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Dash rebuild ideas (iPad, switches, cupholders, etc)

59K views 68 replies 17 participants last post by  lenzhotrod 
#1 ·
Dash rebuild ideas (iPad, switches, cupholders, F650 dash,etc)

HI guys.

I have a '99 Superduty.

I want to mount an iPad in my dash and I need to mount about a dozen switches somewhere too. (Driving lights, backup lights, exhaust brake, air compressor, front suspension up/down, rear suspension up/down, inverter on/off, etc.)

I'm looking at my dash and I'm finding it hard to figure out where to put things.

The iPad measures ~9.5 x 7.5 without the mounting frame. I am not sure if I will be keeping a stereo head unit in the dash or not. Depends if I figure out a way to get AM/FM radio through the iPad.

I am thinking of relocating my heater controls to the cubby hole below the upper dash piece. It seems like a lot of work though.

I also need to do something about my cupholders. They are the early 99 design and famous for spilling drinks.

I just bought a Tekonsha P3 brake controller to replace the Jordon. I'd like to embed it in the dash too so that the manual override is easy to reach and it looks like it came from the factory.

Here is what I am starting with.


Ideas ?
 
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#3 ·
There is 8" between the vents to mount the iPad in a portrait orientation if one removed the head unit and the heater controls. That would leave the vents intact, something I think I want to do.

The brake controller could go beneath the left air vent.

????
 
#5 ·
I have the ZF6. Would the F650 dash for the automatic fit my truck ? I doubt it. The manual F650 dash doesn't seem to have a lot of flat panel area for switches.

Before the iPad idea, I was thinking of making the cubby hole area flat and mounting 2 rows of 6 switches there.

I'd also prefer to have the iPad in landscape rather than portrait.

Are you guys aware that you can get an OBDII wifi dongle and an app called Rev to watch your engine parameters on the iPad ? Its darn neat.
 
#6 ·
#7 ·
For doing what you want I would go with an F650 manual dash to make things easier and mount your heater controls in the upper portion and a radio in the lower portion, or the brake controller down there.

This might give you some ideas, I know its a different dash but should have a lot of similarities. I had to do some work to the backside as well and can get you some dimensions if you want/need. This is a 10.4" LCD touch screen panel removed from the bezel and mounted to the dash, below is a slot load DVD burner drive, so I can watch store bough DVD's as well as burn and read cd's and DVD's my GPS setup was about $130 and can be used on any PC or mac, hard drive right now is only 120GB and pretty full, but I have a 500GB to drop in soon.



I plan on redoing most everything now that I have more experience, but here is my lower dash pod I made (first thing I have ever made from fiberglass, so I have learned a lot since)



and I posted up this link in your other thread, but for most all the info you would need for getting the iPad to work and be friendly in a car environment can be found here, iPad - MP3Car.com
 
#8 ·
Thanks.

The vents are the problem. I've been advised to mount the iPad in landscape mode, not portrait. There isn't enough room. Ideas for moving the vents ?

How hard was it to move your heater control ?
 
#9 ·
heater controls were easy, re-routed the wiring harnesses and mounted the panel, took a little trickery other than that due to clearance issues in that spot but nothing major. There is a metal support bar just above that cubby that may give you some trouble, but is easy to work around. I don't know enough of the old trucks to know if they use vacuum lines or if they are all electronic. But worst case you may need to extend/reroute some wiring/lines.

For the vents again I would have to see the 99-04 dash more closely. It sorta depends on how much room you need overall plus how involved you want to get. Also any sort of major changes made to the dash you will need to consider final refinishing on the dash. For example mine is all wood grain which makes it nearly impossible to refinish, however yours you could relatively easily refinish if you were to say, relocate an AC vent or so. You would need to sand down the whole area or so and retexture it and then repaint it as you would a gauge pod. The trouble I see mostly will come from behind the scenes making the ducting tie into the vent if you were to relocate it.

The one thing I learned with mine was it may look to have plenty of room from the face, but you don't know the whole story till you look at it from the backside. I actually had to "clearance" a few pieces in mine to make it all work.

