That dash weren't no good. Wouldn't really allow clearance for all the HVAC stuff ... mainly the defroster duct work. So now he's workin' on another version. This one appears to be made of posterboard and painter's tape.
Vent pieces are from Summit Racing. And obviously the hole on the right is for a second vent. Circle 'tween the vents is for the round stereo head unit. It's made for boats so can handle the weather. Below that is the fac'try control panel for the HVAC. Surprisingly enuf, the knobs are hooked to lil' cables to make the stuff work so that panel's gotta stay for the HVAC stuff to work. Below that is the switch panel that's part of a new product from Strike Force Zebra that they call the Command Center. It's a really cool system for handlin' all the 'lectrical accessories. Google it.
The reason we ended up with 3 dif'rent versions of a dash is we never could quite cypher out what to do with the gauges that didn't look crappy.
Gauge cluster is now done. And I like it. I like it a lot.
The steerin' column, steerin' wheel, and gauges are for mock-up purposes only and ain't the ones I done picked out for the rig. But you get the gist of it.
Center section is done too. Heater/AC vents on the front and on each side. Defroster ducts all the way 'cross the windshield.
Now just gotta add few more knobs and switches ... and a custom glove box.
Done ordered the gauges right before Christmas and they showed up at the homestead on Valentine's Day.
The orderin' process is cool on the Speedhut.com website. First you select the basic gauge size and design. Then ya go thru and select each and ev'ey aspect of the gauge. As you're pickin' dif'rent stuff the picture changes instantly so ya can see what ya got. Really cool.
I done picked out a black face with black bezel. Yella numbers and tick marks. Lots of choices on even what the numbers and tick marks look like. Went with a traditional red pointer. I like 'em 'cause they're exactly what I wanted.
Door bars are done. Bends in the pipe both vertic'ly and horizont'ly to fit tight next to the tub outta harm's way.
Yes ... a straight bar woulda been stronger ... but life is full of compromises.
And no ... that ain't my seat.
I hear tell that dimples on a person are considered sexy.
Could be.
But for darn sure ... dimple panels on twin-tower B-pillars are very, VERY sexy.
Up to this point ... I do believe this here pic is the signature shot of the Turd. Fella's got study up on it hard but the amount of custom work that can be picked out is mind-bogglin'.
Scrolling through Amazon Prime the other day I saw a show listed that was about the first Trail Hero event in Utah. Along with a couple of shots of our host Woody and his lovely wife, there were a couple of scenes of Kowboy ripping some dunes and crawling a slab in the Turd. Check it out if you haven't already. Amazon.com: Trail Hero: An Off-Road Documentary: Nathan Riddle, John Jacobs
Thanks for the link Jason. Great way to kill an hour at work. Reason the Turd's in it is 'cause of the shop building it. At the very end of the video you can see TNT listed as a sponsor. The fella talking around the campfire scene is Bob, the owner of TNT and good friend of the fella that made the video. I was sittin' 'cross the fire from Bob and next to the camera man when he got interviewed. Bad choice of seatin' for me and my movie career.
It is a great place to wheel though and I agree it's a must on a bucket list. Fantastic combination of dunes and slickrock.
Real slow go on the Turd theses days as the crew does the annual mad dash to get personal and customer rigs fine-tuned for the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab next week.
Did get my grab handles done tho. Theses are a real key feature to help my old bones climb in.
And wrappin' up the mounts for twin Sceptor fuel cans tucked outta harm's way in the cage.
Headin' 'cross town to TNT Customs' original shop. That's where they can powdercoat the cage and stuff and where their brand-spanky-new Line-X spray booth is to re-do the inside of the tub.
