CJ style dashboard in a TJ?

Chris

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Has anyone put a CJ style dash in their TJ? Something like this:

https://www.doubledfab.com/tj
I assume it won’t work very well due to the HVAC box and all the stuff behind the dash on the TJ. I would absolutely love something like this though, purely for cosmetic purposes of course.
 
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I can see people wanting the flatter CJ-ish style dash like the top on in your link but can’t think of a single reason to have either of the other two versions, especially identical to the stock TJ dash but all metal.
 
I can see people wanting the flatter CJ-ish style dash like the top on in your link but can’t think of a single reason to have either of the other two versions, especially identical to the stock TJ dash but all metal.

Yes, the one I would want is the flat version. Of course I’m not sure that would fit with the HVAC box. Certainly the airbags wouldn’t work with it. I could forego airbags but not heat and A/C.
 
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I would be seriously tempted by the flat one - esp. as it doesn't look like it goes down as low as stock - much easier to mount radios and other actual UNDER DASH equipment. I'd want a speedo, etc in above the steering wheel, and those stupid ass biohazard cutouts would have to vanish...

I think the flat one *could* work fine with the HVAC box if it were to be made without the "wrap-under". Why are all modern dashes made that way?
 
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The CJ wedge is my favorite feat of automotive design of the last millennium. What more could you want .

Maybe I'm being nostalgic, but I could sit in my '83 CJ-7 and marvel for hours at the rugged, functional simplicity that I knew was the end of an era. I honestly loved it. Really did.

The YJ paid some tribute to that and has a Chrysler look of it's era , and the TJ Dash has been compared to Fisher-Price products.

In reality, the TJ Dash/console, design wise , gets the job done and is relatively simple for it's era , but it doesn't do much well-

The wheel blocks the gauges, the surface area needed for the controls is too large, the radio out of date (single DIN) , the middle vents feel too far away ,the tray on top is too slick , and the cupholders are too close to the seat and too much area is given to the parking brake hàndle .... But the designers were challenged with giving the public a dash that met modern safety standards in a vehicle that previously barely met any.

Overall, it's a car dash in a Jeep, and with the doors off its just too thick, mainly due to air bags, ducts and so forth.

We could go on all day about what's right and what isn't with the TJ design , but at the end if the day , it looks like a CJ, is wider , rides way better, has more advanced safety features, disc brakes, is way more comfortable and has far better interior climate control and less road noise , yet still feels like Jeeps did years ago. With 965,945 units sold and still a sought after vehicle today, the TJ will go down in the books as one of the best Jeeps ever. Because it is.
 
The TJ dash gets the job done, I just dislike that it looks like it came from a 90s era Chrysler minivan in terms of design. It just looks cheap and plastic (which it is).

I think the amount of work required to get a flat CJ style dashboard in there would probably not end up being worth it. Wishful thinking though.
 
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When I think of simple, I think of this:
c_rambler_american-pic-3169272471972086516-640x480.jpg
 
I like the flat version, but it looks like it would be more at place in a buggy style build than a daily or even weekend warrior build. The other two look like they would create their own problems with fit and flex.
 
Yes, upon further inspection it's obvious that flat version has no provisions (and probably no room either) for HVAC vents, heater box, etc. It would work well on an off-road only vehicle that had been stripped of all that stuff.
 
Yes, upon further inspection it's obvious that flat version has no provisions (and probably no room either) for HVAC vents, heater box, etc. It would work well on an off-road only vehicle that had been stripped of all that stuff.
Maybe convert over to a vintage air system and do away with OEM.
 
Without redoing the defroster system back thru the windshield frame there really isn't a way to get a CJ dash system to fit. And I love the CJ dashboard too. I grew up with late 40's, early 50's tractors and a 52 Dodge 1 1/4 ton truck. They made things beautiful back then. Dangerous as Hell, but all the lines flowed from bumper to bumper.
I think the TJ is a miracle that they got to build with all the safety regulations and customers wanting 8 cupholders and a nanny light for every system so they don't have to know/do anything themselves. It is truly one of the best 4x4's ever made. All these new pushbutton hill climb, brake system traction control, choose which surface you are driving on features really (in my mind) defeat the whole point of the off road experience. Why go offroad with a vehicle that turns it into the same as driving down the highway? What's the point in that?🤷‍♂️

—-sorry. rant over.—-