Here is a picture of the dash I built for my 1965 Ford. This will work on any years from 1961 thru 1966.

First I took the dash apart and got out the plastic piece that will be used (it is neo angle and must be used for the new one, it's the one that coutours to your dashboard). I then took a sharp implement like a dental tool and etched around the bezel that houses the speedo and the fuel gauge and the water temp. You can leave your speedo in (no numbers though) and all your other gauges while building the dash. Just re hook up the Amp gauge and the oil pressure gauge and tape the connections.

Take the plastic piece that you have removed from the truck and with the sharp implement cut all the way through removing the speedo bezel from the housing. Then use a small grinder (I used a Makita 4" grinder) and make the back of the plastic piece flat, remove all the plastic protrusions and get it ready to attach an aluminum backing. Cut a piece of 1/16" aluminum to fit the back of the housing and then cut a filler where the speedo bezel used to be (I used plastic that matched the thickness of the existing plastic). This is just a filler. Attach the aluminum to the back of the housing to give it some strength and make sure you bend it to fit the curve so it does not distort the original shape. This is done so it will screw right back into with the original 8 screw.

Drill holes through the plastic and the aluminum and counter sink the flat head screws, on the front side, to hold the aluminum back piece on. You'll need to put two screws on top of the lower bezel since there is no meat left after removing the speedo bezel. Counter sink those screws and bondo them and when you get ready to paint the part of the bezel that is visible you won't see the screws. I bought a piece of ABS plastic big enough to fit inside the existing housing. It has a texture to it and a lot of hot rodders use it for their custom dashes. Cut the ABS to fit, cut and fit till it fits perfect. After that is done use C clamps to hold the ABS in place and space your gauges the way you want them. I used VDO gauges, an electrical programmable speedometer that is really nice. I didn't use an Amp gauge but used a volt meter instead. Use a 2 1/16" hole saw for the four gauges (volt, fuel, water tepm and oil pressure). Use the proper size hole saw for the speedo and the tach (VDO offers a 3 1/8" or 3 3/8" tach and speedo).

I bought a kit from Sacramento Vintage Ford that came with all the gauges and senders but had to order the tach separate. I ordered the "Cockpit Royale" which looks really nice. After you have made the holes for your gauges you use the mounting system for the gauges to hold the ABS to the housing. This is plenty strong and you don't see any mounting screws. I then bought 1/4" idiot lights for a right and left green turn indicators and red for the amp light, oil pressure light and high beam indicator. Just use the same wires. Those year Fords had only one green light for the turn signals but there is already two wires, one for right and one for left so you just need to pick up a ground and you have a left turn signal and a right one. Install the senders as per instructions using the existing wires. Pick up power for the volt meter and all the other gauges from the existing ignition wires that are behing the dash. Make sure when you are doing your wiring that you use a 10/32" screw to hold the wires that went to the amp gauge. This is your charging circuit and must be connected together.

I then put heat shrink tubing over the connection (the volt gauge takes the place of the amp gauge but you still have an amp idiot light). I added another ground to the ground screw that is already behind the dash. I made up a wire loom on my coffee table so after I had it all done I just labeled all the wires before I disconnected them from the old gauges and identified which one was the sender wire and which one was power (color coded so this was easy). After you finish with all the installation of the gauges, take it completely apart and sand the plastic down to the grew plastic, using finer and finer sandpaper. I primed mine and sander it again then I painted it gloss black. Be careful re-installing the gauges and installing it in your dashboard so as not to scratch it. If you scratch it, no problem. Just tape it off and re paint the part that is scratched.

The wiring process is the most time consuming of all the work. After it's all wired just install the housing with your new gauges and that's it. It does take a bit of mechanical and electrical skill but the results are worth it. Once you have taken the dash apart it all become apparent what is happening. The only original piece that is used is the dash bezel that screws to your dashboard with 8 screws, you can throw away the black speedo numbers, the clear plastic and the back metal housing. Everything is mounted to what you just made and strengthened.