Mazarin Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 (edited) http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/5483/img0531smde3.jpg http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/mo...az/dashproject/ I'm basically going to cut the right side of the shroud off and graft a fiberglass version of that foam piece onto the stock gauge cluster shroud. Just an extension so I can mount gauges in there instead of under the radio. I'm going to cover the section of the stock shroud that I'm cutting off w/ foil and fiberglass over the notch that the headlight and hazard switches mount to so I've got an exact replica of where the switches sit. Then I'll graft it onto the extension which I'll cover the foam pice w/ foil and glass that as well. Once that's done I'm gonna peel off all the rubber-ish covering and glass it all together. Then I'll recover the whole thing in new vinyl and install the gauges in it. So far so good, but there's a loooong way to go. Edited May 12, 2008 by Mazarin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMeyerhoff Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Very cool idea. Get at it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_Venable Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 looking pretty good so far, I'm anxious to see how it comes out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kartman74 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 i wish i had the time to do cool mod's like this one. work to much, kinda sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eck_007 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 sweet idea.....pics please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Here's my version. I did a few years back. http://home.fuse.net/remo/gaugepod1.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazarin Posted April 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2008 (edited) Update time! Check it: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0010.jpg Check the top link for 3 other new pics. After trying a couple of things, this seemed to be the better, sturdier, option. I'm happy to say, it's coming along alright! Edited April 10, 2008 by Mazarin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoolinturbo Posted April 10, 2008 Report Share Posted April 10, 2008 looks like it could be pretty sweet, cant wait to see the finished product Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazarin Posted April 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 (edited) Almost there. It's not perfect, but I'm getting close... http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0022.jpg And just to compare it to the stock one: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0024.jpg http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0023.jpg Edited April 14, 2008 by Mazarin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_Venable Posted April 14, 2008 Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 That looks good Maz If it comes over far enough, I may have to try this with a spare one (I think I've still got one) and move my A/F meter over there. I have a hole in my dash up top to run wires for my Halmeter A/F30 mounted in a wrapped galvanized steel rectangular "pod", I'd post a pic, but 26liter.us is down again. I am anxious to see it in the car now Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazarin Posted April 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 It's in! There are a few things I can already tell that I'll need to change or possibly just redo. The idea is just about there, but there's things that are just kinda bothering me about it. For some reason I have a gap between the extended part and the dash itself. Some of the suede is a little bunchy in areas. What I think I'm gonna have to do next time(or possibly fix on this one - maybe) is strip ALL the foam-rubbery coating and cover it in a uniform material of "something else" and smooth it down that way. There's still brackets and other items I need to install before it's complete, so I'm not too worried about the fitment in these pics... yet. Anyway, it's in the car and doesn't go all over the place! Only other beef I have is that it's almost in the way of the temp controls. Good thing I never use them lol. I've got the lexan piece that'll go in the new cavity there pretty much all set. I figure I'm gonna mount the secondary fan switch, boost, and A/F gauge there and throw the water temp in the stock cluster where the boost is(this way it's all up and easy to read, and my boost and A/F are easy to read together @ a glance. Well, here it is: http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0619.jpg http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/mo...az/dashproject/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 Is it sticking out from the dash a few inches? Got a pic from the pass. side? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emagdnim Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 Love it, Glad I'm not the only one with suede anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natzeng Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 now that is creative :thumbsup: , can't wait to see the finished product Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazarin Posted April 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 Is it sticking out from the dash a few inches? Got a pic from the pass. side? http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0623.jpg Now that I've seen it in the daylight - I don't like it. I still like the idea, it's just not very well done. But failures are only that if they're not fixed! What I'm going to do is tear it apart again and hack up my original shroud(which I wanted to avoid) and marry it accordingly to the original part. The fiberglass just didn't seem to work as far as strength's concerned. That and I jacked up a measurement I like it, but I hate it, but I'm not licked yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazarin Posted April 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2008 Here's more updates lol Redoing it was a great decision. This will look SO much better. http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0631.jpg http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0632.jpg http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0624.jpg http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0628.jpg There's a couple more on the link above, but that's pretty much as good as it can be done, measurement wise. I went farther over than I expected, which is fine since I'm still hoping to rock the digi dash someday and still have room for the 3 gauges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technology Posted April 20, 2008 Report Share Posted April 20, 2008 That's looking pretty good, actually. Glad you redid it as well. lol. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natzeng Posted April 20, 2008 Report Share Posted April 20, 2008 personally i dislike the suede material used . of course you'll need something to cover it though but i'd go with leather to match the whole dash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazarin Posted April 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2008 Yeah, this was the right thing to do. http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0649.jpg http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0648.jpg http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0653.jpg It fits so much better now, I was able to manipulate the suede so much better this time around, and there's plenty of room for everything I want to add in that space. Who would have thought such a fail could be made into such a win!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyW Posted April 22, 2008 Report Share Posted April 22, 2008 That is a REALY cool idea man, I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanta Posted April 22, 2008 Report Share Posted April 22, 2008 I would so be tempted to put like a GPS navigation screen thing there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazarin Posted April 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2008 Fancy you say something like that. The gauges are going to be fairly deep-set in there, and I was thinking of seeing how my Tomtom ONE fits in there, and perhaps make a little bracket for it to fit in there while I'm not flooring it lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natzeng Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 wow mazarin i don't know what happened to the suede material you used in the other pictures but the most recent one looks NICE!! you should get more professional and actually start manufacturing these to make some cash on the side for those who are interested in possibly buying some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMeyerhoff Posted April 24, 2008 Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 Neat idea. I don't know if you are set on using the suede, but there are products that could mimic the original material. Eastwood sells some repair products that could be textured to look like the original dash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazarin Posted May 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/molotovmaz/dashproject/IMG_0691.jpg It's DONE! And it's wonderful. Biggest PITA project I've done on this car, but it's worth it. Check more of it here: http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/mo...az/dashproject/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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