Afx cars-who's right??-lets clear the air

[rmchrgr]

Probably not this year since I'm bringing out some heavy cast iron pieces for drop off & don't want to risk damaging it plus I'm leaving to head home Friday morning. I still have to finish stripping this & make some typical repairs before it makes any long trips.
This is supposedly 1 of 2 known to exist the other one is in the golden commandos 65 from what I've been told by the cool kids with the cool toys.

Well at least stop by our spot and introduce yourself. We're at N 134-136.

 

[chooch]

Well, you're one of the cool kids now. Welcome to the club where you can check in, but you can never leave. LOL..

Out of curiosity, do you happen to know its real world weight numbers? Have you ever put it on scale?
Supposedly about a half dozen were sitting in someone's basement years back. All stacked up inside of each other.

One was allegedly found to be illegally on a '65 2% car (Color Me Gone) being that aluminum was outlawed by that year. Perhaps they gave some extra leash for the FX classes.

Never put it on a scale but guess I'll have to for curiousity sake.
Most people don't know the difference between a 64 & 65 dash but there are very subtle differences no way that you would tell if installed or had a gauge cluster in them.
I don't know how any of them withstood the weight from the factory gauge cluster on the tiny flimsy mounting tabs.

 

[chooch]

Well at least stop by our spot and introduce yourself. We're at N 134-136.

I'm usually floating around E87-98 if I have time to wonder arould I'll try to stop.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Never put it on a scale but guess I'll have to for curiousity sake.
Most people don't know the difference between a 64 & 65 dash but there are very subtle differences no way that you would tell if installed or had a gauge cluster in them.
I don't know how any of them withstood the weight from the factory gauge cluster on the tiny flimsy mounting tabs.

It could be that some guys just gutted the cluster in no need of it at tracks. That cast pot metal cluster is heavy. I gutted mine and took off a pound or two after all was said and done. It still works and looks the part of a stock cluster.
Both dashes interchange between the '64-'65 and so do other particular parts.

Let us know how much it weighs when you get a chance. Curious cat minds are curious.

 

[topside]

There was nothing behind the face plate of the "rallye" cluster in my ex-SS/IA Duster - had 3 aftermarket gauges in it, set in blank panels.
As for the aluminum dash, it would be interesting to know if that was from Day 1 or swapped in later - those cars were constantly being modified & updated back in the day, and rarely left alone after they changed hands a time or two. I can't recall ever seeing a tech guy check a dash, but I suppose if the car was protested, someone would have to snoop around.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

There was nothing behind the face plate of the "rallye" cluster in my ex-SS/IA Duster - had 3 aftermarket gauges in it, set in blank panels.
As for the aluminum dash, it would be interesting to know if that was from Day 1 or swapped in later - those cars were constantly being modified & updated back in the day, and rarely left alone after they changed hands a time or two. I can't recall ever seeing a tech guy check a dash, but I suppose if the car was protested, someone would have to snoop around.

The factory memo indicated a host of aluminum goodies including a dashboard. This was of course for the year ‘64 2% cars. Some of those goodies never made it to the cars simply because of the haste nature of the time. Some of those goodies never even got stamped or fabricated according to some reliable sources.
That’s why I went the extra 1/4 mile and fabricated some of these never-ever parts to beat the program at its own game.
Keep us posted Chooch.

 

[chooch]

Little over 6.5lbs

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Little over 6.5lbs

View attachment 2045289

That's light. On the record and thank you for the scale up.
For the record, my steel dash in factory stock bareness was once 17 Lbs. Now it is 10 Lbs chemically milled. This Alcoa version is 3 Lbs lighter. Amazing.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Here's the fiberglass dash frame on the upper middle left of the image that completes the initial Plaza Fiberglass Manufacturing kit for a Plymouth A/FX altered wheel base set up. A Dodge set up is very similar except for the unique body lines and bumpers. Note the absence of glovebox, cigarette hatch and radio port on the dash's face. It was all available over the counter to select racers and folks in the know.
That dash must of had some kind of steel brace grafted into it somehow where the steering column nestles in. The steering column could be heavy enough at that pivotal stress point to crack that fiberglass dash.

 

[Jeff Peterson]

Like this one?

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Like this one?View attachment 2048497

Correct. Smooth operator. A STICK A/FX? I'll take it.

