sgraber
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| posted on 7/2/05 at 05:39 PM |
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Frustrated with aftermarket gauge costs.
Having finally reached the exasperation stage while trying to build an inexpensive aftermarket gauge package for La Bala, (inexpensive and gauges
don't mix...  ) I finally decided to look at the original gauge cluster again, but "out of the box" so to speak!
I pulled the whole thing apart, and seeing that the guages are individual items, I cut the cluster to pieces. The speedo and tacho will be mounted in
front of the steering wheel. The other 4 guages will be installed stacked as a quad in the center console. Now the trick is to find a decent way to
build the gauge bezels. Anyone have some suggestions for creating nice professional looking bezels?
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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Hellfire
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| posted on 7/2/05 at 05:44 PM |
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Steve - could you salvage some from another wrecked car... if all you need is the fronts(bezels etc), shouldn't be too difficult.
He says... 
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Volvorsport
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| posted on 7/2/05 at 05:56 PM |
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you could of course put them behind the dash , and just use some thin clear perspex flush with dash , that would be like the robin hoods of this world
, personally i like VDO stuff .
those bezels will be really tricky to make , i think if you make a small mold then make some out of pourable polyurethane , they can be soft and
paintable - , its just making the first ones .
other than that some J section ally cut down a little bit might be a good idea also
www.dbsmotorsport.co.uk
getting dirty under a bus
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smart51
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| posted on 7/2/05 at 07:18 PM |
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I would make some out of fibreglass myself. get a piece of window glass from a local shop to use as a mould. this will give you a nice shiny
surface.
To make the chamfered inside edge, tape some sandpaper around a cone, lit the neck of a bottle or funnel. you can sand a nice bevel into your gel
coat and have a nice flat panel with round beveled holes in it.
Or you could use the donor instrument pack un cut up.
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niceperson709
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| posted on 7/2/05 at 09:14 PM |
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Hi Steve
a couple of quearies firstlly are your speedo and tacho going to stay that close together ? if so it apears to me that you will need an oval bezal
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any way to apply a lateral mind to the situation you could loog at some of the small round picture frames for photos or do the same as I have and that
is cut holes in the dash facia and bend the edge inwards , but I'm having mine in the centre of the dash so it will be padded .
Failing that have you any wood turners in your area ? ash them to turn some for paterns .
hope this give you some ideas
best wishes
Iain
Best wishes IAIN
life is not the rehearsal , it's the show so don't sit there thinking about it DO IT NOW
http://iainseven.wordpress.com/
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niceperson709
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| posted on 7/2/05 at 09:17 PM |
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Oh one more idea steve and that is to get tsome cases / bezals from a bike wreckers.
Best wishes
Iain
Best wishes IAIN
life is not the rehearsal , it's the show so don't sit there thinking about it DO IT NOW
http://iainseven.wordpress.com/
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sgraber
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| posted on 7/2/05 at 09:36 PM |
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Picture frames! Good stuff Iain.  Now that's thinking laterally!
Shape -
I have been looking at the latest Porsche gauge cluster and notice that it is one large circle with same-sized semi-circles flanking for the smaller
gauges. I think this will look the dogs danglies.
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 7/2/05 at 10:22 PM |
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would it be possible to use something 'domestic' like bezels from a cheap alarm clock or similar? Id take a walk around kmart, target etc,
in the kitchen and home departments and see if there is somethign that could be adapted. a long shot, but ya never know
atb
steve
[Edited on 7/2/05 by stephen_gusterson]
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niceperson709
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| posted on 7/2/05 at 10:24 PM |
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Hi Steve
that may be the dogs danglies in a porshe but your car must surely deserve a more individual treatment
perhaps you could make them all ino an arc sort of like an inverted smile
oo00oo
behind your steering wheel form following function make some card cut outs and try different layouts on the dash and see what takes your fancy
best wishes
Iain
Best wishes IAIN
life is not the rehearsal , it's the show so don't sit there thinking about it DO IT NOW
http://iainseven.wordpress.com/
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sgraber
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| posted on 7/2/05 at 11:18 PM |
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Thanks Gusterson, good idea.
Not looking to copy the Porsche but just pointing out that the circles can intersect and still work well. IMHO.
I have already drawn up some different sketches and layed them out in the available space. It's getting there.
Graber
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Dale
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| posted on 7/2/05 at 11:46 PM |
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I just remembered some ceiling track lighting I had in a prievious house--small light cans 3 inch or so --but them came in bigger sizes-- on the end
of the light cans there were snap on bezels with nicely radiused edges.
Dale
maybe small crome rims for the smallest burners on a stove? If you want to paint them Then I would look into the plumbing /electrical conduit..
Maybe bandsaw of sections of large conduit unions?
Just throwing ideas.
Good luck
I have been collecting gauges from Princessauto.com Only 20 minutes from here- but I will have to print out common faces to put on them as I
would like a vintage look.
Dale
[Edited on 7/2/05 by Dale]
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sgraber
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| posted on 8/2/05 at 12:10 AM |
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Looky what I just won on ebay...
This auction is for a LOT of bezels and seals that will fit 3" gauges of various brands - VDO, Medallion, Quicksilver, Teleflex, and more! The
vast majority of these are new and unused. There are 22 round bezels, 2 square bezels, and several assorted seals. Three of the round bezels are in
packages with the part # 993 681 006 labeled on the bag. Winning bidder gets everything in the picture. These were left over when a boat builder went
out of business and we are clearing them out!
