88BlueTSiquest Posted February 14, 2003 Report Share Posted February 14, 2003 It took me a better part of the afternoon, but I think it was well worth it. First, Ben's(Mr.HP) carbon fiber panel. http://bluegtzhome.com/starquest/pics/interior/cfpanel.jpg This is with the gauge faces in. http://bluegtzhome.com/starquest/pics/interior/gauges.jpg Here is with the needles repainted, to get rid of the yellowed factory orange. http://bluegtzhome.com/starquest/pics/interior/redneedles.jpg And the finished product. http://bluegtzhome.com/starquest/pics/interior/completed.jpg Night shot coming soon! These are the replacement gauges available at http://www.importcarpartsplus.com/ I ordered the silver gauges with blue backlighting. The only thing I wish I can change now is the actual color of the Odometer and Tripometer lettering... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88BlueTSiquest Posted February 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2003 Night images, the colors washed out somewhat, my camera doesn't seem to like night shots. http://starquest.bluegtzhome.com/pics/interior/night.jpg http://starquest.bluegtzhome.com/pics/interior/night2.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heefner Posted February 15, 2003 Report Share Posted February 15, 2003 Looks awsome. Good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88BlueTSiquest Posted February 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2003 I've decided I'm going to tear it all back down someday. I want to install blue bulb covers on the backlighting bulbs for the cluster itself, to try to tone down the orange mileage, and make a nicer glow come from that area. I might also attempt to put some red LED's in the cluster to really make the needles glow red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mquester Posted February 15, 2003 Report Share Posted February 15, 2003 Instead of bulbs, give that luminescent line(?) a try, I saw that a guy had taken the line and attached it to the back and when it turned on it gave an awesome glow. Its that line you buy at autozone for about 20 bucks and is in the glow section. I was going to try this on mine as well as my climate controls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolyrgr Posted February 15, 2003 Report Share Posted February 15, 2003 Have you considered using a tinted gel over the odo #s. Red might not look bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan_V Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 I've decided I'm going to tear it all back down someday. I want to install blue bulb covers on the backlighting bulbs for the cluster itself, to try to tone down the orange mileage, and make a nicer glow come from that area. I might also attempt to put some red LED's in the cluster to really make the needles glow red. I was thinking the exact same thing! It looks awesome man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan_V Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 Check out this seat http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/5/5041/momo_start_blue_1.jpg It comes in a blue darker color looks sweet 220 bux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboquest21 Posted February 16, 2003 Report Share Posted February 16, 2003 I've decided I'm going to tear it all back down someday. I want to install blue bulb covers on the backlighting bulbs for the cluster itself, to try to tone down the orange mileage, and make a nicer glow come from that area. I might also attempt to put some red LED's in the cluster to really make the needles glow red. Gauges look sweet. What did you use to repaint the needles with? I would suggest if you wanted to have more of a blue effect use either the specialized japanese bulbs (polarg is a brand i can name) that are made from the blue glass itself (not cheap k-mart or wal-mart type that is only painted on) instead of the autometer type bulb covers. they come out a lot better and have a deeper blue; the covers emit more of a sea green. i've tried the red bulb covers and they don't seem to work as well (the covers are a cheap way out but you get what you pay for). as for the odometer and trip numbers i was actually thinking of just getting a red sharpie and coloring them in carefully. ghetto, i know, but not much else you can do. : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88BlueTSiquest Posted February 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2003 Good old Testor's Gloss Red, on the needles. I'd love to change the trip and odo colors, but I don't really want to dissassemble them..... I guess I'll just deal with it.... I'll also look into those Jap bulbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PDodson Posted March 16, 2003 Report Share Posted March 16, 2003 I got to say that the blue numbers looks a whole lot better than orange numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarc Posted March 17, 2003 Report Share Posted March 17, 2003 Hey Jack, what did you use, or how did you remove the tach and speedo' needles without damaging them? BTW, it looks awsome. I may need to do something like that down the road to get the stock gauge cluster to match my colbalt gauges. 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PDodson Posted March 18, 2003 Report Share Posted March 18, 2003 you just pull up on them and they should come right off. mine were a little stuck so I just pulled harder and they cam off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88BlueTSiquest Posted March 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2003 2 spoons. Use them as levers to pry up the needle evenly from both side. Just slight pressure and the needles will pop off. I can't take credit for that trick though, I called Autosyndicate I believe, and they told me to use the spoons. Worked like a champ, I was afraid I'd bend the needle's shaft or break the needle. All the needles come off in this fashion too. Only thing I'll state. Take pictures of the placement before removing the needles, so that you have a good reference point. Also, some of the gauges require the weight of the needle to point at the right place, so a little patience is required for putting it back together. If you pay close attention, you'll see my speedo is still slightly off The speedo is about the hardest one to get to line up correctly.... That's okay, I plan on tearing it all back apart anyways to put new lighting in, and do something about the brightness of the orange odo and tripometers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboquest21 Posted March 19, 2003 Report Share Posted March 19, 2003 Thought I might show you folks what the red ones look like. Same thing (white faced) but with red and minus the carbon gauge surround. http://www.alteredperceptionz.com/gauge.jpg http://www.alteredperceptionz.com/gauge2.