I love all the creativity!!! The ideas bouncing in my head have been of thin gauge aluminum and or heavy nylon (like pack cloth). I didn't know you could get diamond plate that thin. Good to know. I've always like the race inspired look or maybe vintage aircraft. (I thought about using different gauges. But, I'd like to keep the CEL I love so much and the "Multimeter" seems to have an intimate relationship with the ECU that may be difficult to deal with. Does anybody have any thoughts on this. I think a big tach in the middle with other analog gauges for oil temp, coolant temp, volts, fuel level, weapons status, etc . . . . would be very cool.) I considered the skeleton look using looms and the like to make the wires neat. A little wood trim always adds some warmth. I'd love to see some pictures of the driftwood dash!! Although, I'm going to stay with the utilitarian look for this project.

Well, as promised . . . . here's dash de minimus while I develop my dream and get it implemented:

 

Now that I'm looking at the colors in your truck, diamond plate aluminum would look pretty sweet. It would flow with what you have going on. But, like I said, I really wish I would have taken pictures of that dash. It was sooooo beautiful. If I ever rock an FJ, I know I will do something similar. Anyway, go for the diamond plate....

 

How far do you want to go? Here is a picture of my '89 truck.



We used the defroster vents to create the front profile, but the rest was wood/fiberglass covered in grey tweed. The only visible part of the factory dash was the cover piece for the HVAC controls. In front of the shifter is a JL Audio 8W6 subwoofer. 6.5" coax in each kickpanel. Aux tweeters in the dash pods - there were switches behind the "mid" grilles that controlled the volume and phase of the tweets. A 6 disc changer resided behind the cover where the glove box was. Seats were Corbeau sport. Custom door panels. The gauges were Dakota Digital...

You bastard you're gonna make me cry I miss it so much!

 

That looks like the stuff I saw at the shop that put the stereo in my Subaru. They did the Fast and Furious cars for the movie. That truck was a rolling sound system!! Very cool!

 

Ummmm ... yeah. This system went quite a bit beyond just electronics and the ricer stuff you see in F&F. It is better described as a mobile concert hall - one of the best sounding vehicles in THE WORLD back in the day. (Won both the Daytona and Perry Regional events multiple times and placed 4th at the IASCA Finals)

Of course with 8 12" subs with about 6000W, it would go plenty loud too! (150+ dB)

 

Sorry, no offense intended . . . . . the shop I went to did some high end stuff too. I got a mild system with an Alpine head unit, Alpine amplifiers mounted to the seat back in the trunk, MB Quart speakers in the doors and a quick release mounted sub in the trunk. Congrats on such a nice truck and an amazing system . . . . I'll bet you miss it now that you've filled in a few more details.

[Edit] Here are a couple photos of the "mild" system:

 

None taken - just explaining a little more about the world of "competition audio" versus "car show bling" - hardly anyone understands the intricacies of making a car sound good versus filling it with equipment.

 

if you haven't started it yet, make it out of sheet metal but before you throw it together hammer it all over. Not sure if you'll know what Im talking about or not, but worth a try

 

Nope, I haven't started anything past the dash deminimus I showcased above. I've got a lot on my plate right now. So, I appreciate all the ideas and I'll put them to good use.

If I use diamond plate then the finish is theoretically done. If I use plain sheet aluminum I could get creative. But, that easy to clean and simple look of aluminum is a good thing. I'm not sure how a hammered finish would turn out or work in the long run.

Has anyone 86'd the multimeter and gone to aftermarket gauges??

 

Just had a thought... You might want to be careful about using diamond plate or any bare metal for matter due to the blinding reflections you'll get on the windshield and in your face or oncoming traffic. I'm sure the CHiPs would have something to say about it. To say nothing of the new oven temperatures you could reach inside... hell you would probably be able to bake a cake in the cab on a sunny day [with a metal dash]... Aviator

 

Yeah, I figured that anything that goes on the top of the dash is going to be a dark matte finish to avoid reflection on the windshield from inside or reflection of light from outside. The heat factor is something to think about. Of course, the whole truck used to be black and I fixed that. I know what a cake feels like based on those many years I spent driving black vehicles in Southern California. Maybe a matte black dash top wouldn't be so bad. I could always use a dark grey as a compromise. The original dash is dark grey.

 

I had Dakota Digital gauges. HIGHLY recommend them. They are SUPER bright, never had a problem reading them in the daylight. Also, they are a vacuum flourescent display (not LED or LCD) and the digits are naturally white, so you can make any color you want by using colored plexiglass over them. All the senders wired right in no problem.

 

Hey snorkel you could paint the dash that black stone fleck paint they put on oven interiors...LOL Aviator

 

I still think a dimond plate decal is the way to go, gogled this 4 ya http://www.stickercity.com/store/pro...cat=359&page=1 you can get it all the way up to 24"X100" way more than enough. It won't reflect like real diamond pate and can cover any blemishes in the dash.

 

You could also do a brushed aluminum finish...I believe that takes the insane shine off the metal...

 

Howabout inflate ballons and tape them together around the dash, then paper mache over them, final coat in epoxy, sand, paint, viola. You could have the bubble dash! litle speakers here and there, little holes for gauges, and switches.. You could call your car the tella tubby car. TE HEE

 

My vote is light gage alum. I have some! anywhere from .012- to about .185. I'm planning to do my 81 this way, when I get a few other pojects finished first. I think I'm gonna "engine turn" it. I think thats what they call it. I put a wire brush cup in my drill press, and put different designs in it. I'm thinking about cutting out Slightly Modified across the middle, and and backing it with a painted piece. Whenever I do get around to it ( atleast a month) and get my camera going, I WILL post pics of it.

 

does anyone know where i can get the top peice for my dash on my 95 runner? its cracked in about 4 places and buggs me