Dash of fiberglass buggy

[beetelman]

Can anyone help me find the article about where they cut the dash of the hood and added a frame to mount the dash to make easy to wire the gauges and switches

[clonebug]

Mine was already cut off when I found the body in a field.....I agonized for a long time trying to figure out how to reattach it.
Look close by the windshield bracket... you can see the cut.

I finally had a piece of 18 gauge steel bent at the correct angle and bolted it to the face of the dash...that gave me a pad to set the hood on and I used two blind nuts to bolt the hood to the dash.
Here you can see the metal the hood rests on.

Here is a metal bracket I had bent up to hold the dash in place.

A pic with the hood off. Two bolts and less than a minute I can have the hood off for access to my wiring........and there is a lot of it......

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[BL3Manx]

An easier and just as effective method instead of a fully removable/opening hood, is a large removable access panel cut in the top center of the hood which will provide full access to the back of the dash and the fuel tank

The picture shows a panel with rounded corners(Important!) which you cut in the top of the hood. You can either add a fiberglass a lip or pop-rivet an aluminum strip around the inside edge of the hole for the panel to be set on. It doesn't need to be a full rain gutter like the picture shows, just a flat lip will work. Use camlocks to secure the panel to the lip

Leaving the dash glassed to the rear of the hood and the perimeter of the hood fully secured to the body with nuts and bolts (or even bonded with epoxy) will increase the rigidity of everything. An opening hood will shake/rattle/squeak however its done.

The removable panel in the yellow hood is maybe a bit larger than it needs to be but you can see the rear of the dash, all the wiring are accessible and the tank can even be removed with the hood still on

A standard Meyers Manx type steel dash frame(below) which the steering column mounts to and which will help tie the hood/dash/windshield/body together into a more rigid structure, can be installed up behind the dash before the hood is installed.

You will need to mount a gas filler door in the removable panel, over the tank filler spout/cap.

[Dale M.]

My dash was "butchered" by previous owner so I just made aluminum plate (polished) to supplement dash... 4 stainless screws into "J" nuts hold it in place... Just left wiring long enough for leads from fuse panels and relays (mounted on fire wall) as to create umbilical that allows me to remove plate and rest "dash" on my lap when sitting in seat or on floor (unfinished buggy) to work on gauge backs or change light bulbs or what ever....

Here is pic of mockup at some point in build...

Dont have any pics of how gigantic mess dash was by PO...

Here is pic of work in progress....

Dale
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“Fear The Government That Wants To Take Your Guns" - Thomas Jefferson.

"Kellison Sand Piper Roadster" For Street & Show.
"Joe Pody Sandrover" Buggy with 2180 for Autocross (Sold)
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All suggestions and advice are purely my own opinion. You are free to ignore them if you wish ...