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After monitoring a few other threads here, I’m working out how to customize the dash for our restomod. Know this: I have yet to take the dash apart! 😎
For those that have done this before, how’s this for a layout? Will this even be possible to do based on space behind the dash? Other input from the crowd? 😉👍
Current center console Current speedo/tach
Changes made:
swap the speedo/tach for dials from approximately 1972 with the older fonts
(Just realized I left out the air vents so imagine the originals are still there…. 😉
Move the radio to the top
Put the engine gauges were the radio currently is
Leave the AC controls. Put the fuel gauge beside these
next is the power windows and (whatever the toggle switch is… It’s late and I can’t remember what’s there. 🤣 )
Gear shift stays
Add cup holders!
Last edited by BarrelCurve; Jul 14, 2024 at 04:26 PM.
I don't think there is enough room to raise your radio up to that point unless you lose your center vents, which include the windshield defogger , and then you will have to redesign the rest of the system to get any airflow , or delete all .
As you tear into the dashboard you’ll find that it’s a very complex puzzle of an assembly, hard to put together even when everything is stock. Modifications only make everything harder.
I know for earlier C3’s there are bezels made for a single din radio. For a later model and a double din radio I think you’ll be making your own. Some measurements would have to be made, but I’m sure modern double din units should be shallow enough to clear the ducting.
Are you dead set on having the physical gauges for the information? I haven’t seen it on a C3, but I’ve seen other cars where fuel level, coolant temp, ect is all integrated into the radio.
As for the speedo and tach, if you’re looking for more of a “classic” look rather than the late 70’s/80’s look of the stock ones, there’s many 5” gauges that fit in the bezel with only a little bit of work. If you can see through the watermarks there’s a pretty good example below.
Last edited by Piersonpie; Jul 8, 2024 at 08:47 AM.
As said above, once you take the dash apart there is not a lot of room to do much. I would like to share my experience with the 78 dash that was in my car and the lack of cupholders. My project is over 10 years now and includes lots of mods from engine, rack n pinion etc but a lot of that time was spent redoing my VISION. My first priority was the cupholder thing. I needed 2 of them. I had a C4 at one time and it had 2 cupholders. Save that for future reference. As I went along I also wanted gauges, lots of gauges. I designed a replacement center gauge pod that held 6 gauges including oil temp and transmission temp. I also redesigned the speedo tach pod to house a fuel gauge. I not only mocked it up on paper but bought a LOT of AutoMeter gauges. I got it all done and it worked. But by then I had changed direction AGAIN and wanted something a little more sophisticated. Probably because I had just gotten 2012 C6. By the time I got done ( and I AM done as far as my interior is concerned) I merged a complete ( including glove box arm rest and pwr mirror and window controls) C4 center console with my original C3 center gauges. I bought a set of Dakota Digital that plugged and played right into the car. I also had a guy in Fla cover my dash with real red tinted carbon fiber. The bottom line is that everyone has their own idea of what they want. But I learned that the more time you spend on something, the more time you have to change your mind. Here is what I ended up with, along with C4 seats and custom door panel, I am thrilled with my VISION now that it is done. It wasn't easy to do this, but it was worth it, to me. I hope whatever you decide brings a smile to your face too.
As you tear into the dashboard you’ll find that it’s a very complex puzzle of an assembly, hard to put together even when everything is stock. Modifications only make everything harder.
Yeah… I keep reading stuff like that on here. That’s part of the reason I hadn’t started any of this yet….
Originally Posted by Piersonpie
I know for earlier C3’s there are bezels made for a single din radio. For a later model and a double din radio I think you’ll be making your own. Some measurements would have to be made, but I’m sure modern double din units should be shallow enough to clear the ducting.
Are you dead set on having the physical gauges for the information? I haven’t seen it on a C3, but I’ve seen other cars where fuel level, coolant temp, ect is all integrated into the radio.
There are single DIN radios with either a slide out screen or one that mounts in front of the dash. I‘d rather see it flush with where the gauges are today. But yea, the dream would be a single DIN radio that had all the gauges on it and they worked. So that when I was in “display” mode at a show or something they’d look like they do today. So not tied to the physical gauges. Not sure I wat to go as custom as Bluewave Stereo, but you never know….
