| We're finding more and more ways that this Bear
body is set apart from the rest. We've always been
looking for ways to remove as much as possible from
the dash, without leaving it completely blank. CD
player, A/C and heater controls, wiper switches, air
ride switches, ignition, and finally, most of the
gauges, would look better... somewhere else. Turning
back to the body, it has a neat little compartment,
complete with removable face, over the windshield.
"What a neat place to put all that stuff!"
we thought. So we laid out where everything would
go with masking tape, sat in the car for hours at
a time, and, with our fair share of criticism (coming
from within I might add) proceeded to cut some holes.
Here's how it turned out (so far). |
| |
| I cut out the exact OUTER DIMENSION
of the bezels of the instruments as well as the biggest
dimension for all the other gadgets. It's very
important to calculate your space based on
the bezel diameter, not the mounting hole size. See
the big square on the right? That's the wiper switch.
There's a big box on the back side that takes up space,
so I couldn't lay out the knobs right next to each
other or there would be interference. |
| |
| No, I'm not moving them to the top of the dash.
Once again, I used some masking tape to lay out where
the holes would be. |
| |
| The paper layouts were oriented by hand, so I had
to convert "eye" measurements to "measuring
tape" measurements. I ran a strip of tape along
the very bottom of my paper templates, so I knew where
the bottoms where. At the bottom of one gauge, I marked
the center. Now I have a home base. |
| |
| This handy ruler was given to me by Zac at Classic.
It has all the bezel dimensions as well as all the
mounting hole sizes for all their instruments. I had
to keep remembering that I was laying out the outer
dimension of the bezel, not the mounting hole. I thought
5/16" would be a good amount to put between the
bezels. So, from the first centerline mark, I was
able to go out half the bezel O.D. each way. Then,
5/16" more and I could start the next dimension.
Mark the center of the gauge so you know where to
drill. If you're wondering how I got the centerline
level, then I must be pretty good. Write me an email
if you still don't get it. |
| |
Sha-WING! White Hot series,
curved glass, radial bezel. There's a tach too. |
| |
| Oh No! Two extra
holes! I hope my dad doesn't see this!
|
| |
| Phew, good thing
Classic makes a 2" tach and a matching air
ride pressure gauge. |
| |
| Since the tach is a little deeper than
the other gauges, I put it in the middle of the panel.
The gauges come complete with senders and neat little
aluminum mounting brackets with nuts. The other nice
thing about the removable panel is that it's removable,
which has obvious advantages. |
| |
"ok, tower,
request permission to land. over." I like it. |
| |
| Having all the tools at hand, I grabbed a bigger
hole saw and cut out the hole for the speedometer.
I laid out the hole location in the same way. We decided
to place the heat/cool vents beside the speedo for
consistency and they will be at the proper height
for blowing cold air at your chest. |
|
|
Hey! Look out for that '40!
Please email with your comments - I think I've
only got one email, from someone asking if I'm related
to Tim, and if this is the Official DonutMobile. |
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