I have solid cherry wood in mine. I cut it out using the original dash, along with the help of my brother Jim and my late grandfather. We did that back in 1980. Started with a rough board, planed it at the High School shop. used holesaws for the smaller guages but didn't have one big enough for the speedo, so we used a jig saw. I have refinished it a couple of times and repaired cracks, but it looks good. I'll never replace it.
Dan B