Originally Posted by Piersonpie
As for the speedo and tach, if you’re looking for more of a “classic” look rather than the late 70’s/80’s look of the stock ones, there’s many 5” gauges that fit in the bezel with only a little bit of work. If you can see through the watermarks there’s a pretty good example below.
Yea, that’s kinda the look I like. The ones I pasted in are from another thread on here. They just look “cooler” than the last 70s/early 80s look that I have now….
Originally Posted by kanvasman
As said above, once you take the dash apart there is not a lot of room to do much. I would like to share my experience with the 78 dash that was in my car and the lack of cupholders. My project is over 10 years now and includes lots of mods from engine, rack n pinion etc but a lot of that time was spent redoing my VISION. My first priority was the cupholder thing. I needed 2 of them. I had a C4 at one time and it had 2 cupholders. Save that for future reference. As I went along I also wanted gauges, lots of gauges. I designed a replacement center gauge pod that held 6 gauges including oil temp and transmission temp. I also redesigned the speedo tach pod to house a fuel gauge. I not only mocked it up on paper but bought a LOT of AutoMeter gauges. I got it all done and it worked. But by then I had changed direction AGAIN and wanted something a little more sophisticated. Probably because I had just gotten 2012 C6. By the time I got done ( and I AM done as far as my interior is concerned) I merged a complete ( including glove box arm rest and pwr mirror and window controls) C4 center console with my original C3 center gauges. I bought a set of Dakota Digital that plugged and played right into the car. I also had a guy in Fla cover my dash with real red tinted carbon fiber. The bottom line is that everyone has their own idea of what they want. But I learned that the more time you spend on something, the more time you have to change your mind. Here is what I ended up with, along with C4 seats and custom door panel, I am thrilled with my VISION now that it is done. It wasn't easy to do this, but it was worth it, to me. I hope whatever you decide brings a smile to your face too.
AMAZING!!! That red carbon is beautiful!!! I like the Dakota Digital gauges, too!
And yea, that’s why I’m asking here. For those who have gone the custom route, how’d you like it? How tough was it? Etc. Just trying to learn from the pros here!
How was it fitting the C4 dash into the C3? We have to replace the cracked dash pad anyway so wondering about my options here….
And how do you like the C4 seats? The C3 clamshells have a rod in my back that I can’t stand, even for short drives.
Originally Posted by Peterbuilt
That’s also amazing! Mount Holly? Might have to stop by to see this dash in person the next time I’m down that way!
SO the seats are from a late C4 and they work fine. They fold over so there is access to the back. I made adapters from flat stock to attach to the 78 seat tracks. Very happy with them. The entire dash is original from a 78.The center dash is 78 and the heater controls are from a 78. I actually cut the 78 center console right below the heater controls and glued it to the C4 center console. If you look at the picture notice where the console gets wider then all of a sudden gets narrow. That's the seam. But the heater part screws into the gauge section same as OEM. It wasn't easy but not all that difficult. I then took the center console from the C4 and put a block under it and it fit perfectly to the back of the tunnel, just ahead of the storage compartment section. The hardest part for me was I had to narrow the glove box section and the lid to fit the C4 seats in the narrower C3 cockpit. Lots of mocking up, fitting and taking out and fitting again. And the auto shift was a challenge for a number of reason. FIrst I have a 200R4 trans so the stock shifter needed to be adapted so I bought a B & M shifter. It also was almost a drop in. It was the little details that took time, like I have C6 mirrors and had to wire them up to C4 switches. The point is that my direction changed dramatically from when I started to when I ended. Lots of unknowns ( like the lack of space behind the gauges), and there is no book on HOW TO DO IT. But the people on this forum where a big help ( the C3 and C4).Plan it out but do not, under any circumstances, throw ANYTHING away until you are all finished. Even now I am second guessing what I should throw out and what to save because,...you never know! Good luck.
1978 Dash redesign
