Let's see your homemade dash!

[gray horse]

Ogre, the steering column is offset. I built my frame work off the cowl and allowed for the angle. Once I had the frame done and mounted to the cowl I marked my cover piece and drilled the hole for the steering column allowing room for the rubber boot. This whole process took a good bit of time. A lot of measure, cut, tack, untack, remeasure, cut, tack etc. to get the angles that I wanted right. A bit of a pain but worth it when you're done. Definitely like it better than the small stock dash.

[OgreTX]

Originally Posted by gray horse

Ogre, the steering column is offset. I built my frame work off the cowl and allowed for the angle. Once I had the frame done and mounted to the cowl I marked my cover piece and drilled the hole for the steering column allowing room for the rubber boot. This whole process took a good bit of time. A lot of measure, cut, tack, untack, remeasure, cut, tack etc. to get the angles that I wanted right. A bit of a pain but worth it when you're done. Definitely like it better than the small stock dash.

Well, I love your dash.

I was in the process of doing some fabricating with foam board, and I realized that the steering box is set toward the center of the cart(G1). I decided if I took the front end off, and built my dash, I would be SOL because the steering column is to the left (looking forward).

For those considering your own, I would recommend doing the "mock up" fabrication with everything in place. Probably obvious to most, but I would have been just a little perturbed.

Ogre

[gray horse]

I agree Ogre, do all the mock up with the cowl on the cart. It's the best way to get the angle, etc lined up right.

[OgreTX]

Ok, after admiring other's handy work, I think I've come up with an idea on how to make a dash that's cheap and easy. Did I mention before that I'm a cheapskate, and also lazy?

I'll have some pics up in a few days, and I think it will be fairly easy to do.

Ogre

[OgreTX]

Would you buy "fabrication easy", and "installation hard"? So, fabrication this post, installation next post.

For fabrication, start with 1/4" Plexiglass (properly acrylic), and go to work on it with your trusty propane torch. Google and you'll find several youtube hits on bending acrylic, and it's just as easy as it looks.

Decide how far out you want the top of the dash to be, what height the face plate should be, and how far the bottom (back to the firewall) has to be. For my purpose, since I could get a $17 piece of acrylic (18" X24"), I used that for my first effort. I decided to have a 6-1/2" top of the dash with a 3-1/2" face plate, and 8 inches back to the firewall. Use what ever you want, and you may have to find a place that will cut to that dimension. I stopped mine at 24" wide, so that I could install speakers on the front sides of the firewall.

Note that I bent the wrong direction first, i.e., the 18" side, and had to straighten it before it hardened, and then turned it to the 24" side. Easy to heat up, easy to bend, and the only tricky part was getting the bend angles right. If they're off, just reheat and bend some more (or some less). Last two pics are test fitting, and trying to figure out attachment methodology.

Ogre

[OgreTX]

For installation, I tried several different ways, and some of you probably have better ideas. I haven't closed in the ends yet, and I really wanted to make it removable. Its easy to install so that it can never be removed, but I thought I might have a need to remove it for adding a cigar lighter (for 12v), electrical connections, and other wiring.

First I painted it on the inside, so any scratches to the outside won't mess up the paint. PLAN AHEAD!! If you are going to drill holes for screws, etc., do it before you paint ... it's easy to see through the clear acrylic, but not so with it painted.

I finally decided to use what I call speed nuts, which can be placed on the angle attachments, and then the screws can be removed and the whole dash pulled out. Anyway, here's the test dash without the ends sealed with multiple holes for different attachment tests, and pics of the speed nuts.

I think the idea is good, but it needs some refinement.

Ogre

[ewbldavis]

Originally Posted by smokindawg

ewbldavis, Where did you find that one?

That is the stock G1 dash!

I carefully drilled 2" holes for the gauges where the key and choke were, relocated key and choke, and spray painted with bedliner paint.

I figured if I screwed it up, I would order replacement dash from Golf Cart King. Fortunately it came out great!

[gray horse]

Nice lookin' dash. Like the idea of using acrylic.

[OgreTX]

Originally Posted by ewbldavis

That is the stock G1 dash!

I carefully drilled 2" holes for the gauges where the key and choke were, relocated key and choke, and spray painted with bedliner paint.

I figured if I screwed it up, I would order replacement dash from Golf Cart King. Fortunately it came out great!

You can say "fortunately" again, and again.

Golf Cart King, and several others, told me that their supplier no longer makes the G1 dash. I'm really glad you didn't mess up that one ... it's probably one of the last made.

I anybody knows where I can get a stock dash, I would sure like to know.

Thanks,
Ogre

[rkuchmak]

Nice looking dash