2G Custom Radio and dash settings plate made from sheet metal?

[Joey Burger]

Hey guys, wanted to pick your brains on a few thoughts, one on what the difficulty for mounting a custom fabricated sheet metal plate into the radio mount and ac / heat control settings and how hard it would be tomake a clip that mounts on it. what gauge plate? any other issues i may run into? thanks for looking!

 

[RipperXX]

If it's not supporting anything and just in place to block open area around the radio & HVAC controls, 20ga stainless is what I would go with....or 16ga aluminum. Either would be easy to work with. If you want it to be a bit more rigid because there will be some type of force put on it, 16ga should keep it from feeling flimsy.

I wouldn't rule out plastic. There are black plastic's you can order in sheet form in various thickness's some textured that might look better than sheet metal. Just another option. Just google it, several vendors to choose from offering different types.

 

[Nathan1993]

I don't think it would be super difficult. I made a small section for the bottom half of my double radio for a boost gauge. I think it would look nice if it fits right.

 

[TSiAWD666]

It's pretty easy to attach any material there. On mine I used some carbon fiber scrap and just used window weld to hold it in place.

 

[Joey Burger]

Next question, where could I pick up a sheet of aluminum like that? Because I'm trying to do a brushed aluminum/black interior... Would I go somewhere like a scrap yard or fleet farm? Menards? Not really 100% sure...

 

[RipperXX]

Either order it online, or find a local sheet metal / fabrication shop...

 

[91talonts1]

Lowe's sells various types of metal by the piece. Usually in the same aisle as hardware (nuts, bolts, etc). They should have exactly what you need.

 

[Kizzed]

Any metal shop should have a supply, I know I was trying to do the same thing and stretch the AC controls down to the bottom. I wanted a touch screen radio unit up top. Was a lot more work than I thought, in the end it wasn't worth it. You should show some pics as you go along. Anyone else have pics of that area customized?