68 70 charger styled A body dash insert

[moparmat2000]

Hi Y'all

since my cuda isnt quite a restoration, and even tho it had the original gage cluster, this part for the most part is shot. it can be restored, but $495 for the bezel pieces, $195 for new lenses, $35 for signal, brake, and high beam inserts, plus a new factory style reproduction tachometer for about $275. a total of $1,000 for what?!? 45 year old gages that are probably not too accurate at best, and an amp gage that is a fire hazard. i know it can be converted to volts and still look like an amp gage. but since this car is going to be more hot rod, and less restoration except for the bits and pieces i want to look stock, i decided the dash needed to be made over my way to hold autometer gages.

more accurate, and way cheaper. i can buy everything i need from autometer and be out only $400. this gives me $600 to use somewhere else on the car, and a custom dash insert nobody else has. so far i have made the templates to do this. I also like the B body rallye dash layout the best. the layout of the gages also allows them to all fits the line of sight thru the steering wheel. i plan on using Harley Davidson indicator lights with the international symbols. i have a place for hi beam, left and right signals, a solid amber for an in dash shift light, and a red for parking brake/Emergency brake lighting.

the tachometer, oil pressure and water temp are the gages that are most in the line of sight followed by the speedometer on the left, and volts, and fuel on the right. i packaged this to allow me some room for the heater control, and a radio should i decide i want to install one at a later date.

i will transfer the cardboard templates to either steel, or aluminum for the panel, and probably go with black wrinkle finish on it. so heres pix of it so far. LMK what y"all think

Matt

 

[DaveBonds]

Looks like it's coming along!

Owning a '68, myself, I have to agree that they are a great gauge layout.

Be sure when you transfer your facing panel that borders the dash, you correct any cutouts that followed on both sides of your lines with a straight edge or curve that you can arc clean.

wrinkle black is good looking, but it's a little difficult to keep clean. As long as you keep up on it, it should look great. Which gauges are you going with from AutoMeter?

 

[75slant6]

Should look sweet!!

 

[Idaho]

Cool. Do you have a pic of the cuda dash you are replicating?

 

[moparmat2000]

thinking of the designer black with chrome edging for that 60s look, or the Z series. for the high tech look. i am thinking about the oil pressure and water temp being full sweep mechanical, or may just do them in electric as well too so the sweep on all the smaller gages matches. i know the upper lip shape is a little sketchy to the left. i plan on cleaning this up when i fabricate it in metal.

more than likely i will cut out a spot for the heater control mechanism, and remove from the shot original stock dash the cuda's temp controller and make brackets to mount it in place so i can install at least heat and defogger in the car. this is why i am leaning towards probably making the housing in steel, so i can spotweld brackets to it and stuff, and maybe either have it chromed or powdercoated bright silver.

the insert flat part that the gages and switches will be attached to will be removable from the main housing which will be screwed into the dash frame. i was thinking this insert part will be made of a thicker aluminum , probably have countersunk aircraft type screws thru it. this is the part that will be probably be black wrinkle

i will have to build the housing as one piece, then cut out the center so there is a flange built in for clip nuts for the gage and switch insert. i am an aircraft sheetmetal structures fabricator/mechanic by trade so actually making this work shouldent be too difficult.

i was thinknig of getting a 67 valiant glovebox door as these dont have trim on them and just doing the gage panel, and leaving the passenger side smooth and painted, but may end up making custom trim for the original barracuda glovebox door.


since the speedometer is going to be farther left, i am afraid i may run into a snag with the cable routing, or not being routed smoothly enough for the speedometer needle. i dont want the cable to bind and release resulting in needle bounce , in this case i may run an electronic speedometer then cable routing wont be a problem, and i can calibrate it for whatever tire diameter, and rear end gearing i am using.

Matt

 

[moparmat2000]

Cool. Do you have a pic of the cuda dash you are replicating?

yep should be the first pics on the thread. the cardboard template on the mock up dash.

