Keeping Your Cool - Custom Dash For 1941 Buick Dash

Creating a Hot Rod Custom Dash For Vintage Air System

By Curt Iseli – Photography By the Author & Evan Iseli

The hot rod aftermarket offers many parts and modern amenities that make driving our old cars infinitely more enjoyable. But sometimes, you must put some extra thought and effort into incorporating those amenities without disrupting the car’s aesthetic. Such was the case with the Vintage Air heat and AC system in my ’41 Buick.

Vintage Air and Their Climate-Control Systems

02 Basic interior components for Vintage Air system installation — Here’s everything that was removed from behind the dash. The original glovebox was also jettisoned since it’s being abbreviated to make room for the evaporator.

Vintage Air has been providing climate control for hot rods since 1976. Over the last nearly half century they’ve developed components tailormade for a wide range of cars and trucks from the ’50s-80s in their bolt-in SureFit series. These systems integrate all the necessary components both under the hood and in the cabin without requiring that the dash or under hood sheet metal be significantly altered. But as expansive as the SureFit line is, there isn’t a kit for everything, which is where their Builder Series comes in.

03 Removed dash components to make room for the evaporator — A mock-up evaporator can be used to determine fit. The Gen II Super evaporator is the largest unit that will fit behind the dash.

Builder Series kits are essentially custom climate-control systems. They comprise individual components, like the compressor and condenser, which are mounted in the engine compartment, an evaporator, usually installed behind the dash, and all the necessary hoses, louvers, brackets, wiring, and other incidentals that keep the system running and the cool (or hot) air flowing. We don’t have the space to cover all the component options Vintage Air offers but suffice it to say that whatever car you’re building and whatever style you’re building it in, they’ll have something that fits the bill—and their knowledgeable tech staff can help every step of the way. We’ll explain how we arrived at the best system for the Buick.

04 Mock up of the Gen II Super evaporator for fit assessment — Vintage Air provides universal brackets, but we fabricated ours from 1/8-inch steel. This rear bracket bolts to a stud welded onto the firewall.

Choosing the Right Evaporator for Your Car

The first step in designing a climate-control system is choosing the right evaporator for the size of your car. Obviously, cooling a pickup or early Ford coupe is easier than cooling a big ’50s or ’60s sedan or wagon. Larger interior areas require larger evaporators, and it’s important to choose the largest one you can possibly fit behind your dashboard. Based on the dimensions of the different evaporators listed on Vintage Air’s website, I determined the Gen IV and Gen V heat/cool evaporators were too large. Still, the Gen II Super looked like it would fit and would move enough air to cool my cabin.

05 Fabricated brackets from 1 8 inch steel for Vintage Air system — Removing the dash eased evaporator installation. The four vertical holes for the firewall-mounted bulkhead were drilled using the supplied template. The firewall will be scuffed and coated with POR-15.

Vintage Air offers mock-up evaporator cases that are available for purchase or on loan from some of their dealers, and fortunately, my local hot rod shop, The East Coast Hot Rod Garage, had one to lend. In many cases, the evaporator will take up some (or all) of the glovebox space, so you’ll need to remove that along with anything else that either won’t be used, like the original radio, or that can also be relocated. After confirming there was enough space behind the dash to mount the Gen II Super mock-up evaporator, I ordered the actual unit (along with all the other components) and began the installation.

06 Process of evaporator installation with dash removed — Two of the four louvers will be located where the radio used to be. Handwritten notes are for the chrome shop, which will modify the pot metal speaker grille.

Mounting the Evaporator and Planning the Brackets

Depending on which evaporator you choose, the molded plastic case has either three or four integrated rivet nuts to attach to your brackets. As you’re planning the evaporator location, be sure to account for the thickness of any firewall insulation if it isn’t already installed and leave enough space to route the wiring and coolant lines. The latter typically enter the cabin on the passenger side of the firewall, and Vintage Air offers a few different bulkheads with varying layouts for the four individual hoses. Once you’ve determined which style best fits your build, you’ll know how much space you’ll need to route the lines from the bulkhead to the evaporator.

