I'm getting tired of mocking up, finding something wrong, and going back and fixing it only to mock it up again and find something else wrong.


























That's why I got it right this time and did a full mock up (each piece cut and used according to the digital model). Will be mocking it up in the car tomorrow... as well actually building it :) I even bought new tools to mark the occasion.

She's lookin sweet vex

Take a piece of .063" sheet steel and some G5 epoxy. Cut the sheet steel to size and drill the dash. Epxoy the sheet steel to the dash and screw it in place. Put suround on, mark hole, drill pilot hole, screw in, ?????, profit, post up TTT is always right after it's done. This repair has served me well for 8 yrs now??



Welcome to the world of fabrication. Think of how my buddy Colin feels, everytime he fits something, he has to drive cross town to my place to modify it, then back to his place. I wish I had the room to just tow his car over here.


And listen... I'm not going to tell you again about the pics :rofl:

Looks pretty good. I had an idea similar to this. This will be helpful if i decide to go digital.

So, it looks like I won't need to go about fixing those mount clips. At least not yet. :)

I also have it completed in aluminum. I would highly recommend getting this water jetted or using a plasma cutter (I finally used one today and it's very nice).

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1300590819

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...2&d=1300590819

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...3&d=1300590819

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...4&d=1300590819

Someone's gona get a spanking over attached images................

Bahahahahahaha. Doubt it.

Anyways, I've begun looking over the stock dash and realizing I'm going to be pulling a lot more than I originally thought from it. First and foremost I will be taking the Buzzer from the stock dash and integrating it onto my new one. I know, I know, people hate it, but I can't tell you the number of times it's saved my car. I'll actually will be hooking it up to use the output wire from the Gauge dash to yell at me if

1. a warning occurs
2. I hit the shift point (who needs an oversized shift light?)
3. and to have the stock warnings yell at me in case I don't see them

I've already begun depinning the stock hook ups for the dash and will be using that miniature harness to hook up to everything I need. I will be getting a 12V switched, 2 grounds, and a slew of everything else. This should prove very beneficial and will post up pictures as soon as I do the plug crimping for everything.

In the meantime I have started a thread concerning the Speed Sensor within the dash in the 2nd gen forum. For those who have the answer, please post it there. Thanks.

:lol: :rofl: :lol: :rofl: :lol: :rofl:

So signal-construct sent me out a nice little package with some nice signal LED's. I wasn't sure if they were going to make it out at all as they didn't respond or let me know that they were shipped, so I went ahead and bought some LED bezels for the dash.

I toned down the Blue led I bought so it's not as blinding, but you can still see it. The greens didn't need much work, but they improved significantly when I mounted them in the bezel.

I like the signal construct from the point of view of being clear and indicative. I may have to see which looks better when I drill the holes for them (I specifically avoided drilling or making any of the indication holes so I could ensure proper fitment).

I'll snap a few pictures for everyones amusement.

So here are a few pictures. Which ones do people prefer?

Brights indication:
Light A
http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1300746757
Light B
http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1300746757
Which bezel seems better to fit the state of the dash?
http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1300746757

Turn Signal indicators:
Light A
http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1300746757
Light B
http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1300746757
Bezels are the same as above pretty much.

Oh look it's made out of aluminum right now... I need to clean off the dye still... after I drill the indicator holes :)


http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1300746989

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1300746989

Lookin good. I really like the arrows.

Those arrows are sweet, but they seem kinda excessively bright

That's the camera. Both indicator lights are not all that bright (think of the same or less intensity of the stock indicators).

gotcha

It's the weekend, and I'm going to be finishing up the dash and getting it ready for parts installation (gauge, buttons, etc). I will be drilling the indicator holes and wrapping it :). In fact, I've already started wrapping the holder portion of the dash as you can see below. I also made a mount for the buzzer, so now my dash can yell at me in the stock voice. The mount is just cut and filed acrylic so I can press fit the buzzer in. I will be wiring it using duetch connectors because I'm a whore, as will most of the dash indicators, buttons, and gauge will be wired using duetch connectors.

So... This is one of the last updates to the thread (there might be one more concerning wiring up the switches and what not, and lessons learned). Enjoy and feel free to ask any questions :)

http://www.rotarycarclub.com/rotary_...1&d=1301204333
http://www.rotarycarclub.com/rotary_...1&d=1301204333

Very nice

Awsome piece man.
Im doing a stock cluster with aftermarket guages for now, I have been throwing around idea for the racepack in the futher, here what I have now.
I will definatly be making something similar someday.
Thanks for sharing,
James

just out of curiosity how many people would like a dash similar to this one where you assemble and wrap it yourself? This means you'd get the main plate with the gauge hole, buttons holes, and indicator holes (that includes the brights) predrilled, as well as the support plate and s-bracket predrilled for pop-rivits.

I ask because if enough people are interested I'll go get a quote for a limited production run and have the pieces waterjetted. Price would be Dependant upon the quote. This means if it costs $150 for 10 units than I'll probably charge around $18+shipping. If it's more; for instance $500 for 10 units than I'll probably charge around $60+shipping.

I don't imagine it would cost much more than $150 to get that design waterjetted, if that much. The guy I go to out here did a LIM spacer for me (LIM to block) and he charged $120 and said it would be MUCH cheaper for each one after. Not sure what prices would be with your guy though.

I like the end result btw. I'm not sure about the puffyness lol, but it looks good none-the-less.

did you just use adhesive to keep the excess vinyl stuck to the back of the panel?

I'm planning on using that fabrication website I posted awhile ago to get the quote. That's really the determining factor of the final cost. I would like to see 10 people at least before doing this, that way the price will be cheaper overall.

Puffiness isn't as bad as it looks in the pictures. It's basically headliner foam which is less than a 1/4 inch thick.
yes. I was recommended an adhesive to use when I went to the fabric store.

ok just thought id double check. I wasnt sure if maybe there was a different way you decided to attach it since you were mounting it to alum. i have some nice 3M adhesive that should do the trick.

id purchase one but would like it blank, Id like to drill my guage and button holes to take advantage of the space and put more guages in it

I could do that. Just only put in the digi-dash location, mounting screw locations, and pop-rivet holes. Would that work out better for everyone?

Running tally of those interested thus far: 2

So I have one quote getting sent out to me for different production runs. I have removed the indicator holes, the button holes, and the gauge hole from this quote. I've also increased the overall width of the IQ3/digital dash hole on the front plate by 1/16 of an inch on each side to aid in those who desire to wrap the dash. Depending on the quote I get back from them I'll have a better idea of what everything will cost to make happen.

When that quote gets back to me I'll put in for a quote from the rfq website and see who can get the better deal.

sounds good. I like the idea of just having the racepack hole only plus mounting points etc... what are the buttons for in yours?

The two buttons closest to the dash are for the dash itself (change pages, change options, etc). The button on the far right is for the Wideband calibration and status.

did those buttons come with the racepack or is that something you rigged up?>

I rigged 'em up. You can buy any momentary switch you want. I just chose those ones since it's going to be my daily and I have to look at 'em day in and day out. :lol:

i like your choice :D haha

I may be interested :)

Total count: 3

come on guys lets get these made!!! lol

I have put out quote requests for various runs and await their responses. We'll soon have a better idea of what this is all going to cost.

haha.. we need a "like this post" button :suspect:

Well... While we wait for those quotes to come back to me. Here's some teaser pics :)

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...3&d=1301791090
http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...9&d=1301791022

That looks super clean. Factory really.

Vex are you running Haltech?

Yes