Any suggestions for fasteners to build an wood dash?

belfert · July 05, 2010, 04:07:11 PM

The defroster already has flexible hoses from the defroster unit itself to the vents. If you look at the picture I posted you'll see two of the four 4" outlets. They are covered in blue tape right now to keep debris out of the unit.

I can't quite picture how the wood on edge would look. I would buy the back issue if I had any idea what issue it is in.

Jeremy · July 05, 2010, 05:32:51 PM

If it were me I wouldn't be thinking of wood or metal to build the dash - much too difficult to get the curvy shape I'd want. My approach would involve a big block of foam, a bread knife, sandpaper and some fibreglass. A lot of time and a lot of dust later and you could have something like this:

Jeremy

Len Silva · July 05, 2010, 05:52:49 PM

Someone on these boards some years ago had an Eagle with the complete dash out of a Volvo truck. It was way cool!

Depewtee · July 05, 2010, 06:03:29 PM

Brian,

I am currently redoing the front of my bus. The original front was very dated and it is time for a more modern look. With that said, I took out the POs wooden dash and I am going retro with an original instrument cluster as the centerpiece. I opted to go with upholstery. I went to a local auto upholstery shop thinking I would spend a little money to save a lot of time, but WOW was it going to be pricey. I was quoted $4,000 with the possibility of hitting $5,000 if the shop ran into issues. Keep in mind I am only doing the area from the rear of the driver's window and forward. So far I have the door and the two panels below the dash completed. It is turning out pretty good for my first time. I am certain I can do a better job next time (the Prevost is next!). I was able buy material to match my seats perfectly. I used a place called Gary's Upholstery in Tampa. I mailed him samples and he sent back several remnants for me to look at.

I shot a quick video to capture what I have done so far and what I have left to complete. The only challenge I see is the curved area under the instrument cluster.

MCI Upholstery Work

Brian S.

belfert · July 05, 2010, 06:12:29 PM

Quote from: Jeremy on July 05, 2010, 05:32:51 PM
If it were me I wouldn't be thinking of wood or metal to build the dash - much too difficult to get the curvy shape I'd want. My approach would involve a big block of foam, a bread knife, sandpaper and some fibreglass. A lot of time and a lot of dust later and you could have something like this:

What type of foam would one use for this? I could see this being not too bad on passenger side, but I have to have a good size hole on the passenger side for all the wiring and such. I've attached a photo of all the wiring under the dash.

I think a dash from a semi would take way too long to custom fit.

Eagle Andy · July 05, 2010, 06:37:57 PM

Well the defroster on the Eagle dash comes right up against the windshield like in a car and so they worked around them , I have a blower unit under the dash behind those doors and flex hose goes to each vent . The wood is solid birch. If you would like I can take some up close pictures . Good luck Andy

robertglines1 · July 05, 2010, 06:48:59 PM

Room for a 90?for defroster...maybe inside (smaller than Id) to cut down on height..or change to side discharge..just throwing out there.on ours I pad the original dash with quilt batting and covered with leather.the padding gives a cushion feeling and allows for tufting in any pattern you desire.can be stretched around and put under any shape...wood dash with leather over flat area in front of and passanger side down front. Ultra suade looks great also..combination is clean looking..

NewbeeMC9 · July 05, 2010, 07:15:52 PM

If the old dash was fiberglass, why not just put it back together with some fiberglass. And/or use it for the base to cover

belfert · July 05, 2010, 07:28:38 PM

The original dash is in so many pieces now it could never be reassembled unfortunately. It was neer intended for removal once installed.

crown · July 05, 2010, 08:11:23 PM

belfert dont say it cant be reassembled fiberglass is easy to use i had my custom mirror riped from my pickup by a runaway mack
it was all over the road it now looks new again a trick i have used is to superglue small parts then fiberglass you can use screws
and strips of metal to hold things while you fiberglass then remove try it john

Jeremy · July 06, 2010, 01:18:51 AM

Quote from: belfert on July 05, 2010, 06:12:29 PM
What type of foam would one use for this?

Standard polyurethane insulation foam sheets, sold by DIY shops. (Not polystyrene - that melts when touched by fibreglass resin). Note that the foam doesn't necessarily form part of the finished structure - it can all be removed if required once the fibreglassing is done, although leaving a layer of foam behind the glass where you have space to do so will add greatly to the stiffness of the fibreglass.

I just Googled to find a website that showed the technique (ie. carving foam and then fibreglassing), and amazingly came across a site where someone has actually made a dashboard this way. Note that this guy has used liquid-mix foam rather than foam sheet, which is another approach (but looks pretty scary in the early stages). You could equally well use the large aerosols of expanding foam also sold by DIY shops.

For the complete site from which the photos below come see http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2008/05/29/lithuanians-and-pu-foam/

Note that I'm not necessarily recommending you try this - it's a lot of messy work, and if you weren't confident about what you were doing might well leave you in a bigger hole than you are already. But it's interesting to know what's possible - you might for instance make the main structure of the dash out of wood as originally planned, but use foam in a small area where you needed a strange shape.

Jeremy

cody · July 06, 2010, 07:36:34 AM

Bontragers and rv surplus had complete dashes that were really nice set up with instrument clusters, I don't know what they want for them or what is set up as far as the instrument clusters were, I don't know what they were, but I noticed them and thought they looked kinda cool. Probably from a monaco or something like that.

belfert · July 06, 2010, 09:45:41 AM

Quote from: cody on July 06, 2010, 07:36:34 AM
Bontragers and rv surplus had complete dashes that were really nice set up with instrument clusters, I don't know what they want for them or what is set up as far as the instrument clusters were, I don't know what they were, but I noticed them and thought they looked kinda cool. Probably from a monaco or something like that.

That is a good thought, but I expect the work required would be more than just building my own dash. A further issue would be the fact that newer dashes tend to be electronic running off J1939 instead of discrete senders. If I were to go this route I would probably go the local truck salvage place and pull a dash from a semi. I'm not retired and right now I don't have time for a three day trip to Elkhart.

I'm going to post a new thread asking about upholstery. I've never done it, but it can't be that hard can it?