Dash Pad Fiber Glassing and Nexus 7 Install

[bperri1]

Hi everybody, I own an 84 Chevy Silverado single cab long bed. My dash board was pretty cracked so I thought I'd fiberglass it and create a Nexus 7 tablet mount to replace my stereo head unit.
This is the build thread as I'm just getting started on it. I'm also in school so I apologize if this is a slow process, not a whole lot of time for fun sadly.

So first off I used some cardboard and cut out templates to get an idea of what and where the Nexus 7 would mount.

[bperri1]

The idea of the nexus 7 install is to have this replace my head unit. It will be the center for music, navigation, and phone calls.
Starting with the tablet: this connects to the internet through my phones Wi-Fi hotspot. I am also using an app called Tablet Talk. This allows my tablet to act as a remote control to answer and place calls. It also lets me send and receive text messages.
My tablet’s head phone jack is connected to a Power Acoustik parametric equalizer. This lets me control the systems volume on a wider range and fine tune the music.
My phone also connects to the Aukey Bluetooth receiver to enable a micro phone and speaker “out” for phone calls or music from my phone. The Aukey is also connected to the equalizer. This model has two inputs: aux and “cd”. I used aux for the Aukey and cd for the tablet. The equalizer has out puts for front speakers, rear speakers, and a subwoofer.
In my intent to make this as simple as possible for the end-user, I went a step further and bought an nfc tag. I downloaded “Tasker” for android as well as “Trigger” to automate my phones connection to my tablet for Wi-Fi and calling, and to the Aukey Bluetooth receiver. Essentially when I tap my phone to the NFC tag, it sends a command to enable all radios required and connect to the equipment that will be in my truck.
Tech Equipment List:
Power Acoustik PWM-16
Aukey BR-C1
Wi-Fi Nexus 7 (2013)
3.5mm to RCA cord
Standard RCA male-male cord ( I only needed one because my stereo deck currently in my truck has the others plugged in to it)
Right angle (upward facing) micro usb cable Male-Female (upward because the nexus 7’s charging port is inverted)
Sufficient dc car charger with at least two usb ports (2 amp should be enough to keep the nexus from discharging while in use. The other port is for charging the Aukey)

[bperri1]

Wood Glue
1/4" MDF board
Expanding foam
Fleece fabric
Body Filler
Fiber Glass Resin
Fiber Glass Mat
Chip paint brush
Spray Adhesive
Coarse - Fine Sand paper
Body filler spreaders
Paint stir stick

[bperri1]

I pulled the dash out of my truck, stripped the vinyl near the cracks, and filled them in with expanding foam.







After the foam expands I sanded it down as level as possible.

[bperri1]

I used 1/4" MDF board to build the housing for the tablet. I'm in college and have very limited tools so I had to use hand saws to cut the board. It would look much nicer with some power tools and better equipment, but I work with what I have. I used the card board that I mocked up on my dash to trace on to the board for the curved surface that mounts to the radius on the dashboard.



This is the curved surface that attaches to the radius of the dash.



I got the measurments for the Nexus 7 on Google to make the housing fit correctly. I made bezels for the housing out of two strips of MDF that I cut and glued them together.










I used the dash to find out where I needed to cut the curved side plate.




I glued the Nexus 7 housing to the curved plate I made and cut the plate to size.



I used some tape to mount it to the dash temporarily to get an idea of what it was going to look like.





After I was happy with where it was mounted I used expanding foam to "glue" it to the dash, and to fill in any cracks.



I had to cut a few smaller pieces and glue them together to make the nexus 7 mount follow the dash contours. I didn't want a sharp edge. The extra boards will give the fiberglass more support and more flowy look.






Top view.


Side view. The nice thing about fiber glass is that not all of the framing has to be perfect because it will hide most of it.



I cut and sanded the expanding foam before fiberglassing.



I mounted the Nexus 7 in temporarily to get an idea of where the holes needed to be for the power and aux jacks. This is where the right angle upward facing charger cord comes in to play.



