65 cad interior in my 87

[lay low 87]

tryin to figure out a trick interior to build for my truck. i was gonna put an old steering wheel on the stock column and maybe get an old working instrument cluster and build a sheetmetal dash around that, but my boss at work has a 65 eldorado steering column he'll sell me. its got tilt & telescope too, ignition switch is on the dash tho. its also shorter than the stock column which IMO comes too far out. its a few inches longer on the engine bay side tho, not totally sure how to make the shafts work together between the firewall and rag joint. 65 cadillac gauge clusters are relatively easy to come by on ebay, but i dont know how long GM has used the 0-90 ohm fuel level sender system. (i want all the gauges to function properly). i would also have to change the ignition switch to dash mount, and somehow relocate the controls for wiper: wash, speed, delay, and cruise. doesnt look hopeful on getting a whole cadillac dashboard, but that would be ideal. can anybody help me out with my questions?

[GreaseDog]

how handy are you with sheetmetal? if you're going for something custom, i like the less is more theme. i'd like to see one with a piece of sheetmetal rolled down from the pinch weld under the windshield, and wearing a set of 47-55 truck gauges. there are several companies that make high end replacements for them. one gauge is the speedo, the other is oil, temp, volts, and fuel. finish it off with the radio mounted in the center, perhaps in a stockish looking bezel. god i miss my '49

tilt and telescope columns are cool, and definitely make fitting into the truck possible for people of all shapes. very practical mod for sure.

[lay low 87]

sheetmetal is no problem im a bodyman at a restoration shop. originally, after stripping the stock dash to metal i was gonna smooth it and do a grinded bare metal finish in pearl red. i dont want aftermarket gauges though, im going thru all this trouble of retrofitting an old dash in to keep that look.

[GreaseDog]

they are aftermarket gauges, but just more accurate versions of the original style gauges, they look almost stock.