tetanus dash thread

apologies. I am doing this thread as an organizational tool. I have had several people ask about my dash so I decided I would do a thread to put lots of the pictures and information together in an easy to find place.



Long before I got my bronco I loved the crazy horse bronco that Stacey David built. I just loved the way that thing looked. the paint was a bit too wild for me, but the body style, stance etc. I just loved it. one of the things I learned when watching him build it was that I did not like the dash layout. so I always planned to change it. after I bought my bronco and had begun the restoration process I joined this site. AZ73's build gave me a lot of inspiration. I originally planned to use a bc bronco blank dash but they were on back order for over 6 months so I gave up on that idea. then I did like I do most things, I shot gunned it. I ordered a dash overlay from wild horses, and since I have a yj jeep that I have done a lot of work to over the years and, I am a member on many jeep forums, I knew of a guy who builds custom dashes for jeeps. I sent him an email and asked if he would consider branching out into broncos. He did not answer right away so I started work on the dash overlay. I laid out my plan and even transplanted the glove box opening into the overlay moving it over to accommodate a possible future roll cage. After I had started Dan Dilner from Double D fab https://www.doubledfab.com/ responded that he would indeed be interested. so I sent him a terrible sketch of my ideas.



some measurements as close as I could make them.

I also shipped him my original dash, a replacement glove box door, (not the one with the vin tag), the dash overlay, my gauge measurements, the plastic defroster plenum, the dash pad, and the steering column surround.

he entered all the information into a CAD program both the original information and the plans for my dash, so that he could take these measurements to do other dash's if there was a market.




then once I had made a few adjustments he fabricated my dash.

people have asked me about the gauge fitment with the defrost plenum.
it is a perfect fit.



these are speedhut gauges https://www.speedhut.com/kit/GLM4-6...meter-200km-h-Metric,-Tachometer-Gauge-8K-RPM they allow you to customize them in many ways. I made the logo in ms paint. from some clip art I found on the internet.



I ended up making some changes. I originally planned to use an old air products hvac unit, and the dash opening was made for it.



I did not like the way the hoses came through the firewall though. unfortunately it was not until after the paint was finished that I discovered restomod air. once I did I decided to adapt my plan. I bought the stuff I needed from restomod and converted it. that unfortunately necessitated changing the hvac controls. they were similar but not the same, since the dash was already painted I decided to just make an adapter plate to make it work. it is not ideal but I don't think it turned out to bad.



in my design I wanted to keep things clean and simple. I had several criteria to meet. I wanted to be able to use the stock glove compartment door because of the vin tag. I did not want the stereo in the dash, I planned to use the underdash cubby because I wanted a double din stereo for GPS guidance etc. unfortunately changing the type of HVAC system I planned also caused me to make some other changes. this system does not allow the normal glove box so I could not put my fuse box there so I decided to mount it in the cubby as well. that made fitting the stereo difficult. but I found one with a remote screen that fits nicely.
I also decided I preferred to have the ac vents mounted below the dash instead of in the dash. I did not want the dash to seem cluttered.



I used an american autowire wiring harness so the wiring of individual gauges was very easy. I bought the LED turn signal and bright indicator off amazon, I bought a later model Ididit tilt steering column with the built in emergency flasher switch from wild horses to further simplify the dash layout.

It turns out that was good, it left a nice open spot to the left of my steering column that I mounted my efi handheld to while I did the initial setup, however, after I switched to the sniper EFI system I decided I needed to be able to monitor my fuel pressure inside the truck. on my 67 mustang I used an msd atomic efi, and the handheld had a fuel pressure monitor built in. sniper doesn't. Fortunately Speedhut saves your profile, so I went back to there website and ordered a matching fuel pressure gauge.



it doesn't have the bezel, but it doesn't seem out of place to me in that location. and it was a simple plug and play install with the speedhut wiring harness.
I am still undecided about whether or not to put a dash pad on. it will fit fine. I test fit it before paint, but I kind of like it the way it is. so that is still something I will have to consider.


vs

Beautiful

Wow - beautifully done!
Where did you source the door panels with the built-in speaker pods?

NewDog said:

Wow - beautifully done!
Where did you source the door panels with the built-in speaker pods?

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Bronco hut

https://www.broncohut.com/Fiberglass-Speaker-Door-Panels-White-Black-Paintable/productinfo/BH-15351/

Very nicely done. Mine layout is very similar...
Curious what you used for tablet in center console and how did you mount it?

It’s not a tablet it’s a stereo with a remote screen. But it has Apple play so I just use my phone for all the tablet functions.

https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/NEX/DMH-C2550NEX

AZ73 said:

Beautiful

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thanks, like I said I used yours as inspiration. I even bought a push button start system that I had intended to use, however after reading more it appears the holley sniper system doesn't like those kinds of systems very well so I have decided to stick with the key for awhile at least. I may decide to give it a try later on though.

What size Speed Hut Gauges did you install?

Beautiful setup, love the gauges

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rguest3 said:

What size Speed Hut Gauges did you install?

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4 inch and 2 1/16 inch.

Bitch'nBronco said:

Beautiful setup, love the gauges

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Thanks. I love speedhut. I have used them in my Jeep also

mustanggarage said:

thanks, like I said I used yours as inspiration. I even bought a push button start system that I had intended to use, however after reading more it appears the holley sniper system doesn't like those kinds of systems very well so I have decided to stick with the key for awhile at least. I may decide to give it a try later on though.

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I'm flattered. But I didn't know about the push button start issue and the Holley sniper. Thanks for the heads up.

This is amazing man! Great write up. I love how you did the infotainment under the dash. I like how it keeps the dash clutter free.

Did you fabricate the box for the screen or buy one?


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TheVazha said:

This is amazing man! Great write up. I love how you did the infotainment under the dash. I like how it keeps the dash clutter free.

Did you fabricate the box for the screen or buy one?


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Thanks. And It’s an under dash cubby from wild horses

mustanggarage said:

Thanks. And It’s an under dash cubby from wild horses

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I'm assuming Vintage Air has a built in heater that routes through the under-dash vents. My issue with the WH cubby was that seemed to trap the Stock Blower / Heater air.

BGBronco said:

I'm assuming Vintage Air has a built in heater that routes through the under-dash vents. My issue with the WH cubby was that seemed to trap the Stock Blower / Heater air.

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yes, it has hoses that go to the vents under the dash, and one that goes to a vent that mounts on the firewall in the drivers footwell.

here are a couple more pictures after the installation of the dash pad.