Customs Dashing Dashboards...

Turn of the 50's Pontiac dashes were the creme de la creme by which all others are to be judged. No rocket ship dreams in those Pontiacs.
Advanced Design Chevy truck dashes also ring my chimes. They combine the last gasp of Art Deco beauty with no-nonsense, utilitarian sweetness.
I'm admittedly partial because I've had a relationship with both. Your opinion may also be wrong.

 

My 49 Pontiac Silverstreak...unrestored OG dash...everuthing works perfectly

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I really like most old dashes, including Olds dashes!

Had to go there

 

My 1961 Deluxe Reading Playmobile dashboard from Christmas. My brother got a Remco B-52 Ball Turret Gun of equal size.

 

my '60 F100

 

Hello,

In 1964, I had a 65 Chevelle El Camino. It was a long distance driver and such a reliable car that I did not need very many accessories to spiff it up. Inglewood, wide Redline Pos-A-Traction tires, and a reliable custom air gauge for the rear air shocks. So, after plenty of road trips all over the West Coast, I was thinking that I needed a tachometer. Why? It wasn’t a street racing car, or a dragstrip racer, but a reliable street car that went everywhere. The standard oil, gas and off it went everywhere with the turn of the key.

But, after looking through the red dash and steering wheel for several years, I decided to do some custom stuff. I looked at some custom American Mag Wheels, but it was too costly for a college kid. So, as I was moving my dad’s 1963-64 Buick Wildcat, I have been noticing his bucket seats with envy. How does a dad have a sporty type car with bucket seats and a cool center console?

After years of his favorite 1957 Buick Roadmaster, he wanted a smaller but sportier car to keep up with the 58 Chevy Impala and the countless hot street cars that showed up at our house every week. For several years, he was really into those comparisons and car. Since I went away to college, that Buick Wildcat just faded out into space, with all of the other things going on at the time.

Jnaki

After seeing the blank stock factory dashboard of the 65 El Camino for thousands of miles, I thought of where I could get a tachometer without spending much money. Sitting back home in the two car garage was a pristine 1963-64 Buick Wildcat with sports bucket seats and a shiny stock factory tachometer. I asked my dad if he ever used the tachometer. “A what…” was the answer… So, I immediately explained what it was in his car.

A 1963/64 Buick Wildcat sports interior with a chrome tachometer.

He told me that he had never looked at it and did not know what it was sitting under the dash board. It was an odd placement, but that was how the GM factory designers tried to get into the sporty feel of an interior. So, I asked if he could do without it, being in such an odd out of the way place. He said go for it and take it out.

I knew that my dad would buy another Buick in 1967 to fit his “every 4 years” mantra. So, I had a couple of years to install it in my 1965 El Camino and have fun with a rare tachometer. I gently removed the tach and kept the wires ready for re-installing it back when my dad was ready to turn in his Buick Wildcat for another new car. What surprised me was the clarity of the tachometer with the built in light. My 1965 El Camino had a discreet tach and my dad had a stock appearing, covered hole under the dash, in the console.


Much to my dismay, that 1963-64 Buick Wildcat was a fun driver and it looked sporty. But, it was still a big Buick. One day, my dad came home from work in a new, sleek, green car. It was a new 1963-64 Buick Riviera Sedan. He saw it at a Buick dealer, so he traded in his Buick Wildcat for the Riviera, plus some additional monies. The dealer was so happy to make the Buick Riviera sale, that he did not notice the tachometer missing from the Wildcat center console.

For me, it was a memorable event, I had a custom tachometer for the 1965 El Camino dash and my dad now had the ultimate in a two door cruiser, daily driver. Now, the Riviera had A/C (my mom was happy) two leather covered bucket seats and a very cool look to the big car driven directly from the dealer to our driveway. Now, there was no competition between our dad and the brothers. He had his big, luxurious car and we had our factory hot rods and the El Camino.

My brother and I only saw the Riviera dash board several times including the first time we drove it. It was the last time, as we did not want to be responsible for any damage to the new, expensive car. The best thing: A/C…

 

My all time favorite dash is that of the 55 Chevy!

 

I feel like dashboard customization is often overlooked and frankly as big a part of the car's overall aesthetic as any other modification. I mean, it's literally the part you're looking at the whole time you're driving the car. Extra time and effort should be made to beautify it.

I've never been a fan of most Ford dashes of the 50s, I've always found them to be very spartan in comparison to the GM and Mopar counterparts, save for some exceptions like the Thunderbird, and 58 Edsel. Even Packard had some great looking dashes in the 50s.

 

I agree, Joe!

Just like you said, I spent a lot of time planning at parts sourcing because it is the focal point of the interior.

 

1950 Pontiac silver streak

 

My 40 Ford

 

31 Lincoln panel in my Henry steel 32 roadster

 

Dash in my 32 5W

 

I don't think you could go wrong with '55 Chevy anything!

 

46-48 Oldsmobile

 

My -41 De Soto

 

My-48 Dodge

 

1928 Chrysler in my 1929 Ford Cabriolet. ...with hand made switch panels on the sides.

 

Picked this up yesterday. Going to incorporate a good portion of it into my '29 Roadster build.

 

My cousin got the same one way back when. We had a great time playing with it.

 

I have the same thing in my 55 Chevy.

 

A great dash is a must for me.
Nearly completed this for my Tudor well over a year ago, the car... not so much


Don’t know how I survived turning the stainless.


Still need a little more details worked out. It won’t reach its full effect till in the car. Other little tid bits will tie it all together like matching the Arvin heater with it and steering wheel. War bird dash lights for the gauges up next. Old chrome 40s column to ease shifting. A couple of well placed old chrome handles below for choke and to manually operate the winterfront grill.

All this trouble so I can at least stare at it all the time.



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My 60 Pontiac Dash with a custom made lower panel that houses A/C controls, vents and aftermarket engine gauges.

 

Just as dad made it

 

HemiDeuce.

 

Old car dashboards look amazing and intimidating at the same time.

 

The 59/60 dash has always been my favorite. A friend of mine narrowed one down to fit his 40 Chevy.

 

I haven't thought about it in years but..........did the old 55/57 Buick/Buford Dyna-flow have a speedometer with just a red LINE that went across and no needle? May have my GM stuff mixed up but I always thought that was so cool.
6sally6

 

38 Ford going together in my model a. It was a lot of work but I'm happy I stuck with it