talking to cousin's fiance, and we wanna make a woodgrain dash for the beetle.. so the grill on either side of the speedo would be woodgrain, as th espeaker mounted behind isnt used, so no gill actually needed.. and also replace the glove box lid with wood grain.. real wood.. no cheap wodgrain contact.. has anyone done this before? have any advice? anything? support, hatred for the idea? i think it'll look kinda cool, and i'd like to do it cos he is parting his car, ima buy most of it lol.. so we cant do it to his one.

do it dude it'd look sweet as...

interesting idea.....would look pretty good in an old skool kinda bug with some white face VDO guages and maybe a banjo steering wheel :thumb what model beetle is this going into?

I am going to do the same thing with my convertible beetle my husband and I are doing up. Suggestion also add woodgrain steering wheel. Autotechnia (not sure if that is how you spell it) have the smaller sports steering wheel with a combination black leather where your hands grip and woodgrain. Looks very classy. Available at Supercheap Auto for around $270 Pam

I am going to do the same thing with my convertible beetle my husband and I are doing up. Suggestion also add woodgrain steering wheel. Autotechnia (not sure if that is how you spell it) have the smaller sports steering wheel with a combination black leather where your hands grip and woodgrain. Looks very classy. Available at Supercheap Auto for around $270 Pam

sounds nice mate id love to do something like that if i had the time and money

Have a look at http://www.webwrench.com/airaccess/1972catalog.shtml  and click on "Page 7".

A woodgrain dash was available as an accessory in '71 - '72.

If you ever get to see Andrew Dodd's red cabrio at a show in Sydney anytime, it has one installed.

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mmmmmmm.!!
sounds nice damien! i do it if i had the money!!!!
and i have seen those steering wheels pam is talking about....in supercheap....some of them are soooooo lush.
but a small part of me wonders iif woodgrain is not just reserved for dark green MGs or something....... dunno.....it has the potential to look crap/out of place in a VW..........
but still....look foward to seeing th finished product!!!!!!!
thor

No no no, not out of place, you see my convertible is painted Porsche guards red,so it looks verrrry classy! I just realised too it was Repco not supercheap that I bought the wheel from. Supercheap had the plain ones. Will post a photo when I can. Pam

wow quite a response!

i can see in super cheap as a mate workes there

will try to make the dash myself i think.. use existing grill and what-not as a template.. i'l see what happens soon.. looking at getting new front end.. adjust susp (currently at 1" from ground) and a few other bits and pieces from cousin's fiance.. then we'll set to work onthe dash

keep the posts comin'! eager to see pics of them done!!

cheers!

---Damien

Anith.. will go into my 68 semi-auto.. have a look at http://www.killakornkobb.tk..  plans for near future, lowered to lowest legal, w/ smaller tyres so no rubbing (cousin's fiance's current setup dosent rub at 1" from ground :| ) oldskool accessories, whitewalls, visor, wood roof rack etc maybe oneday BRMs..

I bought a superbug for wrecking a few years ago which had a homemade wooden dash [2 panels] with gauges in them.. I took the gauges out and have made 2 new panels from aluminium and padded and covered them with black vinyl...
The wood was plywood and it cracked very easily as there isn't really enough wood between the two gauges...
I did cover the dash of My '61 Beetle with good quality black vinyl [a red Beetle] ... then rolled the beetle... this was back in 1969... [bothdoing the dash & rolling the Beetle] it did look great but doing the glovebox lid was a hassle I remember..
I have thought of doing My Beetle's dash later on...
Making new speaker grills [panels] from wood etc isn't expensive... or too hard....

Lee --

but what about having a pretty looking wood grain in it?

whats a good wood to use etc?

If you are worried about doing the dash yourself seek professional help. I got a quote in Brisbane from a place called Dashboard Restorations and they were going to recover the dashboard and do the woodgrain dash panel and glovebox panel to match my woodgrain steering wheel for around $475. Got the camera charging now to get a picture of my steering wheel. Pam

im not worried about it, iposted in here to see if anyone had done it and could offer advice so i know where to start if i get it done i'll be doing itmyself, or getting a kit lol

red ceder.....expensive but will look awesome..........as long as it isnt too soft though with multiple coats of varnish it shouldnt dent too easy.

