Thread: Pro Street Dash Kits

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I have a convertible 1966 Chevelle Malibu and I’m starting to dress it up and making it semi pro street. I’m not tubing it out or doing anything to radical because I want to be able to continue to drive it regularly. I know just about everything I need to know about the mechanical aspects and have already built the engine but I’m getting now to the area of the interior. I have never worked much with interior and I have few resources for parts. I want to create a real (for lack of a better word) “mean” looking interior like you often see in older hot rods (children of the 70’s) not completely tubbed but simple and definitely race inspired. For the most part I think I can figure out how to do it myself but I’m really interested in finding competition dash kit, I don’t like plain sheet metal so maybe polished aluminum or carbon fiber (not wood) but Id be happy with a polished black look with round gauges that “reach out” of or are deeply inset in the dash. It would be nice if someone sells a bolt in or semi bolt in kit but I would appreciate any information you can give me on the subject.

(I have also been looking for a competition pistol grip shifter but I can only seem to find quarter sticks does anyone make a full length (like in the old challengers) gm compatible pistol grip shiftier)

Not to be a smart a$$ but what is a pro-street dash kit????

By the way Welcome to CHR

KIT, KIT, KIT...............................I hate that term.

I hate it most when I hear it on that idiotic "HotRod TV" show.

The whole idea of hotrodding is building it yourself.

Yeah sorry about that I definitely worded it wrong I mean a dash like those you often see in pro street hot rods. I think these are if not always often just custom made dashes but I was wondering if anyone sells vehicle specific dashes in this custom looking style.

I can see where a kit would be cheating and I have the resources to fabricate parts I just have never done an interior and I really don’t want to learn and make mistakes on this car. Its to nice to screw up I’m going slow and trying not to cut it up to much so if there are no kits I would appreciate any literature or information you can give me on fabricating a dash.

Originally Posted by TheFroFactor

Yeah sorry about that I definitely worded it wrong I mean a dash like those you often see in pro street hot rods. I think these are if not always often just custom made dashes but I was wondering if anyone sells vehicle specific dashes in this custom looking style.

no kits that I'm aware of. why not put aftermarket gauges on a custom panal in your existing dash?

Look here for the Pistol Grip
http://hurst-shifters.com/ProductsLi...minselection=5

I have yet to see a Pro-Street dash kit offered.
Then again, I build my own dashes so I haven't really looked for one.
Worse comes to worse, check into a few of the upper end car stereo shops, look for those who do custom installation.
They could likely fabricate one for you using your old cluster for a pattern.

I would just change the instrument panel but the dash as a whole just doesn’t fit the style I’m trying to create, Its nice but it doesn’t fit a muscle car its almost to classy the lines don’t fit, it looks like it should be in an old 50’s bel air or impala just not a muscle car.

Originally Posted by TheFroFactor

I would just change the instrument panel but the dash as a whole just doesn’t fit the style I’m trying to create, Its nice but it doesn’t fit a muscle car its almost to classy the lines don’t fit, it looks like it should be in an old 50’s bel air or impala just not a muscle car.

You've totally lost me here.

Last I remember the 66 Chevelle was offered in a SS.
To me that's one of the legends of Muscle cars for that era, and definitely not of the 50's design genre.

It’s not a SS it’s a Malibu and the dash style differs from the SS, the car itself is definitely a legend in the muscle car world but the non SS interior leaves a lot to be desired. I was going to buy a SS interior and replace it with that but I don’t want to spend that much money when I like the custom look better. To me a makeshift interior that looks more custom and “convenient” not original gives a stronger feeling of the powerful muscle car era. I don’t want a car that looks polished like an original classic that’s been in a museum I want a car that looks like it was made for power in someone’s garage back in the 70’s, a sort of slapped together look, real muscle not just a preserved factory production.

jegs makes a aluminum interior kit . i dont know how extent it gets , but not bad priced,i dont know if thats what youre looking for or not

We are going to put an aluminum interior in my one Son's '84 Capri. That is what most drag cars use, and I thought that is what you meant until I read that you wanted something polished. Trouble with any dash that is polished is it will blind you in the sun. Some guys used to put polished stainless dashes in rods.......looked real cool until the sun or headlights from behind hit it.

As mentioned above, Jegs and others make a several part aluminum dash, but you need some steel subframe under it to support the steering column and to give strength to the cowl area.

Maybe race inspired interiors mean different things to different generations. You mention carbon fiber, and that is too high tech for me to know anything about.

Don

Then I guess your best bet is the Jegs aluminum kit.

By the way is this what you dash looks like?



This is out of a 66 Malibu

Yes that is what mine looks like, except it is blue and beaten up. I replaced the on the column shifter with a b&m on the floor but the steering column looks funny now because the hole for the old shifter is still there. Mine is much less flattering because it is in worse shape and all the inserts are warped and the black on that one looks much better then the blue mine is painted.

I'm sure you could buy new parts for your dash and they made or make a floor shift colar for the column