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boosquat

Wooden dash panels for 1939 Packard.

Not too shy to talk

Made new wooden dash panels for my 1939 Packard Super Eight touring sedan. The old plastic ones had cracked and warped. New plastic is hard to find and very expensive. Created balsa cores and covered them with cherry veneer.

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Posted on: 2014/11/16 20:53

d c

Re: Wooden dash panels for 1939 Packard.

Home away from home

Very nice. I had never used that technique. Not to sound critical but for my info-will the balsa be strong enough to with stand the rigors of the weight of the mounted guages over bumps and vibration while driving without cracking?

Posted on: 2014/11/16 21:18

boosquat

Re: Wooden dash panels for 1939 Packard.

Not too shy to talk

The dash panels mount on a steel back panel that bears the weight of the gauges, speedo, etc. The combination of the balsa, the veneer, and the poly varnish results in fairly stiff panels. The center panel, which will have the ignition key, light switch, cigar lighter, etc. I made out of solid cherry panels one eight inch thick. The center panels also have a metal subplate underneath the decorative panel.

Posted on: 2014/11/16 21:25