07 Placement of louvers where the radio used to be — The louvers and a center-mounted gauge are located in the filler panel, which is temporarily screwed in. CustomChrome Plating will weld it prior to chroming the grille.

After determining the location of the evaporator, I suspended it loosely in place with mechanics wire while I planned out my brackets. There are some basic universal brackets with the evaporator kit that might come in handy, but I wound up fabricating mine from 1/8x¾-inch steel flat stock welded to the firewall and bolted to the inner lip of the dashboard.

08 Installation of louvers and a center mounted gauge in the filler panel — The other two louvers will be mounted in the clock pods cut from the centers of these ’49-50 Ford donor dashes. These custom sub dashes will be located below the Buick dashboard.

Positioning the Louvers and Controls for Optimal Comfort

With the evaporator in place, it was time to start planning where to install the louvers and controls. The louvers direct the cool air from the AC system, while the warm air comes from ducts at the bottom of the evaporator that is directed toward the floor since heat rises. You’ll want to position the louvers as close to your face and upper body as possible. Likewise, with the controls, keep them easily within reach. Sometimes builders want to eliminate any trace of modern componentry and will hide the controls under the dash or somewhere else out of sight, but think about how often you fiddle with the knobs in your contemporary car; you’ll want to keep these accessible.

09 Custom sub dashes for louver installation cut from ’49 50 Ford donor dashes — For a more “stock” look, the ends of the sub dashes will be contoured. We start by cutting out 18-gauge sheet metal panels.

Larger systems like the Gen II Super utilize four louvers, and I determined that the center two could be located where the radio once resided with a little work. The radio surround is part of a larger chrome-plated, pot metal speaker grille that occupies the center of the dash. Filling the space where the radio face and knobs once were provided enough space to fit two Standard Series Double-Vane louvers, which have a round bezel just under 2-3/4 inches in diameter. If you’re not experienced with modifying pot metal, a good chrome shop will be able to help. I shipped my speaker grille off to Jon Wright’s CustomChrome Plating where they stripped it, trimmed away the necessary areas around the radio knobs and face, and fitted it with a filler plate before shipping it back to me. After carefully measuring and laying out the louver locations, I cut the openings with a Dremel tool and sent it back to CustomChrome Plating where they did the finish work on the filler panel before chrome plating the whole speaker grille.

10 Contouring the ends of the sub dashes for a more original look — The small panels are then pie-cut and rolled to form a nice, finished end. This will be partially visible when the car door is open.

Modifying the Dashboard to Incorporate the AC Louvers

Since there was no place to fit the other two louvers in the dashboard itself, I needed to fabricate some sub-dash to keep them mounted as high as possible. Sub dashes can be as simple as a flat, brake-formed sheet metal panel, but I wanted something that would flow with the sculpted look of the prewar Buick dashboard. Having owned a couple of shoebox Fords in the past, I remembered the center clock pod in the ’49-50 models had a cool shape that was reasonably close in diameter to the AC louvers. I sourced two bare dashes for reasonably inexpensive and cut out an 18-inch section with the clock pod at the center, then set about modifying them to fit beneath the stock dash.

11 Process of creating a finished end for the sub dash — After the end is welded, ground, and filed, we add a length of 1/8-inch round rod around the perimeter to finish the edges.

Both sections required that the outboard ends be rounded off to give them a finished edge where they return toward the firewall adjacent to the kick panels. A more experienced metal shaper could have hammered out the compound curves from a single piece of sheet metal, but I pieced them together from a couple of small squares of 18-gauge steel with a series of pie cuts, some welding, and a lot of grinding and filling. Then, the inboard ends of each section were contoured to nest behind the chromed speaker grille at the center of the dash. A flange welded to the top of each section provided a flat surface that could bolt to the underside of the stock dash, and a length of 1/8-inch round rod welded along the bottom created a clean, finished edge.

