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that tape is cheesy.. I was thinking along the lines of the double stick tape being a duplicate of the gauge itself in one large piece already bonded to the back of the new face... perhaps with the back part you remove to get to the sticky stuff broken into four pie shapes so you can remove them after you've got the new face over the needle. However thats not a great option, it is still 'tape'.
How thick is this gauge face... like the thickness of a DVD sleeve cover? (The part over the paper insert)?? I still think a perimiter mounting method would be best, just don't know how to accomplish that. Is they any way tabs can be wrapped around the stock gauge perimiter? I don't have my guages here so I can't look at them.. both my car and 2nd gauges are at the shop! I'll keep brainstorming...
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Yea, thats a good question. I have the 185 kph spedo right now but I would like the gauges to go to 240. Would I have to buy the 240 kph spedo to make it read properly.
the internal windings of the speedo's are different from a 115mph to a 145mph.. or any speedo for that matter( like kmh). You would need to purchase a speedo that can give you a higher reading, there is no way for 'us' to change the workings of the speedo unless your a instrument calibration technician with the proper equipment and such...
it would be much cheaper and easier for you to buy a replacement set of gauges that goto 145mph.. try the classifides here on TGO or ebay, local auto recyclers
On my Firebird I cheated and had a custom set made by Scott at www.customgaugefaces.com. He let me pick and choose the way I wanted them to look, so I changed a few things, like adding a few hash marks and making the 145mph Iroc speedo into a 150mph speedo and changing the tach reading from RPMx100 to RPMx1000 (so the numbers around the tach read 1 2 3 4 5... instead of 10 20 30 40 50...)
Here's what I ended up with:
__________________
ThirdgenFest '07: Best of Show - Best Firebird, Modified - Best Engine
Abubaca, don't laugh, but is there any chance you'd consider the 85 MPH speedo too? Oh, for a 'Bird that is
Wonderful gauges! Try not to abuse you new found power as shop manager MUHAHAHAHA!. The 3rdGen community needs guys like you working in places like that.
Mark.
__________________ It doesn't matter how fast you drive. It matters how you drive fast!
"I've the only Trans Am in the village!"
Guys I'm stumped here. The faces are holding up just fine, and I have pretty much all the kinks worked out except one:
I CAN'T FIND A 5/8" PUNCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you guys remember, I needed to put the actual face/print (which is basically just a sticker) on something to give it some rigidity. I decided to use an acetate sheet which seemed to work very well. Rigid, yet thin and flimsy enough to be worked past the needles without removing them. The problem is that I had trouble cutting all the little holes. I used an exacto knife before I used the acetate which was no problem. On the set I'm currently using (with acetate) the hand cut circles aren't perfect, and they took FOREVER to cut to what I would barely consider acceptable.
Enter the hobby of scrapbooking.
I have punches for all the holes needed except for a 5/8" punch for the center hole in the tach and speedo. The THIRD punch arrived today, and it won't work either. The main problem is that they don't reach far enough into the face. Basically I can't reach the middle of the face to punch the circle!
This is driving me nuts. Everything else is ready. I know some of you will say that I should just do my best with a knife, but trust me, even if I could do it perfectly, it would take forever, and I need some sort of mediocre assembly line here. They're all assembled by hand, short of the printing, so I need the help where I can get it!
first of all, can you guys picture what my problem is? Did I explain it sufficiently?
Would something like this work? http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/N2DRVSH?PMSECT=1917
We use these at work to make some shims,they punch .010 plastic shim stock nicely
Kind of pricey tho
Hope that helps
Steve
Most leather shops (The ones that sell leather and supplys, and kits - Like Tandy) have hand held punches of different sizes - may be just what you are looking for...Ed.
__________________ ~Mighty Mouse~
Bless the lowered, and pass the Nitromethane -
There is a substitution for cubic inches, and that is cubic inches and boost.
Pedal to the metal until you see the "Gates of Hell", then brake.
Abubaca - how about making a punch, literally. Take a piece of round steel stock and grind/mould the end to your desired size (5/8") Then use this piece of steel as a punch, put the desired size down on the face, and hit the other end with a hammer and 'punch' the center out.
You should be able to put an 'edge' on the side with the desired size and it may do the trick. At least, it would make a good impression/indentation and should make it easier to cut out? Hopefully you get what I'm trying to say..
