, the dash was a lot more flexible. Thus, the solution was to whip up some aluminum bracing for the back that tied into all the factory bosses where the cluster bolted. I screwed and bonded the supports to the dash; it's now even stiffer than stock.
I still need to build the wiring harness on the back. I'll be using a large multipin connector for ease of installation & removal in the future.
Installed pictures will hopefully be in a month or so. While the dash is out I'm finally going to remove all my high school stereo wiring (it's not bad, but not up to my current standards... LOL), remove all kinds of stuff I don't need anymore for my previous aftermarket underdash gauges, tach, RPM switch, shift light, factory gauge wiring, etc, and I'm also going to remove the 13 year old cable controlled Vintage Air Sure-Fit box and install a new Gen IV Magnum box and fab a blank plate in the dash for the new billet 3-knob controller.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
New dash build... almost done.
Linear Mode
