Bmw E9X 2009 dash in 69 Camaro........

[Norwaycamaro]

Hi guys! I saw there was another thread on here with a guy asking about a conversion like this one. We`ve just started doing this on my 69 camaro, and it seems that the dash fits pretty well so far:-) A whole lot of work since we also found a lot of rust and bondo below the new top of the dash that at first sight looked really nice, but no....... The pics are in random order though....:-)

[Norwaycamaro]

Sorry about the poor quality photos, but my phone is not the best:-)
So far it seems that the outer edge of the dash needs to be trimmed an inch or so because otherwise the dash will sit to far against the driver. We will trim off an inch for starters tomorrow and see how it turns out. The sides fits pretty well- probably need to trim and recess the doors 1/2 inch or so to clear, but no big deal:-)

[Ricochet]

Looks great!:thumbsup:

[CreepinDeth]

Looks pretty cool!!!

Much cheaper I'm sure then paying to have a luxury dash and console fabricated.

[Norwaycamaro]

So true!! Besides its much more fun fabbing your own stuff rather than buy everything too..
Not so much progress this week, but hopefully we will get some work done tomorrow.

[Norwaycamaro]

Here`s one pic from yesterday. We finally tacked up all mounting brackets and was able to put everything together to see how it turns out. We actually cut out most of the driveshaft tunnel from the donor car and mounted it more or less on top of my original one. This is because i am going to use the handbrake unit also, and wanted it to sit properly like in the donor. Also the console needed to be lifted a few inches to line up with the dash, so we figured it would be the easiest way to do it.

[bdahlg68]

Looking real good... I may use the same approach as I like this alot. Are you thinking about using e9x door panels too?

[Norwaycamaro]

Not really sure about the door panels yet. Seems there will be some interference dash-wise against the door panels, but will address that later. Small issue anyways IMO:-)

[rjsjea]

Has the beginnings of a great modern interior in an old car

[Norwaycamaro]

Had to put in most of the little things like glove compartment, gauge bezel,seats etc to get a more completed view...:-)

[bdahlg68]

Did you use the BMW support bar or did you just fab in your own? Any chance to get some pics of the necessary bracket fab work?

Thanks!

[Norwaycamaro]

I did in fact use the original bar from the bmw. It was surprisingly simple consisting of more or less 3,5f round tubing with a small bracket attached on each side with two bolt holes in them -thats about it!
Ended up needing only to weld up one simple bracket on each side to attach the dash after -of course a lot of trimming/tweaking/cutting to make it sit right in the car. I`ll put up some pics of those later also:-)

[Norwaycamaro]

In the last pic you can see the raw bracket for the dash on the right side. It will be straightened up and fully welded while the cowl is opened up. Also some minor brackets will be fabbed to support plastic panels under the dash plus some other small stuff. I just wish the rust was long gone, so i could consentrate fully on the fun stuff instead:-)

[Norwaycamaro]

Got my speedhuts today, so had to test fit immediately:-)
I think this will be pretty nice when its done:-)

[Norwaycamaro]

Not so much... Been waiting for my new complete cowl panel to finish off the remaining rust.. I will post some pics of my subframe tomorrow. We finished that this week. I also got my new Flaming river column and my Touch Start Keyless Dash Ignition System from them as well. Since the Bmw dash has a keyless start system originally, i decided to try the same path myself... Oh and by the way: Flaming river?.... OUTSTANDING quality parts and customer support!!!!!!:woot: :thumbsup:

[Norwaycamaro]

Finally!!
A small update- my seats arrived and just had to put one in to see how it will turn out. I think it looks pretty darn good! What do you guys think?..
Seems there wont be much clearance sideways towards the center console, but i think we`ll fix that. Havent tried the back seat yet, but will soon:-)

[Mrfixit]

Interesting dash mod. You've probably already figures this out but hanging the dash is the easy part. If your planning on using the remaining BMW controls (headlight switch and environmental) to pull of the clean conversion, there's usually a lot of head-scratching to do. So far, everything is looking good.

One this that I can see from the pictures that I wonder about is the height of the gauge cluster surround (i.e. the top of the dash above the cluster. when you sit in the seat, how's the visibility?

[Norwaycamaro]

Thats an issue that has been debated heavily around the shop. Its not a problem per say, but since the dash is higher than stock in that area it will somewhat reduce visibility. I have decided to compromise and not lower the seats as much as i wanted to at first, just to compensate a little. It really isnt a big issue thouh even if it sounds like it. The dash is about 3 inches taller than stock in that area, so i think i can live with that:-)

[fleetus macmullitz]

Looks great, never would have thought of that dash to swap. :thumbsup:

Hadn't thought about the height issue; but from what you've said it should work out for you.