Stainless dash vs Aluminum

I see stainless why not Aluminum? Or am I missing them?

 

I don't know - electrolysis between the steel and aluminum? Both seem kind of excessive. With stainless you get the strength of steel with the expense of stainless... with aluminum you only get the expense of aluminum.

 

aluminum pia to keep polished, but very easy to drill holes into

stainless maintenance free, but pia to drill holes into

got a coin ? flip it

 

i am going stainless only because i have a few hundred Lbs of 16gauge sitting in my garage. since i am dutch and dont like spending money that is the way to go.

 

i used diamond plate and i thought it came out great. i was afraid at first about glare for the sun, but i have not noticed a problem yet

 

Aluminum? I wouldn’t want to fuss with the repetitive cleaning.

 

The biggest problem with Aluminum is the fact that unless it is fairly thick, it is to weak to use, a 16 guage dash panel out of aluminum will warp and bend so easily its pitiful.

 

Is there a reason an aluminum dash couldn't be thicker? It is so much easier so work with and painted it would look fine. My dash has so many different holes and switches that don't match, not to mention where I took the old radio out.(I have XM Satelite) I'm going to need to do something.
I'm also trying to figure out what to do about the speedo. Not sure if it works but the temp and fuel gauge are crunched. Have good Oil, temp, and volts a po added that if they don't work can easily be replaced.
What are you doing for speedo replacement?

 

You could overlay a thin sheet of aluminum over the existing dash and just make holes where you need them. That should be strong enough. You could also polish the aluminum to a high shine and have it powder coated clear gloss. But that adds expense and elbow grease to it.....6 of one, half a dozen the other I 'spose.

 

Thad,
What would be the advantage of over laying a thin piece rther than replace the whole thing with a piece of 3/16th or 1/4?

 

My thinking was that it would be easier to fabricate.

 

A piece 3/16" or 1/4" is never gonna bend on the corners or top, to line up with the rest of the tub, not to mention problems around the steering column, gauges and so on. The bends on the sheetmetal give it its strength and you will need them if it Stainless, Steel or Aluminum.
If you want an aluminum dash try say 1/16"-3/32", no thicker, after that you're only asking for trouble!!!!!!!!! The steel one is the easy to work with and the strongest overall, Aluminum is to much trouble to hand fabricate and work with in my opinion when you consider all the things that would ding it, scratch it, painting, non magnetic. I like sticking things to the metal dash with magnets myself.

 

OK, I get it. Why stainless then over just steel? Does anybody make just a steel replacement dash? Seems to me the stainless is pretty priceyand I can't see the benefit if you're going to paint it anyway.

 

Stainless is just a matter of wanting to be flashy ala our member "Vanguard". I don't hink there is anyone making a factory replacememt dash forthe pre 72 cj's. I'm going to have a friend of mine that works in a fab shop make me one in a few months.

 

Re the ease of machining aluminum, the steel in a dash isn't that hard to machine. You can cut odd shaped holes in it with a sabre saw and fine-tooth blade. Just control the movement of the panel by clamping between blocks etc. Then use your file or grinder to get the hole size you need. A fly cutter also works well if you have a drill press - just be sure and clamp the material very securely. Takes a little time, but you don't have to do it more than a couple-three times in your life.

If you have extra holes in the dash, why not either find a Jeep dash in good shape or weld up the holes? Careful welding, grinding and a little spot putty or filler-primer should do it. Have the dash powder coated if you want some bling.

Steel is a fine material for a dash. JMO.

 

I don't hink there is anyone making a factory replacememt dash forthe pre 72 cj's. I'm going to have a friend of mine that works in a fab shop make me one in a few months.[/QUOTE]

If he makes you one I'd certainly pay for another for me.
Might be a surprisingly good market for them actually.

 

try here
http://www.rjrproducts.com/dash-MENU.asp
look under dash replacements

he works at 4-West in Colton
Ronnie is an old time Jeep guy

 

or this:



http://www.malotmfg.com

 

When I swapped to a YJ tub on my CJ7 ($100 for the tub!!) I splurged for a stainless dash that was styled from a CJ but with mounting holes for a YJ tub. The biggest thing was the YJ tub has big notches where the W/S sits, therefore no way to hook up a CJ style defroster. My replacement panel has a top lip that completely covers that so I can cut a defroster hole in it. Got it custom made from a guy that sells stainless and aluminum jeep dashes on ebay. I got his email if interested. It fit like a glove. VERY HARD TO DRILL, when I center punched it, it didn't even dent. Had to start with a very small bit to keep it from walking, then go bigger. I don't think I'd go aluminum, JMO. I "think" I have seen him selling for 72-75 but not earlier. Bet he could be convinced though, he ordered up a YJ dash when I proposed my project so he could use it as a model to program his machines. Finding an ECJ5 dash might be harder! Just decide what holes you want in the dash before buying, cause I would hate to have to cut more holes in this thing! At my direction he also put 3 studs in the bottom lip of the dash (facing up) for use a ground points. They are pressed in and flush on the bottom. Very nice. It looks even better in person!