Custom fiberglass dash build...

[Blitzeclips]

Hey everyone I've been working on this for months now and am about ready for the final steps. These are just some build pics. I am eventually going to do a write up but I don't have time for it right now. Remember, this dash is not finished it's a work in progress. But you can see the general shape and form of it. Moldings included are for my turbo timer, 6 gauges, montior for my MSnS, HVAC, head unit, MSnS unit, and 2 sets of tweeters. I tried to keep it clean and smooth... Will be updating progress.. I am nowhere near finsihed. Trust me, it will look much better. The gauge pod BTW is at the very top of that center piece. I need to cut the fabric away for you to see the pods.

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[poonman]

nice work bro, cant wait ti see it when its done. good skills bro, acually inspires me, because im taking a old AMD 2.2 gig dell i have and installing into my car with a 8 inch touch panel display but dont know were to mount the screen, so hmmmmm, give me an idea myself.

 

[InfiniteGSX]

Well its the 6th and I see no updates! I love this type of stuff. I used to be into this when I owned my Fiero... I did a custom Grand Am Dash in a fiero with tons of fiberglass work. I love this tho... not my own style, but its hot!

 

[Splitpi]

Its been nearly a month... any updates?

 

[Blitzeclips]

Its been nearly a month... any updates?

Yes I just finished up the gauge cluster and alot of other little things. I've been dealing with fitment issues more then I expected. Will post pics by the end of the day.

 

[InfiniteGSX]

You better!

 

[Blitzeclips]

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Yes I know it doesn't look so smooth right now I need to trim alot of the fabric away from the outer edges of the cluster. Those three circluar things you see stickin out are for my switches. Interior LEDs, boost, montior, XBOX, etc.. 6 total. 3 on each side.

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Again, NOTHING is finished yet. The entire layout looks alot different now then it will when it's finsihed. Once I fiberglass it, filler, sand, paint and upholster, it will looks much different. Anyways, I had a change on heart on the passenger side dash area. I took out that curve coming up from the center. Want to keep it simple and clean.

Right now, I need some ideas for where to put my other 3 gauges. It's either going to be on an A-piller, which I don't really want because if the whole dash is custom, why would you do something so common as an a-pillar? OR, the other place to put them would be on the passenger side area near the airbag cover. 3 gauges in a row along that area would look clean and smooth with a nice angle to them. The pics showing the piece above the steering wheel top cover show a pod for a guage. That is where my wideband o2 will go. Directly under the gauge cluster so I can see it with ease.

I'm pretty mcuh ready to start glassing. On sunday I'm going to buy all the materials needed and take it to my buddy's place for everything else to get finsihed. Will keep pics and updates. Eventually a how-to on alot of this stuff...

 

[Splitpi]

I wish I lived near you, I would be willing to lend a fiberglass-newb hand. Looks good.

Have you thought about making a "pod" that stucks up above the center column and extending the main gauge cluster over to blend into the pod and put the 3 extra gauges there? I would allow you to glance at the gauges and still maintaine your eyes ont eh road.

 

[gixrman]

I like the setup. My only comment is that the cloth choice may cause you problems when you goto apply your resin. If thats just cotton is will start to sag, collapse under the weight of the resin before it sets up, thinning it out may help for the first coat and then use CSM. If theres a backer disreguard then. One other thing that may help is using blue foam, its is easy to sand and shape and is somewhat cheap and is resistant to epoxy resins. Good luck and keep us posted I like what your doing!!

 

[king_of_HTX]

I have an idea for your other 3 gauges make your own rear view mirror type thing and have a light film of mirror type film instead of a real mirror on it with the 3 gauges behind it. Have it so it looks like a normal mirror untill the gauges are lit.

Another wild idea. You know how they have the lil dash pods made for 3 gauges? Well make your own sun visors and have one of the lil 3 gauge pod type things fiberglassed onto it so they are right there in view above your head. I can come up with ideas all day!

 

[eclipsh]

I'd throw your extra gauges right on top of the dash where the factory gauges go. Make some bubbles and fade them back into the dash. You could use some abs pipe the right size and length. I'd blend id down into the dash the closer it gets to the windshield. Picture the way headlights on a Porsche look.

