Making of a 308 interior

I didn't get as much done today as I would have liked - but I did pick up the gauges. They are really nice and so close to the look and feel of the 308. The round trip was about 5 hours and a nice dinner with my wife.

Work on the bezel started with multiple pieces of polystyrene glued together with Super77.

pieces.jpg

Supper77 just needs 30 seconds to become tacky so sticking them together didn't take that long at all. I added expanding foam to the "steps" between pieces just in case it needed it. It turns out that it was required but much less than I had anticipated. (That work was done yesterday)
greatstuff.jpg

This morning the sculpting didn't take more than an hour or so with a pocket surform. I had to hog out the inside though as well so the time just about doubled before I was completely finished.
sculpting.jpg


After hogging out the inside I decided to do a test fit to see where the gauges will go. Its starting to take shape....
bezelstarted.jpg
 
Last edited:
Double check your forward sight lines with this in place as the gauge pod looks in the pics to sit a lot higher than the stock dash. Looks great, I love spider gauges for other Fiats.
 
Nice progress, are you putting the steering wheel on to see if the wheel occludes any gauges? BTW your Workmate looks almost as beaten up as mine!
 
Double check your forward sight lines with this in place as the gauge pod looks in the pics to sit a lot higher than the stock dash. Looks great, I love spider gauges for other Fiats.

Yeah - the pod does sit a bit higher. I suppose that was expected. I had to lift it a bit for the pic as it was sliding down without it being raised. I think it will end up being just about right. It does not obscure the view out the windshield. Below is a comparison of before and now....

compare.jpg


Nice progress, are you putting the steering wheel on to see if the wheel occludes any gauges?

I plan on getting a Momo gritti like steering wheel. I just don't like the look of the Prototipio for some reason but Momo doesn't sell them anymore. Superperformance in the UK sell a knock off for $268 so I'll probably order that this week so I can fit that and see if it covers any gauges.

30801031.jpg


BTW your Workmate looks almost as beaten up as mine!

LOL - yeah - this workmate has been my buddy for decades... Can't count all the projects it has seen me through. Like an old pair of sneakers - I just can't get rid of it.
 
Yep, mine looks the same, I must have gotten it 35-40 years ago and working just as great as the day I bought it.
 
You might want to try to placing the gauges in the binnacle as they are fairly deep (124 gauges came in two different depths). A 1/8” hardboard with openings cut into it with a hole saw will allow your to see how it all works.

Looks great. Nice job.
 
You might want to try to placing the gauges in the binnacle as they are fairly deep (124 gauges came in two different depths). A 1/8” hardboard with openings cut into it with a hole saw will allow your to see how it all works.

Looks great. Nice job.
Good idea Karl thanks.... that will be tomorrow's job :)

Does anyone have any ideas about where to get the round air conditioning deflector outlet thingies? I'm having a hard time sourcing ones that look authentic. I was just watching a Harry's garage video and I see the Lamborghini Countach have ones that are very similar. Perhaps they were put in a less expensive vehicles as well?

harrys.jpg


and the Ferrari 308

airdeflector.jpg
 
This is going to sound dumb but look for some universal aftermarket AC vents, like the ones used in RV (motor-home) dashboards. They come in various sizes/shapes and I seem to recall one of my dad's RV's having round ones that were the same basic type as in your pic's. Also my "shop truck" has something similar; its a late model Ford F150.....
7fffa6e20f9743f796fcf169f3e436ae_490.jpg
 
The gauges now fit!, but boy its tight in there. I had to scrape back so much foam that it went through in a couple of places and tape was required to patch the hole. Not a big deal... its going to be covered in fiberglass anyway.

inside.jpg


Not only do they fit - but they look soooo pretty!!!!!!

gauges.jpg


and the best part of all is that the view from the cockpit is unencumbered.... Man I love this look!

cockpit.jpg
 
The gauges now fit!, but boy its tight in there. I had to scrape back so much foam that it went through in a couple of places and tape was required to patch the hole. Not a big deal... its going to be covered in fiberglass anyway.

Not only do they fit - but they look soooo pretty!!!!!!

and the best part of all is that the view from the cockpit is unencumbered.... Man I love this look!


Dang, now that is stylin’! Looks great This project looks like it will pay off nicely.
 
I would be sorely tempted to deviate from the exact Ferrari format, adding two more gauges in the right most and left most corners would allow a full complement of gauges in one place. This would save you from having to add other gauges elsewhere (like the lower ones the 308 has) given that there is not a lot of extra room in an X, it is shorter and narrower than a 308 after all.

An ammeter/voltmeter and oil temp gauge would nicely round out the complement of information you have in there now.

It would widen the lower part of the instrument hood but I doubt it would be much of a negative. Just a thought.
 
Looking forward to pics of the glassing process. Interested to see how it looks. What do you use to reinforce the fiberglass?

I'm thinking a version of the P1800 dash, but with Italian gauges would work for me :D

X19_0253.jpg
 
Looking forward to pics of the glassing process. Interested to see how it looks. What do you use to reinforce the fiberglass?

Hey Hussein, What specifically are you asking about reinforcing the fiberglass?

clark starts the thinking process.........

The truth is I haven't really thought about how I was going to do that yet :D. I need to protect the polystyrene from the resin so it doesn't just melt away so I was going to paint as Karl suggested. I have been wondering about just glassing it all around and allowing the foam thickness to increase the structural rigidity similar to a core mat. But if the fiberglass isn't connected to the foam and there aren't places where it connects back to itself I am not sure it will have the desired strength - so that is out. But if I just throw a wack of glass down to make it stronger then the weight is going to increase significantly - so that is out. Core mat has a bunch of holes to reconnect the resin between layers increasing the thickness but not absorbing the resin so it keeps the weight down. Perhaps I can strategically drill a number of 3/8 holes before I paint and it can have a similar effect? ..... thinking..... rethinking....... I'm leaning toward that option at the moment - the honey comb effect.

So ... there's my current plan :)
 
Back
Top