1940 Ford Dash in 1936 Ford Cabriolet

The 1940 Ford Dash looks better in the 1936 Ford Cabriolet than it does in the 1940 Ford. So many times when this conversion is done , the character of the 1940 Ford Dash is lost because the trim is removed, the ash trays are lost and, the original gauges are replaced with industrial looking gauges with the industrial looking billet insert etc. After all the trim is removed, you end up with just a silhouette of the beautiful dash that used to be.

When I fit this dash into this car, I retained all the character of the original dash. The control knobs are just slightly altered and the controls are actually changed because the systems in this car are totally different than the old 1940 Ford. The amount of work that went into modifying the controls in using the original knobs would be a long story in itself. I won't go into detail on that here.

I did use some of the top and ends from the original 1936 Ford dash in order to mount the 1940 Ford dash into the car and retain the trim effect around the windshield. The 1940 Ford dash did require a little shrinking and reshaping on the top. I also had to make a bracket to hold the steering column.

The string tied off the one control knob is hooked to the original NOS Yoder Wolf Whistle that I install on the top of the Fuel Injected 1957 Corvette engine that powers the car through the Zephyr geared transmission and the Columbia two speed rear end.

1936 Ford Sedan 1936 Ford Cabriolet 1937 Chevy Truck

1936 Ford Sedan 1936 Ford Cabriolet 1937 Chevrolet Pickup Truck in Doug's Classic Coachworks display at the 2008 Seattle Roadster Show. I had a nice spot on the upper level, right next to the beer garden. That was convenient, as we could sit there and watch as we sipped on our Budweiser. If you look closely, you'll see that all three vehicles were awarded Best in Class trophies.

1939 Chevrolet

In 1939 General Motors issued a special Chevrolet Approved Mechanic pin. It is a gold filled enameled beauty. This 1939 Chevrolet Approved pin is quite small in size but is quite attractive when worn on your lapel.

1948 Chevrolet Suburban Panel Rear Door Tailgate

1948 Chevy Panel had barn doors. The Suburban had Clam Shell or Barn Doors. I made barn doors lower and used the upper clam shell on this 1948 Chevrolet Panel Truck. I just added some more photos to this blog.   Click here to see detail. Custom Door Conversion