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Originally posted by 1992rs/ss you make 'em for the 90-92 110 gauges and you have my money as well as my praise.
ditto
You should get a couple sets ready BEFORE the show... I bet you could get some good feedback and even sell a few out there. Those ARE sharp as all hell.
I know everyone is flooding with different ideas. Which brings up the question if you will be able to customize inlays or are you going to make up a generic one.
The reason I ask is that I don't have an IROC and it looks good with it on there but would be a little out of place in my car.
I'm good for a set. I also have an '86 firebird cluster if you can't find one locally. The tach is 6cyl. I'm using it for testing right now but if you have a better cause, then...
You should get a couple sets ready BEFORE the show
...mine will be in ...not allowed to "sell" at the show, and to be honest, I'd rather not have to deal with any business once there.
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Now you need to offer Firebird Guage overlays
Well eventually that's the plan. The good news for you is that by the time I make them, they'll have been time tested and you should have plenty of user comments!
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maybe while your at it, you can come up with some shifter inlays to match
THAT is an AWESOME IDEA!!!! Thanks!
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Which brings up the question if you will be able to customize inlays or are you going to make up a generic one.
Yes. A friend and I were talking the other night about this very subject. "Technically", once the productions bugs are worked out, I can make each set 100% completely custom. The reality is that if we get into different colors fonts background patterns, I'd spend so much time designing that I could never get them all done. More than likely, I'll only offer a few choices. Obviously you'd choose what MPH and redline you curently have. The spaces where I have "Camaro" and "Iroc" I'd have choices for whatever you had, RS-Z28-SC-TransAm-ILE-GTA-Firebird-LB9-L98-LS1-Turbo-383...it doesn't matter...you get the idea! ...and then you could choose what color you wanted that wording in. I chose gold since my car is red and gold. You could go with no text too of course. So if you ordered a set, it might go like this:
88 Camaro with 145 Speedo (155 if ya want like mine!)
6000 RPM redline (let's assume you've got another motor)
CAMARO on the speedo in blue
383 EFI on the Tach in blue
Black background on all gauges
That's most likely the choices you'd have.
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are you gonna move the 80mph down so it isnt cut out
Yep, on top of a few other little changes like the screw going through the 40
"Technically", once the productions bugs are worked out, I can make each set 100% completely custom. The reality is that if we get into different colors fonts background patterns, I'd spend so much time designing that I could never get them all done. More than likely, I'll only offer a few choices.Obviously you'd choose what MPH and redline you curently have. The spaces where I have "Camaro" and "Iroc" I'd have choices for whatever you had, RS-Z28-SC-TransAm-ILE-GTA-Firebird-LB9-L98-LS1-Turbo-383...it doesn't matter...you get the idea! ...and then you could choose what color you wanted that wording in.
That's fantastic! It can't get any better than that.
Dude,
You need to get on the ball and make some of these! I think i would prefer a white set, but would that be do-able with the backlighting and all? What color would the numbers need to be? Me want.......me want.......
There a member on here with the name Luvmy92!!! ...and he just bought ta 64 Chevelle! Hmmmmmmmmmm
Guys! Are the 91-92 gauges backlit??? My current gauges won't work with backlit gauges due to the fact that they're not translucent.
Yes they are, the aftermarket guages have the numbers cut out and translucent plastic coating behind. I'm not really sure what machine they use to do this, I'm sure a sticker shop could help you out. Unfortunately I just got some Mac Ewens a few months ago but good luck with em bro!
...so are they are backlit, huh? The key is to print on clear. That's how Macewen's does 'em I'm sure. That's also how they did the older style too, you just didn't see anything tranclucent except for the HB indicator and there was a clear window for the ODO and trip.
The acetone backing seems to be holding up just fine, but I want to give it more time. So far so good.
I've tried a sample piece of "matte" paper, and the finish is GREAT, but I want to see how well it holds up. It "should" be the same, which is a good thing. I can't print personal stuff on samples (due to the small quantity), but we're supposed to get a 30yd roll in the next few weeks.
The bad:
The holes for the two pegs on the tach, and the 2 screw on the speedo are now presenting a problem. On the plain paper material, they were EASY to cut, but with the acetone backing it's quite a bit more tedious. Even the centers and the ODO/Trip are a bit harder to cut out. Again, I have some ideas, but we'll just have to wait and see.
The ugly:
90-92 'Maros and 86-92 Birds have backlit gauges if I'm not mistaken. If that's the case, these faces will not work.
Well if they're not backlit, then yes, I can make them. I'm still gonna run with the Camaro overlays first, and then if everything goes well, I'll get into the Poncho overlays.
