Casey Family Build Thread (coupe)

[frankeeski]

Must resist posting!

[MRSQSL]

I'm relieved we got this all straightened out. Thank you Barrel for clarifying. I'm not a 64+ man so I'm hoping I can be forgiven for my desire to stray from the original. It'll be a lot of work to change it if I become one though. Hee, hee. I know the right hand drive thing has been done before but when picking a frame color overloads my brain, I'm fairly certain I'm ill equipped to take on such a monstrous task. Alas, mine will remain on the US side. It would make parallel parking easier though...

[QSL]

Now that I am back in town from a week and half of hell work I can properly comment on this.

I agree! These cars are kick *** the way you get them out of the box. I am not a huge fan of major deviation. Besides, there is something that attracted us to these cars in the first place and that's the way they look out of the box! So why mess with that...too much anyway.

That's why our build style is to try and keep it mostly original but with some small mods or subtle touches that we don't feel are over the top or too customized. It was a great recipe for our roadster and I am really think its a great one for the coupe. Our vision for the coupe is to have a car that looks like a RACE car, side bars, additionally bars, meatballs, race stickers etc... BUT its also a show car. So another words, nice paint, slightly different colors and of course a nicer dash. Our intentions as well as Martins are to make a dash that looks like it belongs in the car. Not a hotrod dash and not a bent piece of aluminum. But somewhere in between. I think when we finally get pictures of it finished, people will then clearly see what we are going for.

Besides the dash, the interior is going to have kirkey high back seats, carpet, rear view camera (but with the monitor in the mirror so it does not make the inside look too modern) and we are even playing with the idea of putting in a window net.

Again, we want a car that looks like a race car and has no business being on the street. But when you get closer, you realize its a nice driver show car.

[QSL]

Martin just texted me these pics. The pics are really bad, but I think they give you the flavor. We are not using the on/off lables with the switches. Those will be removed.

[68GT500MAN]

That dash looks great, it will fit your description above perfectly.
Doug

[narkosys]

the pictures may not be the best but DAYUM! is that not a great looking dash. Martin does some excellent work.

P

[QSL]

thanks guys. will have better pics tonight I hope. He is good with metal, less good with computers. LOL.

[David Hodgkins]

That dash looks amazing! Beautiful craftsmanship!

[QSL]

higher res pics!!!!!

[jkrueger]

Wow! That looks nice. How are you going to finish it?

JC

[QSL]

right now the plan is to paint it. Possibly 2 tone. A quality paint job, not spray bomb. We really hope Jeff (batman) will come into play here. I am sure he will give us the guidance we need. He has a great eye for this stuff!!

[QSL]

we also have a russ Thompson turn signal that goes with this that should set it off!!!!

[loeffler1]

David Hodgkins I do not have a BAD ATTITUDE. My remark was neither rude nor disrespectful. Short - Guilty. To the point - Guilty. It was an opinion, and I do believe this forum allows opinions. One doesn't have to agree or disagree. I certainly meant no disrespect to the hard work that someone has performed.
The Daytona Coupe was a racecar from the sixties - loud, uncomfortable, smelly. It was designed for a purpose. To win races. someone mentioned curves - yes - purposeful, to slip through the air faster than the competition. True the dash was a slab of aluminum, to hang gauges on, aerodynamics were not required here.
Perhaps I should have worded my remark differently, "Don't make the gauche mistake of redesigning the dash that doesn't match the car's era". Or maybe I should have said "One mistake some insensitive types make is to redesign the dash".
If one looks at "Brock Racing Enterprises" website, both of these remarks appear in a slightly different context in reference to the coupes wheels. They appear in a section entitled "Getting It Right" subtitled "Picking the right color scheme for a classic shape". and sub subtitled "Wheel color".
I don't believe anyone has taken Mr Brock to task for his "insensitive" comments or "opinions" on this subject.
End result - this is your car - do what you want to it - add wheelie bars, pinstripe it, flame paint the front clip openings. But do expect opinions - some bad - some good!!!!
I do believe I've used up my nickel.

[Garry Bopp]

The dash is looking great! From personal experience, I can tell you that being able to read the tach and speedo easily will be much appreciated when you are on the road/track. When I do track days with my traditional dash layout, I find it very difficult to read my tach at speed, instead relying on engine sound. I'm thinking of a remote dash-mounted tach for track days that is easily removable when not on the track. Your very elegant dash not only looks great but is very functional.

Keep up the good work and I love following your build thread!

Garry

[David Hodgkins]

David Hodgkins .../... I do believe I've used up my nickel.

Yes. You most certainly have.

[loeffler1]

david hodgkins

Sounds like you don't believe in opinions. Rather narrow minded for an administrator!!

[Mike N]

He is good with metal,

Slight understatement there.......

[David Hodgkins]

loeffler is banned until 07-20-2013 07:43 AM to take time to adjust his attitude.

[jkrueger]

loeffler is banned until 07-20-2013 07:43 AM to take time to adjust his attitude.

Thank you!

[David Hodgkins]

Thank you!

Your welcome.

Guys, it's not hard. Express your opinion. Just do so respectfully, whether you are "for" or "against". It's common decency.

Now, again, let's get back to the build, and that (IMHO) KILLER dash! Does anyone want to take a stab at photo-shopping some color onto it?