 

[chooch]

Here's the fiberglass dash frame on the upper middle left of the image that completes the initial Plaza Fiberglass Manufacturing kit for a Plymouth A/FX altered wheel base set up. A Dodge set up is very similar except for the unique body lines and bumpers. Note the absence of glovebox, cigarette hatch and radio port on the dash's face. It was all available over the counter to select racers and folks in the know.
That dash must of had some kind of steel brace grafted into it somehow where the steering column nestles in. The steering column could be heavy enough at that pivotal stress point to crack that fiberglass dash.

View attachment 2048464

Most of the steering column weight should be supported by the brake / clutch pedal bracket so not sure how much weight would really be on the dash frame.

Plaza made some really nice well built unique parts for the time probably a lot better than anything made today.
They seem to have made the glass parts from direct molds of the original steel parts as the are very exact in every detail including some of the number stampings that you would normally find in steel pieces.
The doors appear to been made from hard top molds & outside of the doors have raised bosses for the door handles along with the inside has everything to mount handles , regulators, panels & vent windows if you wanted if using them on a sedan or AFX you would have to add your window frames which took some slight massaging.

The trunk lid even had the raised reinforced hinge area if you wanted to use the factory trunk hinges along with Dodge raised trunk medallion area . It would be interesting to see a old catalog since I'm betting the hoods where sold with or without scoop mine shows no sign of ever having a scoop attached & I've seen a few other hoods that way.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Most of the steering column weight should be supported by the brake / clutch pedal bracket so not sure how much weight would really be on the dash frame.

Plaza made some really nice well built unique parts for the time probably a lot better than anything made today.
They seem to have made the glass parts from direct molds of the original steel parts as the are very exact in every detail including some of the number stampings that you would normally find in steel pieces.
The doors appear to been made from hard top molds & outside of the doors have raised bosses for the door handles along with the inside has everything to mount handles , regulators, panels & vent windows if you wanted if using them on a sedan or AFX you would have to add your window frames which took some slight massaging.

The trunk lid even had the raised reinforced hinge area if you wanted to use the factory trunk hinges along with Dodge raised trunk medallion area . It would be interesting to see a old catalog since I'm betting the hoods where sold with or without scoop mine shows no sign of ever having a scoop attached & I've seen a few other hoods that way.

View attachment 2049880

View attachment 2049881

Yes, that is amazing quality for those times as far as fiberglass.
Yes, some weight is carried from the two or three braces that are connected to the brake/clutch pedal bracket, but just as much is the semielliptical (C) shape cup bracket that nestles underneath the steering column jacket and attaches via four nuts within the cavity of the dash frame underside.

 

[topside]

Back in the '70s, I was working with fiberglass on Funny Cars, off-road racers, and such. One of the body suppliers would get a rental car, blow it apart, and make molds off it; then reassemble the car and return it a bit worse for wear. Those molds would then be duplicated and/or altered to fit the end product from Pro Stocks to Funny Cars.
As for steering columns, remember: these were race cars, so things & weight not needed was eliminated or lighter materials might be substituted. Here's what Missile VII's column looks like - I could literally chuck it across the shop like a javelin...

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Back in the '70s, I was working with fiberglass on Funny Cars, off-road racers, and such. One of the body suppliers would get a rental car, blow it apart, and make molds off it; then reassemble the car and return it a bit worse for wear. Those molds would then be duplicated and/or altered to fit the end product from Pro Stocks to Funny Cars.
As for steering columns, remember: these were race cars, so things & weight not needed was eliminated or lighter materials might be substituted. Here's what Missile VII's column looks like - I could literally chuck it across the shop like a javelin...

View attachment 2049916

That must be a personal touch to the column correct? That must be light.
I chose to follow the 2% A/FX memorandum and go at it in aluminum for some stealth.

 

[topside]

Personal, yes - the point is that weight reduction on the car started early on, and certainly other guys were doing stuff like that as well.
Racers don't tend to leave anything alone, especially the sharp ones...

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Personal, yes - the point is that weight reduction on the car started early on, and certainly other guys were doing stuff like that as well.
Racers don't tend to leave anything alone, especially the sharp ones...

Man, what a time it must have been, right thick in the middle of all those developments and disposals based on the thought that it would never end. Little did some know that those developments were the beginning of the end of other beginnings.

 

[topside]

Fran Hernandez at Mercury - a drag racer from literally the earliest days - tossed things upside-down with the Logghe cars for '66 - a leap from Chrysler's '66 program, but that's a different story and best left for another thread if it materializes.

 

[Jeff Peterson]

Fran Hernandez at Mercury - a drag racer from literally the earliest days - tossed things upside-down with the Logghe cars for '66 - a leap from Chrysler's '66 program, but that's a different story and best left for another thread if it materializes.

There’s one in a private collection local to me