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConquestTSi Posted March 23, 2003 Report Share Posted March 23, 2003 I have a few questions. turboquest21: can you provide some model numbers and such for those polarg bulbs you have lighting your gauges? I'm looking into the blue and I've searched for polarg and I come up with their headlight bulb lines. 88BlueTSiquest: The white overlays, where can you get those? I'm looking for white overlay with blue numbering, but black will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88BlueTSiquest Posted March 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2003 Night shot coming soon! These are the replacement gauges available at http://www.importcarpartsplus.com/ I ordered the silver gauges with blue backlighting. The only thing I wish I can change now is the actual color of the Odometer and Tripometer lettering... What I said there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConquestTSi Posted March 24, 2003 Report Share Posted March 24, 2003 They have a special deal on that site: 2 Big & 5 Small Blue Needle Kit, Bulbs & White Gauges for $145 Are the overlays just as good as replacements? By the way are needles are clear without the coating right? (Made of a lexan material is a requirement for the needle kit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88BlueTSiquest Posted March 25, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2003 They have a special deal on that site: 2 Big & 5 Small Blue Needle Kit, Bulbs & White Gauges for $145 Are the overlays just as good as replacements? By the way are needles are clear without the coating right? Â (Made of a lexan material is a requirement for the needle kit) Overlays are essentially just vinyl, that's had the numbers and lettering die cut out of the vinyl. So, the lettering will still be the factory orange, it's just a white faced sticker you are applying over the existing gauge faces. The replacment gauge faces are what Turboquest and I have. These allow you to change the color of the background lighting, as you are totally removing the factory black/orange gauge face, and replacing it with the color combo face you chose. That's why they cost a little more. Yes, once you use a razor blade to scrape the paint off the back of our needles, they are simply clear lexan needles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConquestTSi Posted March 25, 2003 Report Share Posted March 25, 2003 So with the new gauges they come with blue bulbs to put in or just covers? Seems like turboquest's red is a LOT brighter. Your gauges look very nice, I'll be getting about the same for my car, $120 sounds good. Any problems you ran into in this? My current: http://www.cybla.com/prestone/images/conquest/002s.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboquest21 Posted March 25, 2003 Report Share Posted March 25, 2003 So with the new gauges they come with blue bulbs to put in or just covers? Â Seems like turboquest's red is a LOT brighter. Â Your gauges look very nice, I'll be getting about the same for my car, $120 sounds good. Â Any problems you ran into in this? My current: http://www.cybla.com/prestone/images/conquest/002s.jpg the gauge replacement faces will have a backlit that you choose (blue, red, etc.) so they will come out that specific color but i chose to make them even more red (brighter or deeper red I guess you could say) by using the Polarg 194 red bulbs. Importcarpartsplus.com also sells the bulbs so you could inquire to them about it. i need to redo my needles. if you can notice in the pics there's parts of the needle that don't shine light through them that good. these are the parts that were coated with too much paint and i plan to strip it off and repaint them better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConquestTSi Posted March 25, 2003 Report Share Posted March 25, 2003 So how many of the polarg bulbs did you need? I'm looking to do the same thing but in blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88BlueTSiquest Posted March 26, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2003 Mine is still being lit with the factory bulbs, which is probably the primary reason why mine doesn't look as bright as Turboquest's. I plan on cracking back into mine, and finding something better to light it up with, either brighter bulbs or something. The only thing that really bugs me about it, is the X1000/rpm reading on the tach. As they dropped it too low, and only the 'pm' is being lit. I know I can fix it, I just didn't know it was a problem before I started the project. If you look at Turboquest's close up, you'll see what I mean. The reason the whole thing isn't lighting up, is the X1000/r overlaps with the factory 'Security' and 'Overdrive' lighted portions of the tach. But if you see how the tach is assembled, this is easily correctable. Now for a further understanding... This is what has to be removed to install the 'replacement gauges'. http://bluegtzhome.com/starquest/pics/interior/gauge.jpg This is where the orange lighting comes from, it's built into the gauge face. An overlay would simply stick onto that piece, retaining the orange backlighting. But a replacement gauge requires the removal of these pieces. Replacement gauges are built to have the Blue, or Red, or whatever color you choose, backlighting built into them. I can't remember how many bulbs are in the entire cluster, but I'm wanting to say that there's about 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboquest21 Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 i think there were about 6. i'm one short if you notice by the water temp gauge (it's not as bright there). this is because this is still the stock bulb. i used the last red polarg bulb for the autometer gauge so i need to buy another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blew-by-u Posted March 28, 2003 Report Share Posted March 28, 2003 hummm.... I have the replacement gages also but I was told by justin @importcarpartsplus.com that the #194 would not work in our dash. He was not upfront with me about the scraping the needles with a knife part. Don't forget that one or stick with a colored needles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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