12 Finished edges of the sub dash with 1 8 inch round rod — Here’s the passenger sub dash bolted in place below the stock dash. The AC louver will be installed in the clock pod directly in front of the passenger.

Accommodating Steering Column and Parking Brake

Last, I welded a small, circular flange to the back of the clock pod in the center of the new sub dash. This acted as a step-down plate, which the Vintage Air louver could attach to, nesting nicely within the pod’s opening. With that, the passenger side panel was pretty much finished, but the driver side required additional work because the steering column, parking brake handle, and cowl vent lever all hung below the dash on that side. Plus, I needed a flat surface to mount the Vintage Air controls.

13 Installed passenger sub dash with AC louver placement — HOn the driver side, the provisions are made for the steering column (already cut out), emergency brake handle, and cowl vent lever.

To account for the steering column and parking brake, I marked where they intersected with the sub dash and carefully cut half-round openings in the top (for the column) and bottom (for the brake handle) of the panel. After bolting the panel in place and double-checking that everything cleared, the cut edges were finished off with more 1/8-inch round rod bent to follow the contours of the openings using an Eastwood vise-mounted rod bender (which I use so much that it’s more or less permanently mounted in one of my vises). After welding the rod in place, more filing and a little bit of filler created a nicely contoured lip that looked like something that could have come from the factory. The same treatment was done around the cowl vent handle, which needed to be lengthened slightly to clear the new, lower sub dash.

14 Driver side sub dash with provisions for the steering column and other controls — Sections of 1/8-inch round steel rod are welded around the cut edges, like this one for the steering column, to mimic the lip around-the-clock pod-turned-louver opening.

Incorporating the 1937 Lincoln Zephyr Waterfall Dash

I’ve always loved the look of the 1937 Lincoln Zephyr waterfall dashes, and I wanted to find a way to incorporate the lower “grille” section of one into the Buick dash. My good friend and well-known custom collector Jim Walker had one in his stash that he donated to my project, which I modified by trimming some height from the top and bottom and rolling some sheet metal returns to extend from the Zephyr grille back to the firewall.

15 Welding of 1 8 inch round steel rod around the steering column cut edges — A reducer ring cut from 18-gauge steel is welded to the back of the louver opening.

Finding the Perfect Spot for the AC Controls

Though I incorporated the Zephyr dash section for aesthetics, as I planned the Vintage Air system, I thought that the sheet metal return panel on the driver side might be a good place for the AC controls. Sitting in the driver seat, however, I realized I’d have to reach too far to make any climate adjustments. There was, however, some real estate in the sub dash that was conveniently within reach. Since the face of the sub dash is curved, some minor sheet metal work was required to create a flat surface for the controls.

16 Welding of a reducer ring to the back of the louver opening — The inner diameter of the reducer ring is properly sized for the Vintage Air Standard Series Double-Vane louver, which is inserted through the opening’s front.

Final Thoughts on the Customized Dash and Climate-Control System

As with everything else, Vintage Air offers a few different control panel options for various styles and eras of cars. In our case, their Gen II Streamline panel, with its simple, clean design, looked at home in the ’40s-era Buick dash. Using the supplied mounting template, I cut out a pill-shaped piece of 18-gauge steel slightly larger than the control panel itself, then bent a round rod to finish the edge. A 2-inch-wide strip of rolled sheet metal welded to the rod created a return for the new control housing. After trimming the sides of this housing to match the contoured face of the sub dash, I checked to ensure that all the components on the back side of the knobs cleared everything behind the dash before welding it in place.

17 Insertion of the Vintage Air Standard Series Double Vane louver — This receiver for the air duct screws into the louver from behind the dash, holding it in place.

Ultimately, I’ve invested more time in this dash than I’d probably like to admit, but the finished assembly looks purposeful and inconspicuous—like it was designed to be there all along. Most importantly, it’s functional, with controls that are easily within reach and louvers positioned to deliver plenty of cool air on those hot summertime cruises. MR