The CF Bedford Rebuild Begins

Part 18: The cockpit

As mentioned in the previous section I had added a heater/air-conditioning unit out of a Toyota Rav 4, it just fitted length wise and height wise was workable (just less foot space for passenger), but I decided it was just to bulky and did away with the air con idea .... and then away with the heater bit.

Here you can see the tunnel placement being made up in the Bedford and fitting of the heater/air con unit.
I was hoping to have a glove box on the passenger side but now have no room, am sure I can add something in the center to hold maps, drinks, nick knacks.

This is one of the early versions of the dash as the orginal section is still on the drivers side. A following version had the steel pipe infront of the air con/heater, which was basically a bulky exhaust pipe.

I still have to make windscreen demister vents, which are proving to be a real pain in the butt with the limited space to work with.

The center console panel has been left off until the steering, shifter and hand brake has been added.
The wipers have been updated, orginal wiper base (arms) but with a modern toyota wiper mtr which will allow me to use interval - wahoo lol

There are so many cool gauges on the market. While I wanted flash I also wanted the older style. I settled on a cool set of gauges from Speedhut in U.S.A, which was actually cheaper to buy from America than it was here in N.Z

The steering column was the shortest I could find, believe it's a Toyota Vista.

I have decided not to use a radio. For one it could be quite loud in the van but also the radio stations these days play the same crap over and over. Our phones can play tunes if needed. If I win lotto it will be a different story, I'll just listern to the sweet whine of a 671 blower.

I've made a couple of layouts with sheetmetal (panel steel), just basic square things so this time round I'm using wood. Even if just for a template it should/could be interesting.

I want to something for the center console part, but really it'll be to hold phones, maybe a drink holder. Can't think of anything else.
I'll add/change this once I get some work done on it.