Digi Dash Mount Fab

[vex]

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.

[Mazdabater]

She's lookin sweet vex

[TitaniumTT]

Originally Posted by vex

Similar to the picture above, this one is taken where my eyes would normally be.

You can see my thumb is still holding the dash in the proper location. This is because of the following issue with the in-car dash itself:

Note the broken mounting tab. That is the only thing keeping this dash from looking absolutely perfect. I am open to suggestions on how to repair, replace, fix, or otherwise make it better than a broken piece of plastic. The other side is just as bad:

My thoughts on how to fix those tabs is to use some epoxy and some plexi-glass that I have coming to build up virgin material. Mark where the holes fall on the dash and drill the mounting hole. I would then place a metal clip to sandwich the plastic and secure the bezel to the dash. What are your thoughts? Good? Bad? Alternate?

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??

Originally Posted by vex

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.

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

[project86]

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

[vex]

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).

[tweiss3]

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

[vex]

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.

[vex]

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.

[vex]

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

Brights indication:
Light A

Light B

Which bezel seems better to fit the state of the dash?


Turn Signal indicators:
Light A

Light B

Bezels are the same as above pretty much.

[vex]

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

[chibikougan]

Lookin good. I really like the arrows.

[tweiss3]

Those arrows are sweet, but they seem kinda excessively bright

[vex]

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

[tweiss3]

gotcha

[vex]

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.