Hey guys. Dashboards and gauges are things that I have wasted months of my life looking at on eBay. I love the function, style, mechanics and information that these gauges provide to the driver. To think of all the eyes that have looked at these gauges to ensure they weren't overheating, taking care of their engine, or white knuckling hoping that "E" on the gas gauge really means you still have a gallon left in that tank! It's also the thing you stare at most when you own a car. Yes, having a cool car is one thing, but if you're sitting inside it driving, it's hard to look at. Having an interesting dashboard to look at was something I wanted to incorporate into my 1931 coupe build. A long while back I acquired a mid 1930s Packard limousine dashboard. I really loved the elegance of the gauges and glove boxes, but had been thinking that it would never fit in a Model A. It's a really big dash meant for a big car. Below you can see how long it is compared to a coupe dash rail. I also made that cardboard panel to size so I could see what it would look like in a Model A. TOO BIG. My buddy Anderson said that I could probably put the gauge cluster in one of those reproduction dashboards made for Model As. This sounded like a solution, but I didn't want to take the easy way out and loose the feel of this Packard dashboard. A big decision had to be made which was to blend the best of Ford and Packard. First step was to cut up that dash. I was a little bit nervous here, but it's only metal, right? What we are after is the center section out of this dash. Second step was to measure a similar hole and cut out the center of the reproduction dash. I like the holes for the knobs below the cluster so I decided to keep those. Now to test fit to see how it looks... I then blended in the edges of the Packard dash so that the 32 style ford dash bottom bead would blend into the donor Packard center. Anderson also helped make this dash happen and fabbed up some end pieces to blend in the bottom. Next step, tack, move, repeat until it's all welded up, and then do a little finishing. Anderson did the finishing on it and I'm really happy how it turned out. The next problem to tackle is that the top is still flat and not finished. The way the dash is designed, you are supposed to just bolt your original dash rail over this dash and be done. The problem is that the stock Model A dash rail hangs down too low, covering the top portion of the recess in the reproduction dash. Anderosn told me about Grits' car and how he cut the top of a Model A dash rail off and welded it to the top of this dash. I really liked that idea but wanted there to still have the center indented areas of the Model A dash rail. Solution was to roll a bead along the top of the recess in the dash. Now the dash is not flat on top, but has a bead resembling the bottom bead of the Model A dash rail, but not as harsh of a downward angle. Next step was to trim the bottom of the Model A dash rail off, and match the reproduction dash rail top, prepping for tack welding. When you have the fit where you want it, fire up the welder. Just a note that I won't be using the 2nd and 4th mounting holes in the dash. Just the one in the center, and the two on either side. Here is the tack welded dash now test fit in the car. I still have some finishing to do on the last piece, but that is how I used the major elements of another car's dash to transform an otherwise flat dash into something with a little more character! Thanks for reading!
Very creative. Will you be able to make all of the gauges functional? I'm assuming the center one is the fuel level.
The Jalopy Journal