[68GT500MAN]

Now we can get back to the build and the great dialog from Julie (I really like the way you describe things). I have said it before, but I think that the dash will look great. The rolled top and bottom with recessed gages give it a classy look. I just wish that I lived closer so that I could see it in person (HB 2014).
Doug

[MRSQSL]

Doug, if you ever find yourself in the area, please stop by. That goes for pretty much everybody out there. Our garage is open to FF guys anytime (assuming we are home, otherwise the police will be escorting you away and it may take them awhile to pry sharp, strong dog jaws off your body). I absolutely love the idea of someone photoshopping color on there. It would help me immensely. Please, please. As much as I like black, Martin is right that it will take away from the curves. Any other color is good. Okay, not ANY other color. No lime green or bright orange or anything. I was online last night trying to look at powder coat samples to get ideas for the frame. Had no idea there were THAT many shades of metallic gray and silver!!!!!!!!! I am thinking about trying to bribe Mike to go with me to a powder coat place this weekend to look at actual real life samples. Is it bad that I'm getting desperate enough to trust the opinion of my color blind spouse? Hee, hee. Love you Mike. You have excellent taste (especially in wives).

[Rodster]

Been away for a while. Thanks for the update - I can't wait to see how the dash comes out - especially the plain, flat, blank passenger side. I don't have the budget or the skills to do some of the radical changes to the ugly but functional dash. But I will have something custom done to the cockpit and controls. But that is a long ways away, so I will continue to collect ideas for my setup.

Keep the stories coming, this is great reading material.

When's the movie coming out?

[MRSQSL]

When's the movie coming out?

Yikes! All I know is it would be labeled as a horror flick. Oh my. If only you all could see what I put Mike through each time we go in the garage. Poor, poor man.

Wayne, it's about time you showed up on the forum again. You need to work on your car and post some updates on your blog!!!!!!

[Cobradavid]

higher res pics!!!!!

Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!

David

[Hankl]

Just one suggestion, since there is a great amount of flowing curvature to the dash, you might look at contouring the radius at ends to the switches
to follow the overall fluidity of the rest of the curves. I think it would add to the overall presentation.



Hank

[JJ'snakepit]

Wow Mike and Julie

I wish I had that dudes skill. Your Dash looks amazing..... When I first saw it I was thinking wood insert, then I read about paint. I have seen some pretty amazing 50's cars painted. Keep up the good work. JJ

[QSL]

thanks hank, that's a good suggestion. We will need to play with that some.

JJ, when we saw your dash, we knew we had to step it up. Unfortunately, we had to pay someone to compete with you. LOL.

Just got these in today. Kinda gimmicky but at the same time, I just love them. They are billet aluminum too. I think they will look great with the gauges. We are going to martins tomorrow. He wants to do a trans cover too, so we need to mount the shifter. More pics tomorrow!!

[tcoon]

Amazing work! For what it's worth I would do the top in a black non reflective material, such as leather or vinyl (mine is painted with truck bed liner and looks surprisingly good); the center flat parts a contrasting color such as your paint or a complimentary hue, then the inserts with engine turning...I like a little brightwork to liven things up, and engine turning is era appropriate. Need to keep the top dark to avoid reflections in the windscreen, that can be a huge distraction. I had my lap timer up there on a plain aluminum bracket and it looked like a light in my eyes. Had to paint it black.

[exwestracer]

Just got these in today. Kinda gimmicky but at the same time, I just love them. They are billet aluminum too. I think they will look great with the gauges. We are going to martins tomorrow. He wants to do a trans cover too, so we need to mount the shifter. More pics tomorrow!!

Haha, you should build a linkage to synchronize all of those! Yes, I'm kidding... Where did you source the vents, Mike? (looks like Vintage Air on the package???)

[QSL]

tcoon... Shhhhhh. Julie hates engine turning. I don't know why. I think because she is a girl. Those are all great suggestions that we have not thought of yet. Well, we did think of the leather top. But Martin really thought it should not be covered to hide the work. But really its just going to depend on what ever Julie wants. I do know for sure a lot of thought will go into this before we pull the trigger because we want it right. This type of feedback helps with the gears moving in our heads. Thanks!

Exwestracer, yea, vintage air! I saw them online on their site and then I found summit sold them. Not cheap. about $60 something each. Seems a little ridiculous for a air vent, but then again, I can resist, cool looking little doo dads.

[QSL]

man, the more I look at it the more I like the idea of engine turning on those gauge panel areas. Maybe one day I can send Julie in to make a sandwich and I can crank that mod out. LOL.

[Ray]

...I just wish that I lived closer so that I could see it in person (HB 2014).
Doug

Doug,

If you came down to visit, we could make the hour drive up to Mike and Julie's....

Just a thought.

Ray

[QSL]

here are some pics from todays visit. Dash should be done this week. He plans to deliver the car back by the weekend!

[QSL]

last batch

[SoCalMike]

Hey Guys, I LOVE that dash! It is amazing what he has done. Can't wait to see it in person. Also love those a/c vents, that will set it all off.
Mike, did you get my PM? I'll talk to you guys soon.
Mike

[cobrajj]

Very nice! I like how the dash curve mirrors the steering wheel shape. Well thought out. Jim

[68GT500MAN]

The last photo says it all...Julie is very happy! It all flows together so well and the switch modification Hank mentions would be perfect. Mike, I like the idea of a little ET surface.
Doug

[NukeMMC]

I like the engine-turned faces of the gauge panels also. Maybe carbon fiber veneer over the rest? Hmmm. So many possibilities!

[John Dol]

So when is he becoming a forum vendor?????
That is kick A.... wait family forum. It's very nice.


John