Sheetmetal dash in a street car?

I was driving my Camaro today, and noticed that the dash pad is cracking pretty bad. Everyone knows that third gen Camaro dashes crack terribly bad. I know people cover them with dash mats all the time, but I really don't like the way they look.

Now my dash gauges are getting wonky and are going to need work before too long, I was thinking of replacing them altogether with aftermarket gauges, in a custom built dash. Expensive, yes, but I really don't want to put a ton of time and effort in fixing a dash that just looks very 80's.

I do, however, like this.

But, according to ThirdGen.org, it's around $500. Makes me think I need a flux capacitor.

I know it won't help with the NVH, but I'm thinking with enough insulation and dynamat, lizard skin etc it may help. My ultimate goal with the car is to have a street/strip car, that is reliable and streetable so I won't need a tow vehicle.

Anyone have experience with a sheetmetal dash in a non-racecar?

Do they make a dash cap (plastic/vinyl not carpet) for this car? Some of those look very close to factory.

More info on those gauges please!

my plan for my Camaro is to get rid of the whole damn dash and just put a small gauge panel in front of me.. but my plans also call for a full cage and minimal interior, too..

You could always Fusor the gaps, sand, sand, sand, and recover with paint, vinyl, tweed, etc.

$119.00 Done!

http://www.americandashcaps.com/ymm/product/list/?Make=Chevrolet&Model=Camaro&Year=1992

bgkast wrote: Do they make a dash cap (plastic/vinyl not carpet) for this car? Some of those look very close to factory.

Yep. Rockauto sells them. About $100.

Metal dash in my daily

There was a time when they were all made out of metal. Of course occupants dislike bouncing off of them in the event of impacts.

bullitt mustang did it

I hate dash mats too, but if mine was cracked up too bad I'd consider a suede dash in a closely matching color. Do it right and it could look like a factory option rather than a super-ghetto cover-up.

Keep in mind you don't want your dash to be too shiny or you'll get a lot of glare in the windshield.

ditchdigger wrote: Metal dash in my daily There was a time when they were all made out of metal. Of course occupants dislike bouncing off of them in the event of impacts.

Ditto ('64 Valiant)

This is where my face goes if the aftermarket shoulder belt doesn't work:

Edit:

As far as reflections, only the rounded edge is shiny. The flat part is painted, well, flat.

i have had a sheetmetal race car style dash in a daily. it sucked hardcore. i wouldnt reccomend it.

a well done dash cap will be seamless. ive done 20 some odd of them.

peej410's sheetmetal dash sure looks good, dunno what it's like to live with:

That dash looks amazing!

I'd patch it with an epoxy, sand it down, then spray it with that flocking stuff.

bgkast wrote: Do they make a dash cap (plastic/vinyl not carpet) for this car? Some of those look very close to factory. More info on those gauges please!

Dash info can be found here. Keep in mind that's intended for a Third Gen Camaro, but they make more gauges if you browse around the website.

I apologize in advance for this. (But I can't help myself....)

boostedbrandon said: Expensive, yes, but I really don't want to put a ton of time and effort in fixing a dash that just looks very 80's.

And then you want to install a instrument cluster that looks like it was stolen from Knightrider...

Sorry...

noddaz wrote: I apologize in advance for this. (But I can't help myself....)

boostedbrandon said: Expensive, yes, but I really don't want to put a ton of time and effort in fixing a dash that just looks very 80's.

And then you want to install a instrument cluster that looks like it was stolen from Knightrider... Sorry...

Yeah but Knightrider was like, futuristic and E36 M3 you konw. Think of it as retrofuturism

I made an aluminum sheet dash last winter to replace the stock and not very useful (in a race car) dash for my 2nd gen GTI. Not that its "style" would compliment the OP's car, but maybe as inspiration that it can be done without special tools, etc.

This replacement weighs less than the original, moves the switches close enough so I can operate them while fully strapped in to a race seat that is well back from the stock seat location, is designed to let me remove any panel in under a minute or the whole thing in 10, and features a flocked top surface (that I did myself with flocking and a powdercoat gun). The bends were done using an iron water pipe and round steel rod. The framework is all 1" aluminum angle and all the bolts and screws tighten into riv-nuts to simplify one person assembly. The instrument cluster in front of the steering wheel has a modified stock cluster for now but when I get my hands on a sunlight readable Android tablet, that panel will be replaced with just the tablet and a few dedicated warning LEDs. The Megasquirt ECU has support of a program called Shadow Dash that lets you create about any virtual dashboard you can dream up on an Android device. Right now I am using an Android Smartphone to display a couple key parameters that I want to be able to see at a glance while dracing. The phone is mounted with a RAM mount to the right of the two 2 1/2" digital gauges, and communicates via bluetooth to the Megasquirt.

Wclark that is butt kickin' cool!!!

• buy a sheet of 2" blue/pink foam sheet from the big box store
• cut and shape to the desired dimensions
• tightly cover with saran wrap or other plastic sheeting
• cover with several layers of fiberglass cloth and mat (note - Epoxy resin shouldnt react with the Expanded Polystyrene foam, polyester "fiberglass" resin will)
• remove foam buck, line with spray foam or dynomat for rigidity
• Bondo and sand until smooth
• Flock
• guages
• win

In reply to wclark:

That is EXACTLY what I had in mind.

ohmahgerrrrd.

In reply to wclark:

Do you have any pictures of the putting together process? I might need to do that someday.

wclark wrote: I made an aluminum sheet dash last winter to replace the stock and not very useful (in a race car) dash for my 2nd gen GTI. Not that its "style" would compliment the OP's car, but maybe as inspiration that it can be done without special tools, etc. This replacement weighs less than the original, moves the switches close enough so I can operate them while fully strapped in to a race seat that is well back from the stock seat location, is designed to let me remove any panel in under a minute or the whole thing in 10, and features a flocked top surface (that I did myself with flocking and a powdercoat gun). The bends were done using an iron water pipe and round steel rod. The framework is all 1" aluminum angle and all the bolts and screws tighten into riv-nuts to simplify one person assembly. The instrument cluster in front of the steering wheel has a modified stock cluster for now but when I get my hands on a sunlight readable Android tablet, that panel will be replaced with just the tablet and a few dedicated warning LEDs. The Megasquirt ECU has support of a program called Shadow Dash that lets you create about any virtual dashboard you can dream up on an Android device. Right now I am using an Android Smartphone to display a couple key parameters that I want to be able to see at a glance while dracing. The phone is mounted with a RAM mount to the right of the two 2 1/2" digital gauges, and communicates via bluetooth to the Megasquirt.

Interesting set up. What's the bike lever on the shifter?

You could just repair your dash pad, I'm probably going to go that route when it comes time to replace the cracked dash in my Camaro. I watched Tommy repair one on Muscle Car, in this episode.

Other than that I'd rather not put too many hard surfaces in a car where the occupants aren't going to be wearing helmets full time.

Thanks everyone. I dont want to hijack this thread. I have a rather long build thread for the whole car (at least its evolution as a hillclimbing car over the last 4 seasons) at: hillclimb.org The dash part is around page 21.

I dont have too many picks of the build process that would be helpful. Did a mock up with cardboard, built an aluminum frame to hold the top to the firewall and angle aluminum to hold the faces to the top.

The bike brake lever on the shifter is reverse lockout release...I redesigned the VW mechanical shifter and mounted a new 1-2 gate / reverse lockout on the tranny instead of in the shifter box on the tunnel. No plastic balls, nylon or rubber bushings anywhere. All spherical bearings end to end. Bushings are bronze. All of the transfer rods and levers have been replaced or reinforced.