I have previously made one for my 72 Super - made a full 1 piece dash out of a piece of Tassie oak - no vents, glovebox, nothing except tacho, speedo, fuel, oil, and cd player. Cut and shaped it to fit flush under the lip at the top of the dash and just followed the bottom contours as well. I ran it through a big planer (thicknesser) until it was about 8mm (from memory) so it would bend enough to curve with the dash and then bolted it through with some chromed hex head bolts and washers. It was to go with the boy-racer look I was trying to get - no rear seats, 4 point harnesses etc etc :duh seemed a good idea at the time.

sounds good! this would only have to be flat, for the "no dash" kinda way the '68 is.. im thinking 3 peices.. prettymuch the original specs, but no vents around the speedo (no other gauges, fuel is in the middle of speedo) and a wooden glovebox lid, and i want to.. instead of having the chrome strip, put a badge, saying Volkswagen in a script font i'd like to figure out how the original grills attach, and try to replicate it, so no bolts or anything showing also.. i havnt had a chance to really have a look.. if it is sunny tomorrow i'll have a few things to do.. seal up headlights, so they dont keep shorting.. mount the fire extinguisher few other bits

origional grills have little metal tabs that are pushed through holes and then bent around so they dont move........ u could try setting studs into the back of the wood panel and glueing them with epoxy and then drilling holes in the dash backing and fitting nuts to the ends of the studs.....fixing it to the car.

thanks nick!

how did u go mounting your fire extinguisher im also scared of drilling my tunnel.. but it seems the best place for it to go!.. plus im having the seats removed soon for re-upholstering.. so no good mounting to seat frame

i havent done it yet. i was thinking ill do it tomorrow ive got a bunch of stuff happening on the baja tomororw including fitting a flange for a 3 inch pod filter and changing the gearbox oil.......someone has hacked up my tunnel already to change the clutch cable i think:cussing so im not too worried about drilling into it as i can see where im drilling

i found this out when i took the carpet out.

ahh well.. just makes it easier for you!!

i'v got a mate looking into getting a K&N pod filter for my 1600tp aswell (he works at supacheap)

awesome a mate is making me a flange attachment from the 50mm throat on the carbie to a 76mm .....it bends in a 90 degree angle backwards under the fibreglass rear hood on the baja kit. and should give me a boost in power from the restrictive oil bath.

polished alloy:thumb

im just going a smallish one.. mate knows what he's on about.. not me to just sit straight ontop of the carby.. where the oilbath was.. can't wait

The usual sort of real woods to use are the same as french polishers like to see:

hardwoods like

oak
elm
blackbut
rosewood

Avoid timbers from countries which have no environmental protection. This includes many of the most beautiful hard woods such as mahogany and teak. As you know, Tasmanian Huon Pine falls into this category as well.

Andrew

Its best if You cannot see the bolts holding the dash on....
You can use fancy stainless or chromed allen headed countersunk etc screws that look OK....

but No screws do look best....
Same with the door trims... NO Screws.....

The oil bath air cleaner cannot have much restriction can it???
I don't think it has.... what is there to restrict????
Not like a paper air cleaner... Now there IS restriction....

Damien,
Just drill into the tunnel.... You won't hurt anything....
hundreds or other people have -- without any dramas...

Lee

K&N Hi-Flow filters are a lot less restrictive, theyre a blend of oiled foam and paper, which allows high airflow, with maximum filtration for extended periods of time.. also the oil in the oilbath wont be getting heated up and keeping it's head in the engine bay..

the pod filter allows higher flow because it sucks in air from the top, and all the way around, not 2 "tubes" like the oil bath

i agree, screws no good! will have a proper took today.. it is nice and sunny.. Still cold.. but sunny!!!

i'll let you know how i go with the drilling :alien

[Edited on 17-7-2004 by killakornkobb]

The glovebox lid is a problem...
Check out the black original padded Beetle dashes...
76s had them.. more common in the US...
and the dash looks good except for the glovebox lid... as its recessed into the dash.... NOT level with the rest of the dash.... the reason:
because of the way the glovebox lid opens, You cannot have anything thick covering the glovebox lid otherwise it will hit the dash covering and will not open...
unless the hinge setup is changed... which would be difficult.

Compare:
checkout a nice wooden dash in an English sports car where the dash is level with the glovebox lid... looks unreal...

Lee