love your dashboard speakermaker

I would like your advice on how to build a dashboard like the one you did.  i have a 1965 Galaxie.  The passenger-side dash is a poured foam covered with vinyl , the vinyl having some pretty good cracks in it.   What I did was rebuilt a bigger instrument panel so the dash pad that hooded the old instruments does not fit any more.  

My question is what is a good way to build a new dash to cover the instrument panel?  There are two steel prongs that stick out from the dash frame.  These were used to support the old hood, so I tried a chicken wire frame but no success.  Is there some kind of clay, or material with enough bend to it I can mould it like yours?  Then I could cover the whole thing in glass or maybe stretchy vinyl. 

I am addressing question this to speakermaker because i have seen his work but man, I am a rookie and will take ideas from anyone!  I do not mind if the finished product is rough because it is just for me, my needs are 1.) not complicated to do, 2.)  "okay-looking," and 3.) able to stand up to the Texas sun.

Are you ready to commit to a project like that? The dash in that thread was held in place with all of the factory screws. I suggest a combination of ¼” and ½” Marine grade plywood construction. Check out your local hardwood shops. Go to your local upholstery shop and get 10 pieces of chip board (thin cardboard material about 75 cents ea.). Use this to lay out your design. Then copy onto the more expensive plywood and glue together with hobby grade supper glue (find it in big bottles at your local hobby shop). Finally stretch grill cloth over the entire project and coat with resin. Don’t use fleece! Fleece will soak up too much resin that will shrink and cause you headaches after it sits in the sun. Cut long 2” wide strips of fiberglass chop mat and tear (not cut) into 2” squares. Apply the 2” squares of matt over the entire surface and wet tout with resin. Don’t use any more resin than you have to. Grind or sand off high spots when hardened. Spread on thin layer of short strand fiberglass body filler. Grind down high spots. Paint on thin layer of body filler/resin mix. Sand down within 20 minutes of application. Don’t do more than 1.5-2 square feet at one time. Use long block to flatten large areas. Use Easy Sand (Evercoat product available at your local automotive paint store) to fill in imperfections. Spray down with Duplicolor high build filler primer (or 5 star acrylic lacquer high build primer if you have a paint gun and want to hall butt). Sand with fine and then super fine 3M sponge sanders. Coat with Duplicolor sealer primer. Don’t sand on this primer! Paint with duplicolor acrylic enamel paint. Clear coat with transtar doorjamb clear coat.this stuff goes on a mile thick and looks great!. If you don’t want to tackle the paint your self and you take your dash to a paint shop don’t primer it your self. The primers that I suggest are awesome for solvent based paints but will not be compatible with the paints that a professional paint shop will use.

Find out what type of plastic the top is made out of. If it is ABS you will have no problems glassing to it. Using it sounds like a good idea.