I drilled a hole through the left side for the aux cord. (the cord is going to go behind the gauge bezel)
I also am making a frame to stick over the screen of the Nexus 7 ( like a picture frame) to cover up the cord holes. I wanted the nexus 7 to be easily removable for security and extreme temperature fluctuations, so neodymium magnets and a MDF frame makes this simple. (will have pics of this later)

[Irish_Alley]

i like the ideal. and you did a good job but for some reason i keep thinking about "what if". like what if someone was sitting in the center seat and you get into an accident

[bperri1]

i like the ideal. and you did a good job but for some reason i keep thinking about "what if". like what if someone was sitting in the center seat and you get into an accident

You have a good point, although I was planning to eventually install bucket style seats anyways, so the middle would be gone. But for someone else, the screen angle would need to be decreased a bit, maybe run closer to parallel with the dash board.

[N8thegr8]

I am interested in how the dash crack repair will look in the end using fiberglass. Do you plan to paint it or use cloth?

[bperri1]

I am interested in how the dash crack repair will look in the end using fiberglass. Do you plan to paint it or use cloth?

I plan to paint it. I'm going for flat black as of now. I wanted to see what paint will look like first, and if I ever decide I want to cover it then I can always do that on top.

[bperri1]

Didn't get to the computer to post progress yesterday, but I made some pretty good progress. I used green fleece from Walmart. (real cheap and color doesn't matter in the end) its tough to get the fleece to bend to all the contours without wrinkling, but if you work it enough it will cooperate. I used spray adhesive to adhere the fleece to the dash pad.











Once you get the fabric laid on smooth, cut away the edges and fold and glue them to the under side of the dash pad so it doesn't create a mess when you use the fiber glass resin.
(Learn from my mistakes)



There are a few holes in my dashboard for mounting it to the truck, so i tried to create the contours so I know where to re-drill later.
Also, I forgot to mention, my truck has two heater vent holes in the dash pad, the first one I had to cover up because it was in the way of the Nexus 7 housing. I bought some "foamy" blocks to seal the vent in the truck, and I just will fiber glass over the vent hole in the dash pad.



Here's the fun part (kinda). I used the chip paint brush to lay on the fiber glass resin. Lay it on heavy. You cant really have too much resin, but the fleece needs to be completely soaked. Also, you have to work fast or the resin will start to harden and clump up.



This is the dash pad after the resin hardened. I would have liked to make the edge between the Nexus 7 housing and the rest of the dash flow a little more smoothly , but oh well. Ill see what I can do with bondo.

[bperri1]

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. School has been rough. I finished the dash and installed it though. I just need to install the nexus 7 and the other electronics along with it.
After I fiber glassed it I sanded it over and over and body filled it over and over. This took the longest.




I sprayed on a black guide coat then sanded it to find the low spots in the bondo.



On the front of the housing, the nexus 7’s charging cord and aux cord are visible and I don’t like that because it looks tacky. I made a frame that covers those up. I used neodymium magnets for easy removal.

My truck’s stainless/chrome trim that goes on the passenger side of the dash was too long now due to the tablet housing, so I measured and cut it to fit.

These trim pieces use these plastic like threaded rods to fasten it to the dash. Since I cut it, there were no fasteners on the driver’s side of the trim, so I cut one from the old piece of the trim and super glued it to the new one.

Next, I used filler primer on the dash board. The best way to do this is to sand in between coats with fine sand paper.

After priming a bunch of pinholes and a couple rough spots became visible, so I had to grab some more bondo and fix those.

I used this primer and a metallic like paint for the finish along with some flat black enamel by rustoleum. The metallic alone was too sparkly. I may see about upholstering the dash one day, but it will make it larger and harder to fit into the truck. Matte spray paint is hard to get the finish to look even.

After first coat of paint…



After final coat… I think I did four coats.

Then I installed it in my truck. This was a bit of a pain. I found out that because I fiber glassed the underside of the dash where the gauge bezel goes, It was too thick to re mount the bezel. Unfortunately I had to cut some of the fiber glass away from there. It isn’t very visible unless you look under neath this part. I just need to do a few small touch ups around there then it will be alright.

Mounted in the truck…

[SuburbanHunter]

Wow that came out really nice! Good job.

but... well... you suck because now I have to add "Repair Dash Pad" to the project list. ;^)

[Stepside Billy]

Wow! That really came out nice!!

[cvbear]

That was a ton of work, but the result in impressive.  Post some more pics of the finished product when you have a chance.

[fitz]

That came out great.
How many hours would you quess you have into the project?