I don't know if I'm the guy to watch for a "how it's done" or not, but I appreciate the confidence.

OK, so like I said previously, I kind of wanted to acknowledge the stock Fiero dash in some way, without being too obvious, and having my own design. Soooo....I took a saw and grinder to the stock dash pod and did some careful measuring, and lopped off it's "ears"-





The shape of the area around the pod is pretty close to what I want. The almost straight-back shape on the right is necessary as the edge of the switch mount on that side is right next to the center section which will house the LCD screen is going to be recessed, so no real room for flaring or feathering on that side. I was originally planning to cover the lower dash area with aluminum plate, but now I envision this area painted with a nice high-gloss paint job, with the aluminum fascia/gauge surround. The upper area will still get the All Sport vinyl.

I'm using a set of S/W gauges I purchased from a forum member some time back. I have a matching tach and speedo set.



This design also allows me to use the stock gauge cluster for warning lights etc. But I'm not sure if I'm going to go that direction, or if I will have this plate laser cut with custom symbols. Still deciding on that one. You might also notice that the housing for my Glow Shift gauges is different too. I don't think the straight across design of the gauge cluster I first made will look right with the curved top of the stock face plate. So I decided to build a new one that will be one piece and integrate the gauges and the center vent. I *might* also wrap it down along the right side of the center area to provide a shape to define that area and allow for some switches or whatever other features I decide to include.

BTW, I discovered that the stock fascia is NOT symmetrical.
Ya gotta love designing as you go....

[This message has been edited by Taijiguy (edited 08-26-2009).]

I thought I would throw these out for anyone who might be curious as to how this dash compares to the stock dash in terms of height, and where the center section is actually going to be. The dash is set in my jig here so that the center console section would slide right in, and be sitting on the work surface. So I placed the console in here this way to show you the extra height of my dash design. I figured I could add about 5 or 6 inches to the overall height of the dash and still be able to see the bottom of the windshield. It looks like my dash is about 3 1/2- 4 inches higher than stock.



Here, I flipped the console around so it would slide under (since the outside lip is lower than the back lip) this gives you a general idea of how far I set my LCD back from the stock location. I'm guessing it's back a good 1 or 2 inches. Little chance of interference with the shifter in this set up.



And finally, I flipped the whole thing over so you can see how it all fits together. The stock dash is providing the main support right now, but much of it will be cut away when all the glass work is done. In fact, I've planned this whole project out so that I can completely remove the stock dash from the new shell once I have my glass laid on the outside surfaces. Then I can lay glass along the entire inside surface, and put the stock dash back in place, trim away all of the excess and unneeded material, and then glass what left to the new shell. This gives me all stock mounting for the dash itself, as well as original mounting and positioning for the HVAC ductwork.

[This message has been edited by Taijiguy (edited 08-31-2009).]