For some good fabrication examples (what I used to learn) check out this thread, MY Fabrication Work, Bezels, Monitors, Gauges, Tons of Jobs 56k Killer. - MP3Car.com

Maybe you learn differently than me, but I learn through watching others do things, or just seeing how they did it. So I would suggest reading through the fabrication section on the mp3car.com site and you can learn quite a lot. Do a user search for all threads started by MP3Car.com - View Profile: Nexson and by MP3Car.com - View Profile: turbocad6 They both do excelent fabrication work, and TurboCad6 has done some crazy cool stuff and owns a body shop so he also gets more involved with "correct" materials such as ABS plastics and bumper repair products to keep the materials matching on more of a molecular level (think flexibility and reaction to temperatures expand/contract)
 
#10 ·
I appears as though the automatic F650 lower dash piece fill fit, ie it will clear the ZF6 shift lever.

Do they come in tan ? Does anyone have a part number ? My dealer hates it when I ask them to look something up.

jdc nice links. Thanks. Wanna share what you learned when fiberglassing your dash ? I appear to have some of that work in my future.
 
#14 ·
I appears as though the automatic F650 lower dash piece fill fit, ie it will clear the ZF6 shift lever.
Pretty sure it won't clear from what I have read, but so you don't have to rest solely on my word alone, take a look at the pics in this thread, F650 dash mod - Powerstroke Nation Particularly post #24, shows all measurements taken off the dash for the protrusion of the F650 piece. Plus, its not a huge deal but with the automatic panel you would need to rotate your stock heater controls 90°

EDIt: I see Alex beat me to the F650 details LOL darn my slow/ long winded typing.

Do they come in tan ? Does anyone have a part number ? My dealer hates it when I ask them to look something up.
I know some of the part numbers have been posted, and others might know them, if not I can try and look them up on here, or search for F650 in this particular section and you should pull up a few threads that have the PN's

Also I am pretty sure you will have to dye/paint the panel. Most all of the sponsors here who carry/sell gauge pods will be able to get you a can that will match your panels. I personally used a SEM interior "dye" on my lower panel in the pic above, as well as on my gauge pod and center console and it matches perfectly.

jdc nice links. Thanks. Wanna share what you learned when fiberglassing your dash ? I appear to have some of that work in my future.
Your welcome, I am only here to help out as best I can lol

First off, if you don't have one, buy a Dremel (or equivalent) I love mine and wouldn't have done half the work to my truck if I didn't have one. From sanding, to cutting various things they are invauluable.


I am not expert, however I find fiberglassing to be quite easy and straight forward. I was VERY intimidated with it before I started, but after reading/searching tons of pages and seeing what other guys were doing I decided to jump in and its pretty fun I think.

Things you will need on hand other than the fiberglass resin and mat will be:

latex gloves

mixing cups, many say to use cheap solo cups, but I actually like the mixing cups from lowes/home depot just make sure to clean out the excess resin when you are done, then when it hardens you can break the rest out.

disposable/cheap paint brushes, this is what you will use to spread the resin, its a mix of painting and dabbing. You want to dab it into the mat to make sure it completely soaks in. I picked up a box of 20-30 or so 2" brushes from harbor freight for only a couple bucks. You will also use the brushes to work out any possible air bubbles from the mat/resin as you are working it. If you can't get the bubbles out, for ultimate strength, you should cut out the bubbled area and then relay some mat/resin over it. The total number of layers will depend on what you are making and the size of it, about 2-4 should be good for most interior items, structural or subwoofer boxes and such would be better with around 7+ layers. I think my little pod has something around 5 or more, and I could easily stand on it without it even flexing.

Next depending on what your building/forming you may need to have some cloth. Basically for this the only requirements are stretchable and porous. Basically t-shirts and cheap fleece blankets work great, key is cheap, whatever you can get your hands on. Cut it up and stretch it over your form and bind it so it holds its shape.

if the item your building doesn't work that way and you need it on some sort of a mold, then aluminum foil works GREAT for a release agent, or use plenty of blue painters tape (2 layers criss-cross at least) and then add some simple wax as your release agent.

Once you have your rough item comes the more tricky part. Finishing the item requires a good amount of sanding depending on how rough you leave it, and depending on what your final finish will be (textured paint, gloss paint, carpeted, vinyl, ect) Once you get it sanded pretty smooth you can move onto applying some "bondo" Evercoat Rage Gold is toted as being the absolute best to work with, can be tricky to find and pricey but is said to layout the best and require the least amount of glazing putty for minor imperfections. Once the bondo is all smoothed out you can move onto finishing.

