1G: 2g Dash in a 1g - not as hard as I thought

[Ludachris]

So I've been planning to modify the dash in the Eclipse for a long time. I just want something that sits a little lower and doesn't look so... 1991. Here's what I've done so far.


I took some depth measurements to see how much needed to be trimmed from the back side (where the dash meets to windshield) and took off about 5 inches. I traced an outline of the 1g dash on cardboard and used that for my cutting line to get the contour right. I then had to take some material off the sides to get it to fit all the way in, but not very much. The 2g dash is much deeper than the 1g dash, and only slightly wider.

I still need to do a little bit of trimming on the driver side for a better fit, but overall, it looks pretty close. Then I'll tackle the door panels. I'm keeping the 1g door panels. The doors don't close right now - I need to take out a little bit of material on the door panels to get them to close and then will attempt to add some material to get the shape of the door panels to match the dash. I'll then wrap the entire door panel in vinyl - will probably wrap the entire dash to match. I will also need to create some mounting brackets to meet up with the stock 1g mounting points - figure some aluminum and some rivets/epoxy, with some rubber material to eliminate rattles will do the trick.

Once that's all done, I'll attempt to get a 2g center console to fit... and I have some ideas for the gauge cluster but that will warrant a new thread. Actually, I need to just create a build thread I guess. Just wanted to share this with other fab guys.

This is something I haven't seen anyone else attempt. Hope it inspires others to try it, or try other solutions.

[iugrad92turbo]

Wow a 2g in a 1g dash never seen that before, i love the creativiity.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by iugrad92turbo

Wow a 2g in a 1g dash never seen that before, i love the creativiity.

It might have been done before but I couldn't find anything posted online about it, and nobody I asked seemed to know about it. So I figured I'd try it and document it for others.

[tkrPerformance]

Looks a lot better than the 1g dash. It is the one thing I never liked with all the 1g's I have had.

[bryanwheat]

Originally Posted by tkrPerformance

Looks a lot better than the 1g dash. It is the one thing I never liked with all the 1g's I have had.

That's my favorite part of a 1g.

[urbansmoker1]

that actually fits alot better then i thought, do you plan on fiberglassing it to mould it in to the rest of the 1g body? at least you would have template that you can use now

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by urbansmoker1

that actually fits alot better then i thought, do you plan on fiberglassing it to mould it in to the rest of the 1g body? at least you would have template that you can use now

Not going to do any fiberglassing... If anything, all I'll have to do is use some foam/plastic to shape the door panel to meet the lines of the dash, then cover the door panels and dash with vinyl (along with the center console to match.

It actually fit a lot easier than I thought it would too.

[Breezio69]

Looks good! It will be interesting to see the work for the doors to match up with it. I also see a large gauge panel where the radio goes, nice!

[ramsack]

Wow.

[teejayDSM]

Can you notice a weight difference? When I took my dash out to redo the electrical the dash seemed excessively heavy. I made my own dash out of a stove pipe and some cloth to save weight. If the 2g dash is much lighter than it would be a great part to swap in instead of building from scratch.

Here's my dash, don't look too hard at the gauges they are crooked since the dash is not contoured to the right shape.

[NeMiZiS]

2G dash in a 1G!
I can't wait to see it finished, looks pretty darn cool.

[1990AWD]

Definitely cool, but I love the driver oriented feel of a 1g dash!

[Ludachris]

Once you strip it down, the 2g dash is pretty similar in weight to the 1g dash - maybe slightly heavier. I plan to do some weight comparisons once I get it all trimmed.

[____Kurt____]

You plan on doing a newer wheel to complete the new era feeling?

[NWHTanK]

Are u gonna try and use 2g door panels and center console?

[Dyesuperman]

Originally Posted by Ludachris

I'm keeping the 1g door panels.

Once that's all done, I'll attempt to get a 2g center console to fit...

Originally Posted by NWHTanK

Are u gonna try and use 2g door panels and center console?

Looks great Ludachris!

[buhay6]

Originally Posted by 1990AWD

Definitely cool, but I love the driver oriented feel of a 1g dash!

+1
I love how the 1G dash makes it feel like your wrapped in a nice warm blanket, I think its pefect. It is a little 90's ya but........Meh.
That 2G dash still looks damn good tho!

[untouchablecc]

I love the creativity. I pulled 4 black dashes from a scrap yard for 15 dollars a piece, (gotta love U-pullits). Might have to try this on my daily.

Fabricating all the ducting probably wouldnt be too bad because most of it attaches to the the 2g dash so all that would have to be done is making a pipe to fit from the one g air box to the 2g dash piping. I think the only annoying part would be having the cables line up for the hvac but with some tweaking it probably wont be too bad. What all is involved in getting the gauges to work with the old school wiring? Will you have to cut off the square connector off the 2g dash harness that plugs into the back of the cluster and wire it into the 1g?

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by ____Kurt____

You plan on doing a newer wheel to complete the new era feeling?

Will likely use an aftermarket wheel at some point, won't be using the 2g wheel though. The 1g wheel will be in there for a while probably.

Originally Posted by NWHTanK

Are u gonna try and use 2g door panels and center console?

As I mentioned in my original post, I'll likely just try and shape the 1g door panels to meet up with the dash. And I'm going to attempt to install a 2g center console, we'll see how it works.

Originally Posted by untouchablecc

I love the creativity. I pulled 4 black dashes from a scrap yard for 15 dollars a piece, (gotta love U-pullits). Might have to try this on my daily.

Fabricating all the ducting probably wouldnt be too bad because most of it attaches to the the 2g dash so all that would have to be done is making a pipe to fit from the one g air box to the 2g dash piping. I think the only annoying part would be having the cables line up for the hvac but with some tweaking it probably wont be too bad. What all is involved in getting the gauges to work with the old school wiring? Will you have to cut off the square connector off the 2g dash harness that plugs into the back of the cluster and wire it into the 1g?

Making the dash fit is one thing, doing all the ducting and wiring - yuck. I'll be doing a custom gauge cluster so I'm not too worried about the wiring. And there's no way I'll be dealing with the ducting or controls.

[DSM Jeff]

Hm. So maybe I won't throw out my 2g dash. I have a 1gb awaiting a build and its lacking a, non pealing dash. I like where this is going. I'll stay tuned to see how this comes out.

Also, its looking like you have no HVAC? Would like to see a picture of the top of the dash to see what gets cut. Is the defrost vent and tweeters gone?

[spyderdrifter]

Looks good for a start. Can't wait to see how it looks finished.

[born2tune]

That is a very entertaining project. I love a challenge that requires such versatile skill.

[Spyder FX]

I like it.

[eclipsalon]

Reminds me of a c5 dash someone had in a 2g once...

[olmytsi]

Very nice!!

[gtrej01]

Way to take on a challenge!

Cant wait to see the finished product!

[99gst_racer]

That looks great so far, Chris. Interested to see the final product. Keep up the good work.

[miguelmcv]

Wow, never seen that before.

Do you have more closer pics.

I would like to see more closely, just to see the details.

Nice job.