 

[Princess Valiant]

great idea for a good looking dash ....im swapping in a 68 charger rally dash to my 68 coronet wagon .....its a bolt in deal for me but im having hard time placing the tail gate switch...but your efforts will pay off because that is an awesome idea for an A-body

even though I love the cuda dash the way they came :-? LOL

 

[moparmat2000]

hi rani

i like the stock cuda dash as well, but the car will be far from stock as i am building it to my liking. it was a slant six car, with a bench seat and 3 on the tree. no fender tag, and not worth much. i threw everything away from it except the body shell. and used a 74 dart more door V8 car for a floorpan, tranny crossmember, and everything else V8 specific.

its getting a full on sport suspension, and big brakes. and other non stock stuff. i am going to put back stuff thats stock that i want to be stock, otherwise i am modding it for what will work best for me. i prefer the 69 model flip cap that says FUEL on it, so this is the one i will be using. its not correct, but its cool, i like it.

the reality is that the 67 cuda stock dash cluster will be to cost prohibitive to restore $1,000 out of my pocket to restore a 45 year old dash with questionably accurate instruments in it is a waste of money to me. i have no intention of modifying the dashboard frame, so at a later date if i so desire i can spend that kind of coin and put the original cluster back in the car. however something tells me i probably wont as i think this layout will serve me best, and theres not another one around like it.

now if it was a factory formula S 340, or 383 4 speed car, then i wouldent be doing this, but i am never the guy who stumbles on gold in a barn somewhere, thats always the other guy. i am the one making a silk purse out of a sows ear, but its what makes my stuff unique.

anybody can take a grand and restore a cluster, it takes some time and effort to make a custom one, plus i love the charger rallye dashes. i dont like the fact that the tach is off centered, but the stock charger rallye dash had it far to the left, speedometer in front of the driver. i swapped this layout as the tach, oil pressure, and water temp are most important to have in front of you. plus this layout falls within the arc of the steering wheel so nothing is blocked from my view.

IMHO i think dodge should have put the tach where the speedometer is on the rallye dash

matt

 

[Idaho]

yep should be the first pics on the thread. the cardboard template on the mock up dash.

Nice job on the template. I asked the wrong question. I was hoping to see a pic of a dash with the layout you are planning.

 

[moparmat2000]

Nice job on the template. I asked the wrong question. I was hoping to see a pic of a dash with the layout you are planning.

Check out Ranidart70's response. She has a 68/70 charger instrument cluster pic in her post. This will give you an idea of the layout, i am also going to mount the headlight switch, and wiper switch mounting nuts flat with the panel. The way these are inset in the panel sets the knobs back so far in the panel they are hard to use.

I wish i could use some chrome B body rocker switches, but the stockers will work just fine keeping some A body flavor with it.

Matt

 

[Idaho]

I see. Looks like the factory tach and speedo are recessed. The smaller ones seem to have a little as well. Looks good that way. Will you be able to replicate that?

 

[moparmat2000]

On the original they are recessed, as I fabricate it up, and purchase the gages. I will see how it goes. more than likely i will just flat panel mount them instead of recess them.

As with most things going on in my life as of lately this will be a slow process. I work during the week, then I'm Mr Mom on the weekends. When my wife is at work, I'm dealing with the kids. I have been going out to the shop at 8:30 in the evenings on the weekend after the kids are asleep to get some time for myself. Not much time to really do anything, as they get up way too early for me on my days off. Gone are the days of me burning the midnight oil to get **** accomplished. Actually ordering and buying the parts is easy. I used to have the time, not anymore, but I do have a bit of cash now that my wife is working again, so I am ordering stuff I need to keep the project going partswise at least.

I'd like to keep this thread alive, but if it gets lost eventually I will post more pix and and a new thread to update it. Right now I as am typing this i am trying to keep my 1 year old from trying to push buttons on the keyboard. Is it so awful that my favorite time of the day on weekends is when they all go to bed, and i get some me time?? I honestly dont know how my wife does it without going insane. I think women are made for rearing kids, which is why us men go to work. Dont get me wrong, i love my kids, but sometimes I'd rather deal with the ID10T's I have to deal with at work, than babysit when I know theres stuff I'd like to get done.

sorry I'm ranting in this thread, its just now that i spent an evening after the kids went to sleep making the template, and this morning with my 6" scale and a compass laying out the gages after telling the kids to leave my stuff, and me alone for a bit. I actually got that part done to my satisfaction. now weather or not i get the rest of it done is a different story. i just hope that by the time i actually have the time to build this car i actually still have some G.A.S. left (Give A ****)

anybody else deal with these issues? and how do you deal with them? id like to know.

thanks
matt