For adding texture (similar to your dash) use this product, SEM Texture Coating - RW Mallon Auto Paint & Equipment can purchase it from many places, that just happened to be the first link google pulled up. This stuff is pretty tricky to use properly but works pretty good. Varying distance of the can from the item, as well as how you spray and if/how you sand/level it out in the end will all vary the final product and is truely a skill. After that you can simply apply your paint to match over the texture and you will be good.



That about covers most all that I can think of off the top of my head. Having a solid game plan and knowing the materials and tools to use certainly helps it out.
 
#26 ·
I dont think the auto one will fit. There have been a couple threads about it. And some of the best pricing on the manual dash piece i have found were from Stealth Automotive. F650 Dash Mod
Thanks ! It sure takes a long time to get everything sorted out to do these projects. Lucky Google doesn't charge for each search !

Please share ! And thanks.

I've been putting this off forever. As you can see from my dash picture, I've needed a new head unit for a long time. No mp3s. No nav. Just AM/FM and CDs.



I'm not against the manual dash... would be less work ? Its also about $50 more.
The manual dash is $50 plus shipping... Look at the link in my previous post, i quoted it again for you.
 
#12 ·
Based on the pictures I've seen of the manual unit, the face drops straight down from the lower part of the upper panel.

If that is the case, there is lots of room. I can put my shifter in reverse (upper left) and drop a piece of cardboard straight down with no clearance issues.

If there are clearance issues, I'll just have more fiberglass work to do.

Do they come in various colors (ie tan) ?
 
#15 ·
Pretty sure it won't clear from what I have read, but so you don't have to rest solely on my word alone, take a look at the pics in this thread, F650 dash mod - Powerstroke Nation Particularly post #24, shows all measurements taken off the dash for the protrusion of the F650 piece.
Great find. Thanks for sharing it.

I think with some mods it will fit. I think the bottom lip of the shifter mound will hit the lever. I'll just move the whole shifter mound in to be flush with the gauge mound. If I make the whole area level, I can put my heater flat, if I move it down there at all.

His:




Mine:






BTW: Its a stock shifter in 3rd gear.
 
#16 ·
Anyone have a paint code for the lower dash on a '99 tan tan interior ?
 
#17 ·
This looks nice too.







I could fit 6 switches in each of the bays with a little work on the edges. Maybe none if I'm lucky. That would take care of my switch mounting issue.
 
#20 ·
Then there is this:




How did he make text of the black panel translucent ?
 
#22 ·
Here is the thread that covers the switch setup.

F650 dash mod customization - Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

This thread also has this gem of a picture



I could mount the iPad in a slip in frame if I recessed it back in the dash. Then I would just have to notch the tubes that feed the vents.

Notice also what he did with the heater controls.
 
#23 ·
That above computer install is posted over on mp3car.com its been a loooong time since I have found it but I'll try and dig it out again. I don't remember how many pics or anything are in there of it but I know its there.

EDIT: Found it, and before the post edit limit too :D 2002 Ford F-250 - MP3Car.com


Your Digging up some really cool stuff and looking forward to seeing what you come up with. The modded F650 auto panel sounds good too, I just personally think the manual piece looks a little better, but doesn't have as much usable area if you need to mount lots of stuff.
 
#24 ·
That above computer install is posted over on mp3car.com its been a loooong time since I have found it but I'll try and dig it out again. I don't remember how many pics or anything are in there of it but I know its there.
Thanks ! It sure takes a long time to get everything sorted out to do these projects. Lucky Google doesn't charge for each search !

Digging up some really cool stuff
Please share ! And thanks.

and looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
I've been putting this off forever. As you can see from my dash picture, I've needed a new head unit for a long time. No mp3s. No nav. Just AM/FM and CDs.

The modded F650 auto panel sounds good too, I just personally think the manual piece looks a little better, but doesn't have as much usable area if you need to mount lots of stuff.
I'm not against the manual dash... would be less work ? Its also about $50 more.
 
#29 ·
which dash are you wanting to do with? the manual or auto?

I molded my upfitter switches into my little pod, and it wouldn't be too hard to do either of the F650 dash's, other than the auto one might be tricky, or require the switches to get rotated 90° to fit.
 
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