The Fila Project... Wondering why Fila was banned? Read the last few pages
Reply #245 –
Mikey leave ur dash alone!!!!
lemme guess you want the tach right? dont start butchering it up, i see that in the future of this. everythings all stock right now it all fits, you might snap plastic parts that are old and brittle etc.
if your funds are bad enough that it wouldnt be practical to go get a Sunpro $20 special little bitty 2" tach, then wait and save up and get one later!
now i know this is stupid because people have dashes with LARGE LONG cracks in em but my dashtop is perfect, but brittle. it has a small 1/2" big "star" because last year i was stupid and tried pressing down on an area near one of the defrost vents "duuur lets see how supple it is!!!! crack! it made that little star. im sure others here have experience with the plastic in these cars being brittle/fragile. unfortunately it makes it a better option to sometimes just leave it alone and just maybe it will stay intact.
apparently from what ive read from others here taking apart a dash isnt a small feat. is the bird even running yet? im guessing no. focus on that right now. dont throw out the gauge pod, if you got room for it. maybe later on down the road when you got some time and money and you think you can do a nice clean swap of the dash pods maybe it would be a good idea. but you should do one thing at a time. its too overwhelming trying to improve several different imperfections on a vehicle at once, i learned that two years ago when i pulled the '38 buick out of its 25 year cave. engine and brakes and i wanted turn signals and those py rotted blackwall tires and the chrome was oxidized. i wanted it all to be nice, but i had to learn to go one-at-a-time, HARD as it was.
you say you're trying to adapt what works because of cost issues. check it out if the dash works go ahead, disregard everything i just said. but if its not a direct fit dont push it! using free stuff is good but dont turn your bird into a rolling junkyard, with all kinds of random parts. get it drivable and reliable. you gotta be able to have fun, fly off the line, roast the tires, etc and not have to even think about it possibly bogging, overheating, breaking down, whatever.
also, keeping "just the things that are FILA" isnt all you should do. go ahead and modify whatever, but i love telling people at shows that everything on the '38 (well just about...the carb is from a '39 or '40, couple other things too) is original, engine never opened. at least from the antique/collector/preservationist crowd, the original car always gets more attention. just a thought.
Topic: The Fila Project... Wondering why Fila was banned? Read the last few pages (Read 72199 times)
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