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How To Build a Trick Dashboard

Go one step beyond the basic restoration and add eye-popping elements when you build a trick dashboard
By Douglas R. Glad
Photography by Douglas R. Glad
Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Factory Gauges
Look closely; those are the... 
   
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Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Factory Gauges
Look closely; those are the stock instrument bezels with the Auto Meter gauges melded seamlessly into them. You can have this with some basic supplies and ingenuity (and some of Steve Strope's talent).
Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Factory Cluster
Behold the ugliness and the... 
   
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Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Factory Cluster
Behold the ugliness and the hacked-in test-fit gauges of the CC/Rambler. We wanted to keep the stock bezels and avoid the stripped look that comes from simply drilling the panel with a big hole saw or using sheetmetal.
Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Back
The instrument bezel was stripped... 
   
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Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Back
The instrument bezel was stripped bare using a media blaster. Since this part is nearly 40 years old, Strope hit it "half-throttle" in the media cabinet. Just get the paint off, don't melt it. The holes in the bezels that were created by the author were repaired with Devcon Plastic Welder. Squeeze it out of the tube, smear it over the damage, sand it, and prime it.
Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Dremel
To repair cracks, we used... 
   
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Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Dremel
To repair cracks, we used a Dremel to dig a trench for the plastic welder on the backside of the damage. On the front, we filled the crack with adhesion promoter; it's a light primer that helps paint stick to plastics. We dabbed it with a paintbrush to restore the texture.
Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Modified Panel
Since the gauges were aftermarket,... 
   
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Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Modified Panel
Since the gauges were aftermarket, the back of the panel needed to be modified to fit. The Dremel with a small saw-toothed wheel works best because it doesn't melt the plastic and clog like, say, a head-porting bit.
Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Tap
The stock circuit board was... 
   
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Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Tap
The stock circuit board was a fire hazard on the Rambler, so it was tossed. The factory mounting holes were then repaired, if needed, tapped with a 3/16 bit, and fitted with studs to mount the bracket we were about to build.
Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Template
Using skills he picked up... 
   
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Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Template
Using skills he picked up in third grade, Strope used construction paper to build a template before transferring it over to sheetmetal.
Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Pattern
We created the pattern for... 
   
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Custom Dash Gauge Cluster Pattern
We created the pattern for the gauges by rubbing a pencil over a sheet of paper that was cut to fit the gauge studs.

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