Mathew Habermehl
Junior Member
Long term lurker first day as actual member. I have recently done some major repairs to my 04 1500. Its been beat and neglected for years so I gave her every steering, suspension, cooling, climate control, braking part i could and even did a paint on all engine bay plastics and a full detail. Rockauto saved me a ton. 4000 in parts for 1500 with shipping. Now that the truck is in proper working order I'm going to tackle the interior. First I stripped every panel I could get my hands on and now comes the task of putting it back together the way I always wanted. I have never tried anything to do with interior work but I am going to give it my all. First up is the dash. My factory dash was completely gone so I took it out piece by piece only to realize the panel that goes over the speakers in the dash were only in 5 or 6 piece! SCORE! I picked up a dash off of a 03 ram that just happened to be pulling into the local salvage yard I just happened to stop at to window shop (wife hates my habit of bringing home stray parts but she brings home stray dogs so fair is fair) it was like a sign from above. This truck had just been totaled by the insurance company and being pulled in as I was walking in. I saw it and went to the manager and and after begging and pleading to let me pick through it even though he hadnt inventoried yet he finaly resigned. I open the door and what do I find a perfectly intact dash. It was severely faded but I had plans on glassing eventually anyway. I was expecting a hefty pricetag but when I went to pay I walked out with it and several other interior panels for $25. So finally 4 years later I'm putting it to use. I didnt detail much from the initial steps due to not intending on joining but why not give something back to the community that has helped me so often in recent weeks and get some insight as I go. First I took the secondary panel which being super brittle lost all grills for the defrost vents and speakers. Never liking the front speakers I didnt mind I was covering those anyway and the defrost vents... I'll survive without the grills for now. I then took it and mounted it to the new dash as I would when having it inside the cab. I read on other forums about people glassing their dash and having rattling problems so I filled the layer between the two with expanding foam which helped act as a means for me to keep the old broken pieces tied together. Looking from the underside there are a I believe 8 angled screw holes that hold down the back half of the dash so I took a small drill bit and ran it through the top of the dash making a small hole. Using a stepped bit I then made the hole large enough for the longer screws to drop down into which will allow me to attach the panel after it is one solid piece. I will figure out a plug method when it's back in the truck. I then filled a few places with foam, let it cure then cut it relatively flush to fill the channel between the two pieces. It is a weird valley I did not want to deal with in bondo later. This wasnt smooth enough of a transition for me so I took some drywall compound I had laying around for small patches and filled it then sanded it to the shape i felt was closest to my final vision. Just finished using upholstery contact spray to wrap the dash in a layer of felt. After a quick initial trimming I had to call it a day. I plan on getting more detailed photos from here on out. Hopefully this turns out the way I have envisioned. So far I like the looks of it. Hoping to get this part done quickly with good results because I plan on laying the entire floor of the cab in fiberglass with a layer of sound deadened and spray foam underneath. A local interior guy suggested this method to take the carpet and turn it into a solid floor. I've already cut the carpet into three strips that run the driver, passenger, and center hump and each will be glssed in a manner that will allow me to seal them completely together after gel coating. The base of the pillars and kick panels will be done the same way which will allow my floor to be completely water tight so no more worrying about muddy shoes or dirt. Of it get nasty a quick hose down and a squeegee my floor is clean again. He says hes done it and it's a wonderful thing. Most people love carpet and I was one until he reminded me that the old trucks had vinyl liners and not carpet. This definitely made me feel nostalgic for my first truck so definitely giving it a try. Already found a replacement carpet for 200 if i don't like. The way it turns out and I probably have the other trim panels laying around. Sorry for the long first post just excited to finally share my project with the world.