you know i was thinking.... where do all the indicators go like check engine, door, abs, e-brake, low-gas, etc?
My First Shot at Fiberglass
- Thread starter yaitsme
- Start date
that is fricken awesome i thought about doing something like that but it wouldn't be as pretty as yours...... you can just put lights for the door and check engine all of that, you could use the stock wiring and just put labels for what they are under each light
born2drv said:
thats EXACTLY What i wanted to know.
im trying to only use tach/speed in my build
i want to use all autometer 52mm gauges. in the stock location hole
but its hard to do it and having it clean and have the bezel not hit the plastic cover.
trying to fab something out of lexan, but its hard doing it and making it clean.
trying to do something like nate's idea?
Any suggestions anyone?
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starscream5000 said:
He is gonna get rid of the pillar pod. So that will clean it up alot. I like it. this will be a unique item!
Thanks for the kind words guys !!
Yes indeedy - I plan to use led's to "transfer" a few idiot lights to the panel, but things like door ajar, abs, birdcage & others will just be gone. I'd considered making a cutout through the new panel to expose those lights, but obviously decided against it.
And yes - removing the pillar pod is the whole point of this operation, so it will look a little less "busy" when it's done. I like the idea of more gauges, less idiot lights.
SuperJ - Lexan is a bitch, you can heat it in an oven to form it, but it has to be just the right temperature to work well. Also - it has a nasty habit of cracking when drilled. I considered similar options before breaking down & deciding to learn fiberglass - if you can work with lexan, you can do even better with fiberglass. I considered what you are talking about - gauges behind the stock clear lens, but I think it'll require cutting the back of the stock gauge pod which will probably damage the circuitry back there.
Yes indeedy - I plan to use led's to "transfer" a few idiot lights to the panel, but things like door ajar, abs, birdcage & others will just be gone. I'd considered making a cutout through the new panel to expose those lights, but obviously decided against it.
And yes - removing the pillar pod is the whole point of this operation, so it will look a little less "busy" when it's done. I like the idea of more gauges, less idiot lights.
SuperJ - Lexan is a bitch, you can heat it in an oven to form it, but it has to be just the right temperature to work well. Also - it has a nasty habit of cracking when drilled. I considered similar options before breaking down & deciding to learn fiberglass - if you can work with lexan, you can do even better with fiberglass. I considered what you are talking about - gauges behind the stock clear lens, but I think it'll require cutting the back of the stock gauge pod which will probably damage the circuitry back there.
JMDigital said:
I had already read where he was taking out the pillar pod (hense the whole point of the new gauge cluster). I was just pointing out that there were a lot of holes inside car made for gauges and it looked very busy
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starscream5000 said:I had already read where he was taking out the pillar pod (hense the whole point of the new gauge cluster). I was just pointing out that there were a lot of holes inside car made for gauges and it looked very busy
OHHHHH I see , Well I dont know, I think without them all filled its hard to picture it. It may look not so busy after the gauges are in. It will be one hell of a unique item. Cant wait to see the pics with the gauges in
man i really like it, i hate having to find a bunch of nooks and crannys to stuff gauges and controllers in. you obviously have the support, id look into producing a couple of these im sure you wouldnt have problems finding buyers
MAN! That is Sweet. Ill take 1 Please. What I have been thinking about is similiar. But just with the center console piece. Fiberglass the whole piece into 1 whole solid console with nothing cut out. So you could put a deck in at the very bottom and misc. gauges,controllers,timers,maftpro in where you wanted it,etc. That would be nice also. Just a though.
kssweeper28 said:
Somebody here has been working on something like that ... I know I saw pictures of it around here somewhere!
A few months back I seen a custom supra gauge on sell at ebay similar to this, but not made outa fiberglass. It was kinda like a piece of plastic type material molded into the shape of the old cluster. It has all aftermarket gauges with it too, somewhere around 8-10 all told. It even had turn signals made into it and I believe the check engine light too.
Needless to say, it sold for some big $$$
Needless to say, it sold for some big $$$
yaitsme said:
the circuit board? just unscrew it drill the cluster , and run the wires underneath it and screw it back on
But how will you know when your bird has gotten out? :icon_razzyaitsme said:
Lookin good man... Cant wait to see it finished... And try posting bigger pics if you can.... Thanks...
yaitsme said:
WHAT! you can't remove the birdcage!!! that thing has saved my ass too many times... a few months ago i was boosting hard on my stock CT, i got flipped the bird, started to pull over, temps started rising very fast, shut the car off... coolant EVERYWHERE... thought it was BHG but luckily it was just the coolant hose going to the turbo had cracked. I'd rethink scrapping that one... if you're going to just put a small row of idiot light leds somewhere I'd do that and include it for sure.
kssweeper28 said:
that's exactly my next interior project... a car audio shop is doing it for me, quoted me $350 which i think is fair, would take me a very long time to do myself, especially sanded down perfectly and painted a nice glossy black which would show all the imperfections if done poorly. the only things that will be there will be the climate control relocated to the very bottom, radio just above it, and the hazard lights. everything else will be gone.