Five Dollars
[Edited on 2/8/05 by sgraber]
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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niceperson709
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| posted on 8/2/05 at 01:39 AM |
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hi Steve
now that is a great case of serendipity
that will move things along for you
best wishes
Iain
Best wishes IAIN
life is not the rehearsal , it's the show so don't sit there thinking about it DO IT NOW
http://iainseven.wordpress.com/
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sgraber
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| posted on 8/2/05 at 04:20 AM |
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Squint enough and you can start to imagine a finished product. 2, maybe 3 smaller gauges within each outer ring.
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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niceperson709
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| posted on 8/2/05 at 04:30 AM |
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Yeah Steve
I can see where you are going and it looks good a bit Olympic but that is not a bad thing the final out come will depend on how you blend it into the
final dash shape.........
best wishes
Iain
Best wishes IAIN
life is not the rehearsal , it's the show so don't sit there thinking about it DO IT NOW
http://iainseven.wordpress.com/
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sgraber
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| posted on 8/2/05 at 03:01 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by niceperson709
Yeah Steve
I can see where you are going and it looks good a bit Olympic but that is not a bad thing the final out come will depend on how you blend it into the
final dash shape.........
best wishes
Iain
Yes, the word Olympic DID come to mind as I was drawing it out... hmmm. I suppose that's alright. Maybe I will do a different treatment of the
outer gauges.. Its still very early on in the process.
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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Spyderman
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| posted on 8/2/05 at 06:56 PM |
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How about going the same route as your rear lights?
Would definately be in keeping with the car.
Some aluminium rings could easily be machined down to fit the guages. The guages would be mounted behind the dash with the ally rings mounted onto the
dash with some acrylic sheet behind rings.Some more acrylic painted black would cover the parts of the clocks that you don't want to see.
Terry
Spyderman
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sgraber
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| posted on 10/2/05 at 03:20 AM |
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Terry that't brilliant. The rings will be ali, of the same shape as the tail lights and the eyebrow will be shaped similar to my GT humps behind
the seats... cool.
Here is an image of the gauge cluster design that I am going to print out. (The original is hi-res on my computer)
 
MR2 gauges refaced for La Bala
I scanned the original gauges and layed them out in photoshop, then built the new faces and bezel on top of it. That way I know that it's
actually buildable using my existing gauges.
Here are the original gauges in place before the artwork was created above them.
 
MR2 gauges - original template
I'll print the faces out on a color laser using 11x17 transparency. That will be glued onto a piece of thin perspex with clear 3M spray adhesive.
Any areas that need to be see-through will be masked off, and then the back of the perspex will be painted white. Blue LEDs shining from inside the
cluster will illuminate through the white/clear areas for a cool blue nightime glow.... 
Later,
Graber
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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Steve&Steve
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| posted on 10/2/05 at 03:59 AM |
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WOW I can really see that looking cool!
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niceperson709
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| posted on 10/2/05 at 05:21 AM |
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Hi Steve That is looking real nice but may be you just need to add a personal logo , on your website you refer to your car a La Bala so why not put
that on the instrument face ads well?
Good work
Best wishes
Iain
Best wishes IAIN
life is not the rehearsal , it's the show so don't sit there thinking about it DO IT NOW
http://iainseven.wordpress.com/
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Spyderman
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| posted on 11/2/05 at 01:33 PM |
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That is exactly what I was thinking of, but looks even better in the flesh so-to-speak!
It also gives it a layered effect.
Glad something I thought of came across right!
Terry
Spyderman
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sgraber
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| posted on 12/2/05 at 03:59 PM |
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The idea of adding a visible custom logo on them is nice, but a little too self-serving for my taste. I am feeling a bit more subtle. My mark is
written in small letters just below the MPH...
Terry, great minds think alike. And this has been true many times during the construction of this car. Thanks for the input!
Now I just have to find a transparency sheet that is longer than the standard piece of paper. (Or I'll have to print it out on 2 sheets and
piece them together under one of the bezels...)
Graber
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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niceperson709
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| posted on 13/2/05 at 12:10 AM |
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Hi Steve
nice to meet a builder with a sense of humility , good luck and I look forward to further reports of your progress
best wishes
Iain
Best wishes IAIN
life is not the rehearsal , it's the show so don't sit there thinking about it DO IT NOW
http://iainseven.wordpress.com/
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Spyderman
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| posted on 13/2/05 at 01:46 PM |
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quote:
Terry, great minds think alike. And this has been true many times during the construction of this car. Thanks for the input!
Now I just have to find a transparency sheet that is longer than the standard piece of paper. (Or I'll have to print it out on 2 sheets and
piece them together under one of the bezels...)
Graber
Happy to help!
Not quite sure what you plan with the transparency sheet, but guessing you only need one main one for "Speedo and Tacho" and then another
for other guages that could be cut to fit.
Terry
Spyderman
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sgraber
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| posted on 13/2/05 at 04:11 PM |
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Terry,
without writing a complete how-to on the project... The technique is as follows.
edit.... It's too hard to explain. I will do a write-up of how to make the new gauge faces and apply them to existing gauges and post it on my
website.
In the meantime you can see an old project of mine where I re-faced the gauges on my Ferrari 250 GTO replica using Datsun 280Z gauges.
Click Here
This is what they looked like when finished.
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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