One thing people notice quite quickly about Gem is her custom dashboard. I’ve had lots of nice comments about it, so I thought I’d write a quick article on how I achieved the finished product – although of course, nothing is ever quite finished! This is another photograph heavy post, although I don’t mind that myself when reading car nonsense so enjoy!
Firstly, I created a moodboard of the sort of ideas I had, partly built up of photos I’d taken of Midgets that had cleverly included a couple of extra gauges. (It’s not a necessary step admittedly, but I suppose I ought to put that arts degree of mine to use occasionally…)
The next step is to translate all that into a sketch, and then in to CAD. This design is based on four gauges (Oil T, Oil P, Water T, Volts) with five toggle switches, with guards that replicate the BMW Mini panel I’ve always rather liked (despite never owning a Mini). The two smaller outer holes are for T-handle locking pulls for the choke and heater valve. All suppliers at the bottom of this page!
This was pinged off to LaserMaster in Cornwall, who in turn provided a very neatly laser-cut panel made of 1mm Mild Steel. In the meantime, I acquired via eBay a rusty Midget 1500 dashboard that was in need of a little attention, for the princely sum of fifteen British quids. I sanded off the rust, dressed the dents out, cut out a rectangle big enough, folded the slight crease in to the new panel and welded it in, dressed the welds down with a 60grit flap disc, applied a skim of 1k Dolphin Glaze self-levelling filler, and then a few coats of high-build spray putty before high-build primer, gunmetal grey base coat, and wet-look lacquer – stopping only briefly for my pal Taz to take a comedy photograph.
Next came the exciting part – the build up. I’d opted for TIM gauges for the dash, because of their simple black and white faces and outer rim. The copper washes were a functional addition – I’m not 100% sold on them, but I’m leaving them as they are for now. The switch tags with the etched labels are probably my favourite part – these are brass, CNC cut tags that I sourced through eBay.
And fitted! Here you can see a little of the centre console that holds the key switch, hazard switch and two charging sockets – one standard cigarette lighter, and one double USB socket.
Nice article, really interesting what you have done. I have always wanted lots of gauges and switches in a car. Keep posting as it is great to see how you are using your skills.
Thank you Mark!
Thank you for making this narrative available. I am currently in the planning stages of a bespoke dash arrangement for my 1977 Midget 1500. Numerous bulbs appeared above my head while reading this.
Feel free to email littlebluemg@gmail.com for any questions, and I am happy to do the CAD work for you if needed. Liam.