I'm playing with the idea of photoshopping them. I made a badass guage set for my truck, just have yet to sucessfully print them My car is down for right now because my clutch is out, so I should take apart my guages n do this so that I dont have to while the car is my daily driver
Your gauge looks sick man, I'm also interested in a set 145 - 150 just like yours, except mine is a Z28 not an Iroc that would be the only thing changed. If you decide to sell them please let me know.
im in for a set when your ready.
I have one question about taking apart the guages. Does the needle slide off or what. becuase last time i was putting on white face gauges and i broke the needle pin and it messed up my MPH guage so i had to get a whole new gauge cluster. So my question is do the needles slide off or do you have to do something else?
We ordered some matte finish material today. Should be a week or two before it gets here. I "think" at that point I should be ready for another trial run. If all goes well, it shouldn't be too long after that.
..."hopefully"...
....anyone got a real good close-up shot of an 85-89 115mph speedo?
Interested in a set for the bird whenever you get to it. Maybe by then you can print on clear for lighting as well. You can produce ANY font and background?
i would definately be in for a set too....i think its a really good looking set of gauges.......how do you know whether or not your gauges are backlit?
Good news!!! I've been promoted to shop manager!!! That means I'll have no trouble getting access to the equipment. I NOW RUN THE EQUIPMENT!!!!!! Bad news is that I'm working 12 hour days, and haven't had much time to do work to the gauges.
....what I have done though, is to confirm that the matte finish paper holds up just fine. I had some red printing in 2 days of direct sunlight and you could only see minor fading, and that was only when compared side by side to red that didn't have any UV exposure. Red is easily the worst for fading, the gauges hardly have any red, AND the gauges hardly see any direct sun at all. When they do, it's early or late, and the sun is much weaker.
Bottom line: Good news.
I don't know if I mentioned the problem of cutting holes or not, but I've solved that problem too. The first test set had holes cut by an exacto, and the tach pins and speedo screws just punched through the material. Well, when I solved the flimsiness issue with the acetate laminate, the exacto blade wasn't effective, and the small holes were too small to cut. I ended up buying a punch used for scrapbooking. On a side note, those scrap booking hobbyists are friggin' PSYCHO!!!!! You should see the different tools they use to make frilly photo albums and such. (not like we're obsessive )
...anyhow, I can't put a time frame on them right now. All I can say is that I hadn't originally inteneded to mass produce these, and although I really want to do this, I'm having trouble finding time. I AM making progress,and I WILL have'em ready soon.... ....I hope.
How would you attach these overlays to your gauges? I know the Macewen faces use little strips of double sided tape, but mine would fall off during hot summer weather. Not all the time, but it's something I'd like to improve upon.
For my gauges (on my car), I'm gonna use a silicone adhesive. We use this as a cure-all at the shop and it's a life saver. Problem is I won't be able to remove the faces and be able to re-use them. Obviously it's not a big deal for me, I'd just make more, but what do you guys think?
...also, too strong of a double sided tape WILL leave residue if you ever want to go back to stock.
Im not quite sure how the overlays are as ive never ventured into there, but shouldnt the stock ones come off first before you put on the custom ones??
damn... 12 hour days eh? I know what thats like.. I'm doing it at the mill...
I'm still game for a set thou, especially if you can rig me a KMH set.
For adhesive, I'd have to look at my gauges dismantled again... but can you mount the overlay ontop of a 'permanent' ring/cover/plate? Then use this ring/cover/plate to reuse the stock screws (perhaps longer screws) or have it mount with tabs or something around the existing/stock gauge? This way the tabs/screws can be removed to reveal a virtually untouched stock guage?
I was thinking of providing the double stick tape tabs with the faces, but not actually applying it to the faces. That way it would be up to the person how he or she wanted to apply them.
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Im not quite sure how the overlays are as ive never ventured into there, but shouldnt the stock ones come off first before you put on the custom ones??
Nope, the stock gauge faces are essentially metal faces that are hard mounted to the actual gauge itself. My overlays will lie right on top of the metal OE face. They mount exactly like the Macewen, and other aftermarket custom faces.
The faces/overlays have to be somewhat flimsy so you can slide the needle through the center hole of the overlay. Keep in mind the needles DO NOT come off. At least not for you and I with simple hand tools. I's sure a speedo shop could do it, but that's not the point. Any rigid faces wouldn't be able to be installed without removing the needles.
...not allowed to "sell" at the show, and to be honest, I'd rather not have to deal with any business once there.
