This is way out of my ability (and I'm confirming it as I go!), but I couldn't help myself...

Homemade Dashboard

 

Super cool man, I envy you and your creativity/practicality. I've noticed that some touch screens we have at work and school get a tad hot at times when left on for prolong periods of time. The only advice (if it is not something you haven't thought of all ready) is to get a fan or some kind of air moving device to cool off some of that stuff. *Just a thought*
Good luck with everything.

 

Updated... some resin applied. Had I been smart, I'd have worn gloves. Now I have a paintbrush stuck to my pinky



Thanks for the comments Andy... my problem with all of this is I have ideas, but I can't manifest them the way I envision them. I see stuff like this next picture, and end up in total awe. I know its just practice and experience, so I have a lot of catching up to do in order to make something like what's below:

 

LMAO!!! We don't have any touch screens at school! You're so full of it andy... we're both from Pleasant Hill, MO. We don't have that kind of funding... besides, he works at a pool. I don't even know if they're computer has more than Windows 95... Oh well, best of luck to you man, it'll come together.

 

Nice... Im sure you'll do it. Besides, you did do that super bumper.

 

LOL

Superbumper was easier to do, because one of the neat properties of steel is if you cut it wrong, you can always make another little piece and weld it on, and grind the bead off. I had to do this a few times

Plywood forms for fiberglassing on the other hand, is not very forgiving. Cut wrong, and you've wasted the entire piece. Well, you can always cut it down for the smaller pieces and support parts. Though, I have enough mistakes for 50 sets of smaller pieces

I had a really good "lay" of the first layer of fiberglass last night, flat, no air bubbles, just one paint brush I left touching the underside of the plywood form and it got stuck. No biggie, nothing a belt sander can't fix. What killed me though is I forgot to cover the polystyrene sides with bondo or some other kind of smooth filler, and the resin "ate" the sides overnight, which caused the fiberglass mat on the sides to droop following the contour of the very melted polystyrene. Which sucks because it was coming out so good too.

So, I've decided to make another form out of pine... spray that with thomson wood sealer, then cover that with paste turtlewax, then lay the f'glass on that. Maybe I'll get lucky this time

All this for a 13" touchscreen.

Though I have to say I'm committed at this point. While removing the original dash I discovered two things... it was originally black and someone painted it (good job actually) at some point, and all but one mounting point is broken. This explains the rattling I've been annoyed with for a while now. Apparently hard plastic doesn't appreciate 11 years of heat cycles

 

frederic,

your posts always make me smile!

you are so out of control, in a good way.

keep up being just the way you are!

guicklook

 

WOW Fredric you have more patients than me .I dont think I would be able to do all that


Good luck keep us updated

Fordfanz

 

Don't listen to FghtinIrshNvrDie, we do have touchscreen's at school, a little bit larger than what your wanting in your truck, but they do heat up. As for work, my summer job (pool) has no need for a touchscreen computer, let alone a comptuer. However, I've worked at hospitals in the past which have several touch screen comptuers. Anyway, all I was trying to point out is that these things heat up, and the last thing you wanna do is to install an expensive touchscreen computer and have to take it out due to the heat damage. Just a thought

 

hehehe... okay, I'll give andy the point about them heating up, but there's still no screens at school, or at the 'hospitals' he worked at maybe half a decade ago. Keep up the good work fredric. I like your creativity. You should chrome that bumper of yours...

 

Unfortunately the first mold, which was going to be part of the dashboard, ended up disintegrating. Apparently the chemical resistant polystyrene wasn't all that chemical resistant So, the sides of the dashboard essentially softened to the point where gravity encouraged it to drip off the dashboard onto the sawhorses and the floor. So the sides of my dash are very saggy and deformed. The fiberglass stuck to the thin plywood came out fabulous, for one layer. Strong, wasn't going to peel off, I was pleased with that experiment. So, time to make a new buck, and do it right without any materials that might sag. Pine is a good choice, its easy to work with, and at 3/4" thickness, one can dowel, glue and screw it together to ensure the buck retains its shape throughout the curing process.

Here is the buck making adventure...

 

Looking good on the second attempt i dont think that s gonna sag !!!!looks like your on your way keep us posted !!!hey you still driving the truck like before ??????With the dash all apart

 

Hey, good luck with that frederic, it's looking like it's comin along. I'm in the same boat as you. I can create all these brilliant ideas, but they never seem to turn out the way I planned, if they turn out at all......I was laying in bed last night and decided I wanna start building my own Chopper bike, haha. I'm quickly realizing its gonna end up a hunk of scrap steel that gets tossed to the barn.

 

Yep, I drive the truck every day, but for the most part I have to say driving with your fuse box, your headlight switch and fuel tank switch, and your cluster in large freezer bags is not fun. Plus the cluster is upside down resting on the steering column support because the top is flatter, and its more stable (so I don't have to hold it while steering, shifting, and drinking coffee).

I'm not sure you can tell from the pictures, but the new dash is going to be a "petite" dash, whereas aside from the touchscreen area, most of the dash is significantly closer to the firewall. More legroom and such. Because of all the back surgury I've had in my life, I don't have the leg strength I used to have when I was younger, so to get more purchase, I have to move the bench seat a little more forward than your average 6' tall guy. So it wasn't that uncommon for me to bang my knees on the underside of the dash every once in a while getting in and out. Plus, my wife is also tall, and has a 38" inseam. Dispite the interior space of the crewcab, her legs were cramped also because the bench seat is always so forward. So, I'll solve alll these problems with the new dash.

I'm still sanding, now that the wood putty (in the screw and dowel holes) has dried. Nasty stuff to work with.

Once I get say, two layers on the wodden buck, I can pry it off and enhance the underside of the dash using balsa wood strips and fiberglass over that, which is also how I intend to attach steel bracketry I've made already. Glass it on in the back. Then I have to make the underside of the dash seperately. I've already made the wooden bucks for them, and they mate perfectly to the upper buck. For sanding purposes, to ensure its all smooth, they are bolted together at the moment. But for making releasing the fiberglass easier, I'll glass them seperately, then bond the seams front and back, and reglass the entire front surface. Should have about 6 or 7 layers by the time I'm done, then I have to figure out how to do the defroster vents and the front AC vents. I figure the easiest way is to cut out all the holes, glue styrofoam around the inside of the dash, cover that with fiberglass, and it if it deforms a little thats okay. This way the ductwork is part of the inside of the dash, taking up less space once I glass over all that as well.

In theory