After reading everyones post I thought this would be the best bunch of people to give me advice. I am working on a 49 and someone has cut a huge hole for a radio making the already big one biggger and slotting the holes. I cant seem to find a replacement panel for this other than a whole new dash. Is cutting it out and just making my own panel my only option?
Short of finding a good used dash panel or buying a new one, that's probably your only option. If you're a purist and want to retain the originality of the truck, the very recognizable details and features of these dashes would be hard to duplicate. If you're more into a rod than a restoration, building your own dash can be a great opportunity to be unique and exercise some creativity. If that is the case, spend a good bit of time drawing up scaled drawings of what you'd like to do, placing all of your guages and accessories where they work best. Its much easier to redo your drawings numerous times than start cutting holes in a new dash and then find you don't have enough room to put something in. While dashes can be fun to build, they do take a good bit of time and talent to do well, and that may not be what you're looking for. If not, I suspect you may be best off to bite the bullet and order up a replacement. You could post a picture of what you're starting with, and the experience on this forum would certainly weigh in if it's a repairable hole or too far gone. Good luck!
Radio Panel Oh, I was going to suggest you get a HUGE radio but I guess that's not quite what you're after.... . On a serious note , I have seen a re pop center panel to weld in but they're of much thinner metal and used dash's can be had fairly cheaply , allowing you the luxury of trimming to suit . It's easy to make up a dummy original radio from the new face plates and knobs ect. available , then hide your modern radio in the glove box , under the dash or seat, hang from the ceiling etc. . Just a few ideas for you to ponder whilst searching for the dash repair piece , Joe (Mothertrucker) in Az. will have what you need to fix it right .
If all the butchering is above the radio speaker grill the repair is not hard. Cut it beyond the damaged area and leave as uniform a hole as you can. Hold the replacement panel up against the underside of the dash and trace along the edge of the hole you just cut. Trim the replacement panel to where it's about an inch larger all the way around than the hole in the dash. Use a flanging tool to step the edge up to the mark you traced and the panel will exactly fit the hole and be even with the metal around it. Rough up the edge of the repacement panel and around the hole on the underside with 36 grit and butter with panel bond. Hold firmly in place, we use strong magnets but if screws are necessary the tiny holes are easily filled. 24 hours later that area will be the STRONGEST part of the dash and only require a tablespoon of filler to finish it up. If the damage extends to the bottom or into openings like the glove box or instrument cluster then welding will be necessary. For an exact fit for welding hold the replacement panel tightly (screws or tac weld) against the dash and cut through both panels at once with an air saw or a cut off wheel with a THIN blade. If TIG welded this will give a nearly invisible repair from both the top and bottom after very little grinding. Before and after pic of a 52 dash.
Thanks guys I really am not sure how to go with the dash. It it's for a friend that is new to the classic truck world. My 47 dash is perfect and uncut with my radio in the glove box. I personally like the stock look with the delete plate however on his dash I feel I could patch it and make it look like it never existed but making the factory look with the delete panel would be very very hard without a patch panel with the factor cut out.
Nice job Evan ! Wow man restoring a truck from the bottem is a lot of work but it is the best way to go with this object. Can you tell me out of experiences what it would cost to restore this truck completely (nuts and bolts) when done by you ? I have a one more question Evan. Will the bond gonna crack later as the trucks dash panel is under mechanicall pressure when driving the truck ? have a nice working day Martinius.
Our price for a total resto is around $40k, depending on options and problems. The 50 I built street rodded was about $50k, but there was a lot of plan changing during the build.
Martinius, the panel bond will last as long as the parent metal. Sometime in the late 80's or early 90's GM stopped using bolts or weld to hold the truck door hinges to the door pillars and bonded them on. I have never seen one that failed unless the cab got burned. As far as restoration cost; if we do the engine, trans, rear end, powder coat the frame and suspension parts, heat and a/c, upholstery and glass along with the metal work, paint, and new bed the bill is crowding 30k anymore. Sound system, tires and wheels are the customers choice and responsibility. We NEVER collect one penny up front and anyone that gives a shop money in advance is a fool. When the work is done and your satisfied you pay. The nightmares people have encountered giving money up front would fill volumes if written down. Remember, the shop has something of value---YOUR TRUCK while all you have is their word which may or may not be worth something. We have a large advantage over many by being able to do so much in house and not rely on someone elses schedule. The big disadvantage for a potential customer is there is around a 2 year waiting list although when signed up it usually is less due to all the problems in life that can cause cancellations.
We work the same way, the only cash we take up front is parts money to buy the big items, backed up with reciepts. Labor is paid once rendered. NEVER pay up front, it is too easy to spend the money and then need more before the time has been put in. We have a 49 Ford in the shop that has gotten in deep at 2 shops this way. We have made quick progress and back up each bill with time sheets and pictures. The 53 ended up around $35k, the 62 Ford unibody was about $45k......$7k of that was built engine.
What I thought! Thanks for sharing this idea, Evan. This is exactly how I thought I would fill in my radio hole. Good old panel bond. You could have the same effect without using a flanging tool but a little more bondo, right? (Work truck, remember?) BTW, what gauge metal would I need to use? Thanks in advance!
Zig, We buy 18g cold roll sheets to use for just about all panel repair work. 20g is a little easier to form to shape and in a non-stress area would work fine. If you form it to the top side of the dash, much easier to do, then it will easily draw into place place on the under side. Your bondo will only be 0.045 thick, which is about how thick your dash is, if the patch panel is fit up tightly.
I just finished the cab inside prep and I welded a panel in the radio hole along with some other holes that will not tbe used
