darksidewa
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Just thought i would show you what can be done.
I got a set of white face gauges for my commy, however the dealer said, no way would they fit. (Typical) they told me for about 800$ plus any extra work they would supply the gauges wire them in and replace the dash surround (if they could).
So read 800$ for the gauges , binnacle wiring.. then start adding in the cost of reworking the dash surrounds to fit the gauges. :S
A stab at the price by the dealer was.. around 1200$ .. a little rich just for 2 gauges on top of the dash!
The solution is (if you dont mind the gauges sitting a little higher than normal)
Use the existing dash piece on the top of the dash. Cut the centre out of it using a dremel tool. Remove the mounting pins on the guage set (they wont be required because the top panel already has them).
Carefully mate the Gauges to the top panel, I used super glue to tack the guages in place. (Oh and done forget to take the gauges out of the housing before you start this job or you may end up with goo all over them).
Once the gauges are in a suitable place on the top panel, you will notice the front sits up about 8mm over the panel. There isnt much you can really do about that unless you want to learn to plastic weld and remould the binnacle.
I ran a 2 inch piece of vinyl tape across the front of the binnacle where it meets the top panel. Then back filled it with fibreglass resin. This builds up the front of the panel so they meet quite nicely. I also used fibreglass matting to reinforce the top panel.
Around the underneath I poured more fibreglass resin to bond the binnacle to the top panel.
Let the whole thing cure for a day so the fibreglass is nice and hard, then start the sanding process.
Once you have the shape you want, you can spray the whole thing with spray filler / primer, and sand it again. The a colour coat of flat black.
Personally I like the look and beats the crap out of getting a dealer to modify the dash!
I got a set of white face gauges for my commy, however the dealer said, no way would they fit. (Typical) they told me for about 800$ plus any extra work they would supply the gauges wire them in and replace the dash surround (if they could).
So read 800$ for the gauges , binnacle wiring.. then start adding in the cost of reworking the dash surrounds to fit the gauges. :S
A stab at the price by the dealer was.. around 1200$ .. a little rich just for 2 gauges on top of the dash!
The solution is (if you dont mind the gauges sitting a little higher than normal)
Use the existing dash piece on the top of the dash. Cut the centre out of it using a dremel tool. Remove the mounting pins on the guage set (they wont be required because the top panel already has them).
Carefully mate the Gauges to the top panel, I used super glue to tack the guages in place. (Oh and done forget to take the gauges out of the housing before you start this job or you may end up with goo all over them).
Once the gauges are in a suitable place on the top panel, you will notice the front sits up about 8mm over the panel. There isnt much you can really do about that unless you want to learn to plastic weld and remould the binnacle.
I ran a 2 inch piece of vinyl tape across the front of the binnacle where it meets the top panel. Then back filled it with fibreglass resin. This builds up the front of the panel so they meet quite nicely. I also used fibreglass matting to reinforce the top panel.
Around the underneath I poured more fibreglass resin to bond the binnacle to the top panel.
Let the whole thing cure for a day so the fibreglass is nice and hard, then start the sanding process.
Once you have the shape you want, you can spray the whole thing with spray filler / primer, and sand it again. The a colour coat of flat black.
Personally I like the look and beats the crap out of getting a dealer to modify the dash!