 

[Blitzeclips]

Damn. You guys just gave me some serious ideas I'm definately going to consider. I'm glad I posted that now. Hah. Anyways, the only problem I'm having with the gauge location is keeping everything looking smooth and clean. I don't want 6 gauges cluttered together so their location is going to be ideal.

As for the cloth, it's a thick type of cotton. Almost like sweater material. I used it on my door panels (which are complete) and it turned out nice.

I'm trying to get all this done before the weather turns cold on me. I still have ALOT of sanding to do after this.

What do you guys think of my idea putting the gauges in a row form on near the airbag cover (passenger side) of the dash?? Any input? How about the A-piller??

 

[eclipsh]

I'd keep those gauges as close to the driver's seat area as possible. You don't want to have to look over into the passenger's seat to see how the engine is running when you're doing a hard pull or anything. Just my .02

 

[king_of_HTX]

I say sunvisor . I think I might just try my sunvisor idea on my car. If only I knew how to do what you do

 

[Blitzeclips]

update pics!

Made the general shape of the pasenger side using ribs of foam board. Then put the guages inbetween the area..

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Now what looks like boards on top of my dash is actually a guide for the top section of my 2 layers. The curve from the inside piece is all I need, the rest of the wood you see on the dash will be covered by fiberglass anyways..

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Time for the fun stuff. Shit I meant great stuff. I sprayed great stuff inbetween the gauge pods and ribs to create support for my fiberglass once I lay it. The foam ribs aren't strong enough to hold the glass and resin, so I needed to use the foam.

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Stuff gets everywhere..

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While I had the chance I figured I'd show you guys how I eliminated the glovebox altogether. The pic below shows the bow underneath the foam. I used foil to hold the foam (great stuff) in place, so when it dried, the complete underside of the dash is already there, all I need to do is glass over it. So, no panels were created or anything. Actually helped a shitload.

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after curing..

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[Blitzeclips]

Time to carve this stuff out. I can shape it literally any way I want. Here's some progress pics..

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I actually have completely finsihed carving out the passenger side of the dash and alredy strecthed my fabric over it. Now I need to mount my gauge pods using the molds I retained from the great stuff. I would update it now but I am heading to my buddys for some down time. Will update tomorrow or something before I go to work.. Later guys. Thanks for keeping my thread alive! Glad someone is interested. .

 

[Splitpi]

Very promising ... Keep us informed.

 

[Blitzeclips]

Updates. Finally got the glassin part going on..

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'

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Sometime this week I'm going to sand everything down and put another layer of fiberglass on certani areas for more strength.

That dash is ridiculously strong in some areas though. .

I am in no way close to done. I stall have a loong ways to go.. I haven't even touched the center piece yet. Well, it's made and fits and all, but I haven't glassed it or anything..

 

[Splitpi]

updates over the weekend?

 

[Blitzeclips]

updates over the weekend?

Somewhat yes.

Well guys I had the day off and it was nice as hel out so I put some hours into the dash again. HEre are current pics. Still need another thin layer of filler in some areas, but other then that the driver's side is near done. Well, besides wiring the gauge cluster and other fitment things. I'll get to that later, but for now heres some pics.

You can actually get an idea of what it will look like now.

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Also resined and fiberglassed the center console. Sanded it, and put a thin thin layer of filler over it. Need to sand it but it's VERY strong and turned out pretty nice. I'm having trouble keeping the dust from entering the vents during the sanding process, so I'll probably take then apart and clean them out afterwards. I want to duct some air directly under the steering wheel out.

Will keep you all updated. Not expecting to be done until around the holidays. It's a long long long process. Plus I only work on it MAYBE one day a week(few hours). If even that..

 

[Artago]

Looking good . Keep at it. Tom

 

[Blitzeclips]

Hey guys put some hours into her again today. May not look like much progress from the previous pics, but believe me it is. I finished the entire side of the driver's side venting and dash. Anyone who has done fiberglass before will tell you all about loeb spots. Meaning that it looks very smooth, but when you run your hand over the surface it's gots some imperfections. So, I went through the entire side and took care of most these spots.

