how to's and whata ya think's

ok.. ive been buildin my mud truck since my senior year in high school.. (lol like that was so long ago.. years now).. its a 74 f-250 high boy, with bout 16'' of lift 53'' military mud tires and 2.5ton rock well axles. and i want to inside to look as bad ass and custom as the out side. so here is my questions

1. i want to build a head liner out of fiberglass and have mirrors mounted flush with it.. possibly a power moon roof with the sliding thingy (for lack of a better word) havin a mirror in it, also the head liner is gonna have counsel that drops down about 3-4 inches runnin the whole width of the truck that will house a cb player, varuous guages and switches, and either a cd or a dvd player. speakin of witch is there any way i can reverse one of those din sized dash mounted pull out screens? so that it pulls out and does down? i also want to mount a tweeter in there and a either a 5.25'' or 6.5'' speaker on the underside on each side, and a plexy glass window in the middle (like 1.5'' by 18'') with a neon light behind it, is it feasable to build it in the truck, or should i just try to make a mold (mask off the roof and do one layer, pull it out and build it that way).  so basically im askin how to get the mirrors and plexy glass flush?

2. has any one added vents in the dash? i want to build a custom sculpted fiberglass dash and put vents in facin the passanger compartment (the old fords don't have them) how would you splice it onto the factory outputs? and i want the dash to go down and turn into a seamless center counsel that will house a screen, either a cd player or a dvd player, switches, gauges, cup holder, and have the transfer case shifter come up through it and out the top, then have a B&M hammer shifter mounted farther back, i want the base recessed an inch or two and make it looks like its apart of the counsel then a big compartment behind the shhher with a padded top, and the back (this is the tricky part) will be a amp rack slash bubbler slash back rest, lets see if i can explaine this the amp will be mounted on mirrors and have neon lights on the side then a tank (lil bigger then the amp say 2 inches wider n  longer) that is about 2inches thick made of plexi glass and fillded with water and mounted flush will be above it, so when the need comes for a third passanger they can sit on the counsel and lean back on that, my questions on the tank are, where do the bubbles go? i don't want water splashing out, so i want it sealed but if its sealed air will build up and i live in minnesota so is there a clear anti freeze? or what would be a easy way to make it drain and fill able? and how do you color the water? i want it red since the truck is gonna be painted wild strawberry red with charcoal racing stripes i was thinkin food coloring but wouldn't that stain the plexy glass?

the center counsel will spread out in the back takin up the wole width of the truck mountin a twelve behenid each seat, since this is so big an i want it seam less, would it be best to build it in side the truck? i want the counsel to be seamless with the floor and the sub boxes to be seamless with the counsel and the floor and back wall, how well does fiberglass bond with metal? i don't intend to remove any of this ever and want it to be solidly mounted in there

i also want to build up the floor, like an inch or so, mount mirrors with neon lights and then plexy glass over it, so a lil over an inch, im montin ar-1 super racing seats in there and need to make a steel frame to raise the seats a few inches (other wise you wouldn't be able to see over the dash) and want to wrap that in fiberglass, maby mount a 10'' sub under the seat if theres enough room. my question is how scratch resistant is plexy glass? cause this is gonna be a mud truck.. that is gonna get used.. in the gravel pits, and other various places of questionable legality, is there a way to make it more scratch resistant? or should i make it replaceable?  also what are the chances of all this fiberglass crackin when im off roading?

i also want to build custom door panels with molded in handles (like a 98 f-150) and arm rests with window switches and door locks

in the box ive got a double show bar (painted charcoal) with 5 150 watt lights, and charcoal carpet on the floor and a red bronco rear seat mounted between the wheel wheels (the kind thats held in with a latch and two pins) and i want to mount mirrors all they way around with neon lights up under the bed rails and have a big ford oval etched in the one up front.

i want to finish this project by june of next year (to unveil it at winstock)

how much fiberglass do you think this will take?  also i imagine sunny days bein annoying how do you deal with glare on these dashes? i can only imagine what its like (armor all'd dashes blind yah) just wear sunglasses all the time?

as this is my first extensive custom fiberglass project (ive only fiberglassed snowmobile hoods b4) where would you start? and what do you think about all my plans? im sure once i dive into the project i'll have more specific questions for you, i only ask now because im takin an unwanted 45 day vaccation in county and need this to occupy my mind.. planin, drawing, detailed drawings.. to scale.. then colored... 45 days is long time i have to make it last lol

if any thing thanx for readin my ramblin vogey

Sounds like alot of work. If I were you, I would sit down and draw it out first (if you can't draw just ask someone who can) then draw the frame out for it ( i use tracing paper right over the idea sketch to match it up) For things like the headliner, take it out and mold, it will save you a big headache.

This if going to take alot of fiberglass. If your not worried about weight use MDF in flat areas and for the frame. If you are I would consider foam molding (big chunk of foam cut to the shape of what you want and glassed) the box and adding a few extra layers.

I forget the exact site but google teh Alpine show cars, on their site they pretty much have a step by step build up of some of the most insane fiberglass projects I have ever seen.

Good luck with it!