Thanks for the feed back guys. I debated on going with a smooth firewall as well. My concern was that with such a large area it would oil can on me, whether is was a new one or if I cut out the existing one and tried to weld in a piece of metal. Hoping this is a nice balance between the two options.
Kreg...I hear you. The ash tray will go for sure. I have a plan for that. Working on the gauge cluster right now. Will post pics once I like what I have. One of the joys of learning to weld is...now everything is a piece of steel. Don't like it, just toss it and try something else. Nothing to be afraid of, after all no one will die doing it. And it is only my time I lose.

 

Here's where my ash tray is going .

 

That's interesting. I need to know more.

 

1965 MUSTANG . It has a slight curve to it so I am building a panel for it to sit on and fill in the opening .

 

Thanks ebear. Love the creativity of it all. Nice to see you doing something different.

 

I was just looking for something a little different instead of having a bunch ***** and had hoped to find something flat but the mustang fits the ash tray opening nicely so I found a used one off ebay and got lucky as it had the cables and heater switch all in good condition .. It is going to work even better than I had hoped , the cables will all reach where I need them to after I swapped two . I will post more pics on my build thread when I get it welded in .

 

cowl vent complete

Next was to work on the dash. I don't like the look of the original dash and gauges. You can buy alum. bezels and gauges from everybody but I was looking for a more modern look with recessed gauges. Here is my original gauges.

The goal was to recess the gauges and turn them so the angle was matching my eye sight. Wanted to have them fit within the original hole though. came up with this design.

Had to spend some time surfing to see what gauges I wanted. There again is an endless amount of choice, options and pricing. After several sheets of paper to figure out what size after figuring out what gauges I came to this for a final design. The speedo will have a tack in part of it to get all 6 gauges.

Then to fit in the dash. Took some work but it is in loose. I need to finish around the outside edges to clean up the gaps. Working on an idea for that. This gives it the look I was after with the gauges tilted to better face me.

 

That looks awesome. I like the idea of recessing it. Makes the shape of the cluster look a lot better.

 

You are one talented guy with fresh ideas. Nice.

 

Talented, not sure. This is my first build ever, living my dream though. I ideas, they come to me at all hours of the day and night, often in the shower, go figure. I am a carpenter by day. I love building things. Did a lot of woodworking over the years. Just not afraid to try something. What is the worst thing that could happen is often the start of any experiment. For me, well I ruin some material, oh well, I learned what not to do.
By posting this stuff, I love to get others feedback but as important is to help inspire others to try it.

 

This Covid-19 thing has given me a bunch more shop time, wow. With each thing I do I learn some more. Next thing to change is the door handles. I was looking for a more streamlined look, modern handles and a safer latching system. Found some Grand Am door handles and locks I liked at a local pick and pull so I bought the whole door. Was not sure how to go about this so started by removing the door handles and all locking parts that go with it and cut out the metal around the handle. Then made a line around the handle to get a cut closer to the original handle. The idea was to get as much rigid metal as possible here for welding.

After cutting I took a flanging tool and created a flange. Then went to the truck to layout where I wanted the handle to go.

Took a deep breath and hoped for the best. Started cutting a perfect door. At this point my wife is wondering if I had fallen to far into the whiskey barrel. Once cut, I welded in the flanged metal and installed the handle to see how it looks. Did the flange thing because to Grand Am uses 22 gauge metal and different metal properties then the old truck which used 18 gauge for the door. Butt welding that did not seem like a good idea so for this work I decided to go this route. Although for any other work it has been butt welded.

Here is the other door but gives you the big picture as to how it looks.

Then onto the latch part. I took a piece of cardboard and made a pattern from the Grand Am door and transferred it to the truck. Looking around to see if there was any interference anywhere including the location of the strike.


Once all was good it it was onto more cutting and welding. OK so I don't have a pic of the holes all welded up but here is the latch installed. I can reach through the hole where the handle goes to unlatch it if required. Handle will be bolted in later.

Next was the strike. More measuring, more cutting, more welding and fitting. I ended up making a new backing plate for the strike. Looks like this. The two holes are where the bolts go through for the strike.

Bolted everything into place, adjusted the strike and door gaps and I now have two doors that latch. Deep breath and a sigh of relief. Did both doors at the same time. Some on one side then onto the other. Find a better way for the second side, go back and change the first side. Sorry you don't get to see the mistakes.
Had one of my kids down for the weekend so I had him give me a hand with this work. He is a reasonable welder so I had him welding up the roof to body seam along with the door handles and any other seam I could find. A great way to have some father son time.

 

Wow! Not my style but you are creative and do great work!

 

Because I changed the headlights to the '56 style I needed to change the air dams to work. One option was to buy them. But thought I would try and reshape what I had. I cut 3 pieces of plywood with 5 1/2" holes in them. Put two pieces on the back and one on the front and screwed them together through the existing holes in the air dam. X marks the center between the three holes. Front side

Back side

Choosing some hammers to try. Ended up using my carpenters 20 oz. hammer.

Slowly pounding away. Be careful here. Slow and steady wins the race. Not sure how much stretch I could get but know I needed at least 7/8". I managed to get 1 1/4" almost. Worked out perfectly. Test fitted everything. No rubbing.

 

Great thinking outside the box .

 

With all the down time I am getting better at finding stuff, lol. Although I have been working on the truck every day, some days don't look like much. Got the pedals and column in. The steering shaft was tight. Took a bit of work to figure out the steering wheel and shaft. When first installed it turned more one way then the other. Turns out the steering wheel and column didn't want to play nice together. Works perfect now.


I watched a show recently and they said they had the car apart and together at least a dozen times. I am beginning to see why. you may have seen some thing similar to this picture already but this is the first time I have the body together will all the nuts and bolts at least loose. Gives me an idea as to what else I need. Also got me very pumped up.