Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window

[Dan in Pasadena]

Hi JJ,
It went fine. Had to do a little "cut-to-fit" so it worked exactly right but not much. Go back to post #1249&50 for photos. Turns out my kit wasn't the one that replaces the entire door panel. Instead, the bodyman will cut the 90* bend off the door panels and grind/contour the edge to look aesthetically good in case I don't install full door upholstery panels later.

[Dan in Pasadena]

June 5, 2016

Stopped by the body shop yesterday to see if my bedsides had been delivered to the shop by the sandblaster/powder coater?

The good news is they had.
The bad news is that the angle strips had NOT been removed as I had been told they would be before powder coating!

The painter was in the booth but I told his son about my concern so we'll see what happens. I'd been told he would remove the angle strips, the sides would be reblasted and THEN they would be powder coated with red as a primer before the real primer. According to him this was to remove the rust that had formed behind the angle strips over the years made sense to me. I didn't know to ask for this and now I feel like I want it done, ha ha!

A pic to prove it happened:

[Kim57]

They came out nice.
Kim

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Kim.
Yeah, they look kinda brick orange/red in all the photos but they're actually a darker true red.

[dug224]

Making good progress. dug

[Dan in Pasadena]

Monday, June 6, 2016

Made a tentative agreement today to buy a '56 Chevy car dashboard from a Craigslist seller. I had pretty much given up on this idea but this popped up cheap - $150.

There was a bit of a "thing" when seller said it wouldn't include the glove box door just the "bare" dash. I told him those words were'nt in his ad but even if they were I consider the "bare dash" to include all the dash sheet metal, meaning of course the glove box door. He's chopping up the car with a Sawzall to get the dash out so I'll have to drill out the spot welds and remove the bits of car body that come on it. This is preferable to me than him drilling out the spots welds because I'm afraid he'd present me with a twisted up dash!

JJ (ChuckDriver) please chime in. I'm assuming I don't have to either lengthen or shorten the dash but I haven't measured yet. SO I'm guessing just trim the metal where it meets the truck cab metal and puddle weld where the spots are now drilled out. - Now that I think of it I'm wondering about struts or reinforcement of some kind BEHIND the dash?

Shopping eBay I see a new repop instrument cluster surround and speaker surround go for the low $300 range and the 3 pc. '55 aluminum dash trim are another $100. The speedo cluster itself I am unclear on. Looks like maybe $100 for stock (hopefully rebuild able?) to as much as over $800!!! For custom aftermarket non-stock unit - Yikes. The cost of installation whether bodyman does it or I do it MAY prevent me from doing it at all!

Any/all advice opinions appreciated.

[Kim57]

IMHO the 55/56/57 car dashes are killer in these trucks. If you have the time I would put it in.
I like the 59 Impala dashes also.
If you don't use it I may be just mental enough to buy if you're going to sell it.
Just one more mod to keep me from getting mine on the road.
Kim

[Valarius_Starchaser]

(Begin shameless plug) Well Dan if you go for the Tri5 dash I have a cluster laying around that I could send your way if you couldn't find anything cheaper/better/closer (end shameless plug)

YIKES that all sounds very expensive!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Valarius_Starchaser

....YIKES that all sounds very expensive!

Yup, it does. If the price tag gets too high the dash will end up hanging on my shop wall for awhile - dammit!

I don't know much about the "guts" of a '55 car dash even though my Dad gave me his bought-new black '55 two door hardtop Belair as my first car at age 16 and I was so STOOPID that I didn't want it. I wanted and got a '66 Chevy van and he ended up giving the car away more or less ($450!) in '74.

I've got to see if the dash length is close to the truck's dash. What is behind it for reinforcement and is the centerline of the instrument cluster aproximately equal to where the truck instrument cluster is?

I found THIS photo online but I can't tell if the length difference is because of the photo angle or is real - and if so, is it significant? The centerline of steering shaft does look different though.

[Kim57]

Check Bams build thread.
He put a 55 car dash in his truck and may have it detailed in it.
Kim

[ptc]

I think most car dashes are longer becasue the task force trucks have the running boards (under the doors) inboard of the body. So it makes the interior narrower....