Also if you'll notice, anytime you are doing something where pigtails harnesses and electricals are exposed you should ALWAYS cover them up. I taped mine up real nice and sealed them off so when I go to install the dash everything clips right up and works as it normally would. Anyways, next step is the center console.

I'm gonna go grab some beer. Later fellas.

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[Blitzeclips]

Hey guys (gals too if here) just got done putting some more time into the dash. I am very very very happy with the progress I've made and how it's turning out thus far. If I don't mess it up this should turn out very nice and clean.

Couple things to mention though. I recently bought some sensors that detect the distance of an object from my rear bumper. It detects anything from cars to cats. Meaning if I am at a light and someone pulls up behind me too close, I can see exactly how close and move up a little before their retarded ass rear ends me.

Also, I am having some trouble decinding how I want to mount my gauge pods. I am vouching for a vote. I am thinking something like a 350z pod or something completely unique. Then again, I also want something simple. So I just don't know. If anyone has any ideas please please please throw them at me.

You can start to tell where everything is going to be. If you can identify the top layer from the bottom layer of the dash then you can try to visual the color scheme. I'm going with a pearl red to match my car on the top, then a special paint (flat colored down low). I am not going to get this upholstered, because the paint is a soft touch type. So it will save me alot of time too. I am looking forward to working with this new paint because it looks and feels really really cool. Should turn out nice. Here's some info on it: http://alsacorp.com/products/softtouch/softtouch.htm I'm going with the smaple all the way to the left on that color chart. Almost like a off-white/ eggshell color. I am also opting for the leather feeling paint.

I am trying to finsih up the dash before the holidays. It gets pretty cold up here so I am going to work on it when I can. I also need to make it all match my fiberglass door panels I have already made. The dash will flow directly into the panels as if they are one piece. I strongly believe if I had 5 full days with nothing to do I could get it done. Minus the wiring and shit I still have to do for the LEDs and gauges, turbo timer, etc... If only school and work would be cancelled.

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Overhead shot. I was trying to emphasize where the top part will be painted vs the lower half of the dash being a different color..

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finished up part of the passenger side vent area. Still needs to be trimmed up and sanded some more.

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As I stepped back to see how it was looking I noticed I had a little friend stop by and hang with me. haha. I have no idea how long he was there but he scared the shit out of me.

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So yeah it's definately coming along. Slowly but surely...

 

[InfiniteGSX]

MORE MORE! Not my peice of Pie.. but its sweet... Plus I wouldn't do anything like this... I'm too picky on imperfections and I know exactly what its like when your glassing and trying to get things perfect... It gets iritating and makes me wanna take a bat to it all. I used to have an 86 Fiero that I did tons of fiberglass work to, and I'd get things perfect... start working on something else and notice that last peice had an imperfection or a crack and it would just piss me the hell off!

You got my props!

 

[Blitzeclips]

OK well alot of this stuff may have been overlooked by you guys because it's the underside of the dash where I got most of the recent work done. Alot of the previous pics in this thread didn't show the bottom half of the dash.

BUT, the bottom half of the dash where your knees are was not finsihed. I fiberglassed it and leveled everything out, sanded, etc. etc. It's getting very very close to done and everytime I look at these pics I realize this. Soon enough it will be time for paint.

I am making a small compartment under the driver's side of the dash to give me someplace to put my extra switches, registration and insurance form, etc.. Kinda like a glove compartment but not really at all. Also will be housing a PLAYSTATION 2. I will tuck the console under there so you cannot even see the PS2 unless you literally reach way under there and feel it. So it should keep my windows from being smashed all to hell when some dick tries to take shit from me. It's been very hard getting alot of this stuff completely level, even and smooth. It looks like it's OK but most the time there are alot of loeb spots you need to go over.

Anyways, next step is my gauge cluster. Been working on that alot too.

Oh and surprise surprise I'm using some carbon fiber on the dash!! You guys should like what I'm going to do seeing as how most DSMers love CF. Enjoy.

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Couple other things I wanted to mention thanks to Defiant I know my pixel size hasn't been up to par but I've been doing alot of photo sharing so thanks for the leniance.

Also, next step in the process is spraying the dash with some filler primer. I need to see where I'm at on this thing..