Fabricators of the first order, the technicians at No Limit Engineering are able to work with any sort of material--be it sheetmetal, aluminum, stainless steel or fiberglass. Fiberglass, that moldable substance that can be used to make almost anything, actually comprises the BeBop's F-100 cab. Come to think of it, the F-100 giveaway truck that No Limit is building for the 28th Annual F-100 SuperNationals this May in Knoxville, Tennessee, has a BeBop's fiberglass cab.
In recent issues, we've witnessed those masters of metalwork, those creators of cool customs, transform stock F-100 parts into radical one-off components worthy of any Ford Racing high-speed land flyer. They've whacked away at brand-new stainless steel bumpers, cut up and welded pristine rear sheetmetal fenders, crafted custom running boards from raw sheetmetal and aluminum, designed and welded tubular headers from available pipe stock, and installed the first-of-its-kind dual power aluminum tonneau covers. Until this very day, they hadn't demonstrated their skill with fiberglass. No Limit's fearless founder and leader, Rob MacGregor, sought to rectify such an oversight.
He studied the top-notch construction of the BeBop's fiberglass F-100 cab, dashboard, kickboards, floorboards, and doors. Rob knew he'd need to modify the kickboards and floorboards to accommodate the long Tremec manual transmission, but he wanted to make the trans tunnel out of metal. The fiberglass floor would simply be cut to accept the trans hump.
After much contemplation of the Effie's interior, Rob had the answer. He'd transform the oft-seen F-100 dashboard, which BeBop's molded out of fiberglass, into a one-off custom dash. His big idea: cut out the driver-side dash hump, which houses the speedometer and several other gauges in a stock F-100, and move it to the center of the dash. Is this man warped or what? At first we thought we might need to intercede. Then we came to our senses. We recalled all the artistry we'd seen in past visits to the No Limit Engineering shop in San Berdoo, CA (as the locals call San Bernardino). So we readied our digital camera, pen, and paper, and watched the man work. As with any good story, there were several problematic moments when we thought Rob's fabrication went awry. These construction challenges all concluded successfully, as you might have guessed. See for yourself how to take a perfectly fine fiberglass factory-appearance F-100 dash and turn it into a full-on Ford Racing-themed custom instrument panel. For obvious reasons, CCT prefers to call the No Limit Effie dash Cyclops.
Before firing up the reciprocating...
Before firing up the reciprocating saw, No Limit took a Sharpie to masking tape to map out what the dashboard might look like.
The driver side of the dash...
The driver side of the dash will contain the instruments shown.
Cyclops will house the speedometer...
Cyclops will house the speedometer and the tachometer.
Rob measured to find the center...
Rob measured to find the center of the dash and marked same.
He marked the center point...
He marked the center point on both the dash and the dash hump. The dash hump is 15 inches wide, while the center section of the dash is 13 5/8 inches wide.
Since a piece of cardboard...
Since a piece of cardboard can easily wrap around the curved surfaces of the dash, Rob utilized a straight section of the material and a Sharpie to trace the vertical cutting lines.
Keeping in mind that there's...
Keeping in mind that there's a metal brace underneath the dash that he wanted to avoid cutting, he drew the horizontal line.
His center section of the...
His center section of the cutting template looked so.
Confident he had a viable...
Confident he had a viable map of where to cut...
...Rob fired up the Milwaukee...
...Rob fired up the Milwaukee Sawzall...
...and cut into the BeBop's...
...and cut into the BeBop's fiberglass dashboard.
Within minutes, the dash was...
Within minutes, the dash was but a memory. Evidence of precise planning--notice not one metal bracket was mistakenly cut.
No Limit will be doing the...
No Limit will be doing the old switcheroo and placing the dash hump in the center as shown. We couldn't help but put a little plug in for the magazine.
Before installing Cyclops,...
Before installing Cyclops, Rob took a few moments to scrutinize how well the dash hump would fit in the center of the dash.
You can probably see in the...
You can probably see in the photo what Rob learned in person. The shape of each dash section was different enough that some careful fabrication would need to take place. It's a good thing No Limit was equal to the task at hand!
Rob realized he could have...
Rob realized he could have left the bottom portions of the dash pieces in place, as they were the correct shape. He decided to cut them off and put them back where they belong...
...Utilizing the table jigsaw,...
...Utilizing the table jigsaw, he made it so with both the driver side and center pieces.
In order for Cyclops and the...
In order for Cyclops and the new driver side to have the correct shape in the custom dash, Rob needed to trim away at either side of the curved section of the hump and trim the edges of the driver side at an angle...
...He'll need to re-create...
...He'll need to re-create the portions he's cutting away in new fiberglass so that they conform to the desired shape.