The Five Hole Dash Panel for the '32 Ford
J&B Microfinish is known for its billet aluminum hot rod accessories and components which are made in the United States, and often custom made for one-off orders. Owners Jeff and Becky Bertrand started this business to harnass Jeff's history with hot rods and Becky's business experience. We sat down with the two of them to find out more about some new products, the business itself, and what makes that '32 Ford so iconic.
1. Tell us a little bit about the Five Hole Dash Panel for '32 Fords.
Our #1596 traditional dash insert is designed to fit into the oval of an original '32 Ford dashboard and allow the use of more accurate and reliable aftermarket gauging. No cutting or modifying of the original '32 dashboard is necessary. Available off the shelf in 2 and 5 hole configurations, dash panels with 3 or 4 hole varieties are also available on a one-off basis. Please keep in mind when using a 3 3/8” Speedometer that only Stewart Warner and VDO brands offer a small enough bezel that will fit properly in the 32 dashboard oval. All other gauge manufacturers size their 3 3/8” bezel diameters larger and therefore won’t fit. However, all 3 1/8” gauges from any manufacturer will fit in the confines of the 32 Ford oval. Three finishes are available for the dash insert face: polished, brushed and engine turned finishes, and since our insert is made from high quality aircraft aluminum it can be plated, painted, powder coated or anodized. Our 32 dash insert come with all the necessary brackets and stainless screws and nuts for mounting. LED indicator lights are also available upon request.
2. What sets this apart from other dash panels? Who is the intended audience?
What we feel sets this dash insert, and other products that we manufacture, apart from other manufacturers is our applied finishes. We work very hard on producing the best polished, brushed and engine turned finishes available and have developed our own processes to achieve this standard. We have also developed processes that enable us to not only alter the shape and size of our product line, but also to make one off parts for clients in a cost effective manner. The one off parts and subsequent processes to make them are usually requested by clients who are building high end hot rods and customs. But because our cost for making these one off or altered parts in reasonable, it opens the customer base to daily drivers as well. Through our 30 years of business we have made off the shelf and one off parts for a number of Ridler Award, AMBR, SEMA Mother’s Shine, Street Machine of the Year, etc award winners and have documented these award winning cars and trucks on our website in our Customer Cars section. I compiled all the detailed info of each one of these builds and then wrote a feature for each.
3. Can you explain a little about the process you use to create the dash panel?
The manufacturing processes required to make our '32 Traditional Dash insert consists of cutting out a blank followed by several milling, boring and drilling operations of the insert and mounting brackets. The remaining operations are for finishing which includes disc sanding with various grit discs and if the surfaces are to be polished, several different polishing wheels and rouges are used to achieve the final mirror finish. If the dash insert is to be engine turned, it is mounted to the mill table and a special “turning” tool is used and in conjunction with the mill a precise spacing is achieved with each turn.
4. Why do you think the ‘32 remains so popular with rodders?
'32 Fords are what most people my age and older dreamt about owning in our youth and the popularity and desire to own one it still there to a certain degree in today’s younger enthusiast. There’s just something about the shape of this year and make of the car that draws people closer. With the wide variety of body styles such as the three and five window Coupe, 2 and 4 door Sedan, Roadster, Cabriolet, Vicky, B-400, etc its something for everyone. Maybe the most important factor of this year of Fords was that this was the year that the flathead V8 was introduced. This new engine opened up a whole new enthusiasm amongst the early Hot Rodder and to this day you still see flathead powered 32’s everywhere, including many foreign countries as well.
5. Tell us something that no one knows about J&B?
As a child, I remember sneaking into my dads woodworking shop and using various machines to make stuff, of course this was after watching him and learning from him how to use machines safely. I was told to stay out of the work shop while he was not there but the curiosity and the desire to better my skills over ruled the command to stay out of the shop. Of course, after several cuts and bruises I somehow progressed. Dad was a master woodworker. His accomplishments included making furniture, knick knacks of all kinds and duck decoy making. He could make anything from wood. We asked him to make various arm rest blocks for our billet arm rests through the years and he did so until his passing in November of 2012. He was 96 years young when he passed.
Product Info:
#1596 - "Traditional Series" 32 Ford 2 or 5 hole Dash Insert
The popularity of traditional parts for the 32 Ford is on the upswing and to fill that need, we have decided to make available to the public a traditional 32 Ford 2 and 5 hole billet aluminum dash insert machined to fit the original opening of a stock 32 dash. Available brushed, polished and engine turned, this piece will highlight the dash area of your Deuce, while allowing the use of after market gauging. Available with or without led indicator lights for turn signals and high beam.
PLEASE NOTE: This insert, due to its size limitations will fit all 5 gauge kits from all manufactures using a 3 1/8" speedometer. Stewart Warner and VDO are the only two manufacturers that make their 3 3/8"speedometer small enough to fit into the confines of the original 32 opening. So when ordering 3 3/8" & 2 1/16" gauges, Stewart Warner and VDO are the only gauges that will work. When ordering the 2 hole insert, all 3 3/8" gauging will fit.
J&B Microfinish's experienced craftsmanship is put into each piece designed and manufactured. That is why you can see their products and one off parts displayed on high-quality vehicles that are featured in hundreds of nationally recognized magazines. With drive and innovation they are continually adding to the product line and are proud to say they are a dealer for Classic Instruments. Give us a call to get your instruments and order your dash insert. Dash inserts are also available custom bored using all the gauge brands. See the site and look at all of the award winning cars that have beautiful J & B Microfinish hot rod accessories. It's all about the details, so be sure and take a look at J & B's high-quality product line or talk to them about that custom designed one-off piece J & B, creating the details that set cars apart.