I love my dash!!!

[62lwbc10]

Hello All, just sharing some enthusiasm after months of work. I love these old trucks, particularly the 55-59. In my mind, they are the nicest of all the 50's adn 60's trucks (IMHO!). But what really attracts me are the interiors, in particular the dashboards of these old things. I love the V-shaped gauge cluster, the fact that everything is metal, the lines, just everything about the dash turns me on. When I got my truck, the dash (among other things) was molested badly and needed alot of work. Well, 4 months later and Im very happy with the result. Everything is new, including the gauge face and bezel and speedo, the heather controls, all pulls and switches, etc. Really stunning and wanted to share with you folks who may be like-minded.

Best,
Mark

[mr48chev]

Nice work, that looks great.

[Dan in Pasadena]

That l
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[Dan in Pasadena]

That's fantastic! Huge congrats. Now lets see the "Before" pictures.

I really like what I can see of your seat & door panels. Who did them? What color is that described as?
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[broey]

looks good! did you have to pull the glass?

[OrrieG]

You can't beat original elegant engineering, form meets function perfectly. Very nice indeed.

[dubie]

you just can't beat a steel dash. It's one of my favorite things on these old trucks

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by dubie

you just can't beat a steel dash....

Especially not with your face!

But seriously, these dashes ARE really great looking.

It's always kinda bugged me that the glove box is all the way over on the right. It seems like having it in the middle the way the cars do would have made SO much more sense. For that reason I would love to put a '55-'56 car dash in mine. That and the matching double humps. Of course that would not be exactly original, but it would be era-correct.

[oldcouple]

I think one of the reasons the glove box is over there is that as a farm truck it folds down as a table to set your thermos and coffee cup on when you eat your lunch, sitting in the shade of the cab on the roomy passenger side. Not a lot of shade or picnic benches on a ranch or hay field.

Cars had it in the middle because you could use it the same way with another person. Some even have the detent to hold the cup from sliding around.

[62lwbc10]

Hey all, its good to see that others are as enthusiastic about the dash as I am. Thanks for all the replies. As far as "before" pics, I really dont have any as I really hated the way it looked (but I should have taken some to document the repairs!). I actually have a separate thread with lots of pics that document what I did to the dash. It wasnt THAT terrible, but I just have a pet peeve when it comes to molestation in the radio area, for me it just ruins the whole look. It also used to be all red, so I opted for a cameo-like two tone.

Brooey - nah teh windshield is brand new and was installed by the PO. I was able to work around it. I only need to install the inner moulding to finish it off.

Dan - the door panels are new and still in primer black. WIll paint them red this weekend. THe PO did the white pleat work, at first I didnt like it, but it has grown on me.

Dubie - Ive attached a pic of my headliner as I understand you are interested in such things.

thanks for the great feedback!!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by 62lwbc10

Dan - the door panels are new and still in primer black. WIll paint them red this weekend. THe PO did the white pleat work, at first I didnt like it, but it has grown on me.

The pleat work is white or off white? Looks great.

[dubie]

thanks for the picture. My wife stitched together an incredibly cool headliner last weekend for my truck. I really like the look of your tuck and roll. Nice interior!!

[62lwbc10]

Glad you like the pic and the interior. It was alot of work! I also recently re-wired the whole truck with absolutely ZERO experience. I asked a "friend" to help and he told me it would cost 1,000 dollars. LOL. ANyway I spent a month just looking at all the individual harnesses, wiring diagrams, the original (cracking and taped up) harnesses in the truck and as a result, I had many "a-ha" moments, the scales fell off my eyes, and it all suddenly became very clear to me. Once I actually got started, I had it all done in two days. I used original style harnesses and now I am intimately familiar with every wire in the truck. Also, very much unlike the situation before I rewired....every light, every gauge, everthing WORKS! Amazing!! Thanks again for the feedback.

Actually the dome light still eludes me. Still havent figured out how to snake the wiring up the A-pillar, but thats another story....

[Rednek13x]

Originally Posted by dubie

thanks for the picture. My wife stitched together an incredibly cool headliner last weekend for my truck. I really like the look of your tuck and roll. Nice interior!!

What are you going to use to glue the headliner to the ceiling? I have made a headliner for mine just have not found anything to glue it up with.

What have others used with success?

[Daze57]

very nice dash - great work !!!

[Kim57]

Great looking dash.
Kim

[crossfire84]

very nice!

[_Ogre]

good looking dash
i always thought that dash defined the truck like the fenders and grill

[papastrk]

WOW! That is nice!

[arturo7]

sweet

[62lwbc10]

Thanks everyone! Ogre I agree - the dash is definitely one of the things that defines the design of these trucks.

Dan - the pleat work is actually off white, kinda like cameo white. The dash is more of a pure white, so they dont match perfectly, but thats OK.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Everything looks great.
I've been planning to do my truck's final paint in either Porsche Guards Red or a deeper blood type red. The Honda/Acura deep red comes to mind. If I do, the interior will likely be off white. A little more "off" than yours - mostly cause I have a 100lb Lab that goes with me and it'll match him! Lol.
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[ruby57]

I agree with everything you said, Mark. Here's mine in a steel-gray and red.

-Doug

Originally Posted by 62lwbc10

Hello All, just sharing some enthusiasm after months of work. I love these old trucks, particularly the 55-59. In my mind, they are the nicest of all the 50's adn 60's trucks (IMHO!). But what really attracts me are the interiors, in particular the dashboards of these old things. I love the V-shaped gauge cluster, the fact that everything is metal, the lines, just everything about the dash turns me on. When I got my truck, the dash (among other things) was molested badly and needed alot of work. Well, 4 months later and Im very happy with the result. Everything is new, including the gauge face and bezel and speedo, the heather controls, all pulls and switches, etc. Really stunning and wanted to share with you folks who may be like-minded.

Best,
Mark

[62lwbc10]

Very nice Doug! I like the colors. Nice work!

[mobileortho]

Nice work Mark