No big deal though... just find an area of the dash that you can remove whatever length it needs to be shortened, make a clean cut and weld it back together.... Its never going to just 'fit right into place'... youre going to have to customize it.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Kim57

Check Bams build thread.
He put a 55 car dash in his truck and may have it detailed in it.
Kim

Yes, I remember he did it already. Knowing his level of skill I'm intimidated, lol!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by ptc

.... Its never going to just 'fit right into place'... youre going to have to customize it.

You just HAD to burst my bubble, huh?

[ChuckDriver]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Monday, June 6, 2016


JJ (ChuckDriver) please chime in. I'm assuming I don't have to either lengthen or shorten the dash but I haven't measured yet. SO I'm guessing just trim the metal where it meets the truck cab metal and puddle weld where the spots are now drilled out. - Now that I think of it I'm wondering about struts or reinforcement of some kind BEHIND the dash?

Any/all advice opinions appreciated.

Dan, I'm not sure how the widths of the two compare, if anything I would guess the truck may be a little more narrow than the car dash. If so its nice and flat in the middle and wouldn't be hard to do!

The truck has a large brace behind the instrument cluster that you can attached to the car dash, which had two rods that bolted it to the firewall.

From what I've seen you do this is definitely something you can handle, so go for it!!

Here's some motivation for you!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, JJ. Means a lot since you did a great job adapting the Impala dash into yours.

Yes, that particular photo along with one other I've seen with walnut wood in place of the factory aluminum trim got me all hot and bothered about doing this mod to mine. to me, it makes so much more sense to have the glove box located in the center of the dash nearer the driver, plus I like the dual humps and the bling of the factory trim. It's what I remember most from my Dad's '55 growing up.

Assuming I do this - still a bit worried about cost vs. time for the labor if I do it myself - I will take a lot of pic's and post them for future searchers both here nd in a separate post with better title.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Here's the other picture of a Task Force truck with a '55-'56 car dash installed. Both these look so great - to me.

[ChuckDriver]

I have that picture too, I hope you go for it!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by ChuckDriver

I have that picture too, I hope you go for it!

AHHHHHHH.... The pressure!

[ptc]

Thats gonna be easy Danny....

im trying something like this....

[Dan in Pasadena]

Wow, what kind of car dash is that? It'll be in metal or are you thinking of finishing it like thi in cloth or leather? Make sure to post up the work as it develops. Best of luck! Can't wait to see it.

[ptc]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Wow, what kind of car dash is that? It'll be in metal or are you thinking of finishing it like thi in cloth or leather? Make sure to post up the work as it develops. Best of luck! Can't wait to see it.

Thats actually in a Camaro, I am planning mine around adding the hump like that (from a C2 Corvette) and blending it into the stock metal dash. Probably painting it two-tone to give an upholstered 'look' and keeping it very simple with gauges using that Dakota digital display. I will have some sort of skirt on the bottom but not that long. No glove box, and no center console (yet...)

Good luck on yours - the Tri-5 look is excellent!

[II_Slow]

Or there's always this interior.





Seeing some of the high-end work on these old trucks sure gives me an inferiority complex. I'm just a hack!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by II_Slow

Or there's always this interior.

Seeing some of the high-end work on these old trucks sure gives me an inferiority complex. I'm just a hack!

Man, that is SO cool looking! Hadn't seen it before now.

I hope you're NOT saying guys that leave their truck interiors stock are "hacks"! I love the stock interiors in these trucks. I'm just on the cusp of trying something different because I've admired it in other's trucks.

I've got to text the seller of the dash I'm trying to get and make sure he got it cut out of the '56 he's taking it from. We'll see how this goes. I'll post pics if I pick it up tomorrow.

[II_Slow]

No - just saying my fab work compared to some people's makes ME a hack. There are some true craftsmen out there! I can do functional and reliable - but making something look, well not so much. Guess I'm just left-brained, and often envious of those right-brained people that have the vision and artistic skills so make something look so good.

[II_Slow]

The 59-60 Chevy car dash looks amazing in these, too.