Good luck.. I'll keep racking my brain for more ideas.
I have punches for all the holes needed except for a 5/8" punch for the center hole in the tach and speedo. The THIRD punch arrived today, and it won't work either. The main problem is that they don't reach far enough into the face. Basically I can't reach the middle of the face to punch the circle!
...and my next question:
DO ANY OF YOU HAVE IDEAS????????????
This may be quite far fetched, but could you take one of the punches and have someone cut the arms and re-weld extensions? Even if the handle couldn't overcome the leverage you could tap it with a hammer for now until you could find something better. If this is possible you could have a jig on the arm set up for the exact distance every time.
As far as returning to stock...well....it depends on how you stick 'em. I'd probably provide tabs of double sided tape. Would it leave residue? Probably. Could you get it off? Probably, but I wouldn't make any guarantee.
Well, I'm still a little frustrated on this one. so close, yet so far. I'm looking into having the actual acetate faces made, and then I'd apply the graphic to the acetate.
....I'm also deconstructing the punch to see if there's anyway to rig it for my purposes. Having them made may very well be cost prohibitive.
I work at a car dealership and occasionally we put on spoilers for new car deliveries. To mark where the holes go, we use a punch (essentially a metal rod w/a pointy end) that makes an indentation in the sheet metal to use as a centerpoint for drilling the hole. If you had a drill (handheld or bench may be better), that wouldn't have any problem getting through the acetate, and the holes would be perfectly round.
I have had absolutely no luck finding new gauges that look good for my 85 or 86 t/a ans this would be awesome. i want eveything to be either blue or orange at night in the dash
how far of a reach do you need to get center? I have a friend that works at a tool and dye shop. you need it to cut a 5/8 hole correct? I just need to know how deep you need it to reach. No promises but I'll see what i can do.
Can't wait, but another thing to think about doing is the HVAC controls along with the shifter plate (previously stated).
If both of those are done then it would all mesh together so to speak. Plus the shift plate would be the easiest on you. So when you get all of the kinks wrinkled out PM me and I will buy a set (gauges, HVAC, and shift plate) from you in a heart beat!
I drive an 89 IROC as well. My gauge reads up to 115mph, but (as you may or may not know) the needle keeps going until it hits the trip reset. Would you be able to make a gauge that keeps the same number spacing (to avoid any speedometer changes) and keep the numbers going around until the trip reset? I think it’s about 130... But I am not positive. I would be very interested in purchasing this gauge set once you are done with the project. Also, just let me know if you would need any pictures for reference. Just let me know if I can do anything to help. Thank you for always keeping us updated on your progress!
Yes, I can make the spacing for whatever MPH you have. I don't have a template for it yet, but yeah, I'll be able to do it, no problem.
...and I'll figure out the template for the HVAC and shifter too. Anyone happen to have a set of overlays for those that I could use as a template?
.....but the good news is that I think I have a solution. I'm just gonna cut the punch into two halves!!!! It would make it tough to punch HUNDREDS of holes, but all I need is two per set. Speedo/tach. I'll see tomorrow at work if I have something to cut it with. Maybe a handheld hacksaw will work. OOH! I have a carbide cutting wheel for the dremel!!!
For those who've been following along, I've decided to see how well I can cut the center holes by hand. All attempts at some sort of punch have failed. I know I can do it, it's a matter of how much time it's gonna take to cut 'em. Obviously they can't be a hack job.
I'm hoping to have all the production issues wrapped up and have myself a "final draft" first set within two weeks.
Assuming I'm happy with 'em (and I'm feeling pretty confident ) I'll begin moving forward with putting them up for sale.
I've talked with some of the mods, and what we'll probably do is link and lock this thread, and start a new thread in the classifieds section with some more photos, prices, options, and all that good stuff.
The first few sets WILL BE 85-89 145mph faces!!! I want to be absolutely certain that I have no production issues with the existing layout/template. Once I feel confident that quality is up to par, and you guys have some feedback from a few other members, then I'll start moving forward with all the 82-89 Camaro faces. I won't lie to ya, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do about 90-92 Cammie faces or any Firebird faces. I'd really like to make 'em, but I don't have any templates as of now, and I'm sure there will be some more production issue just like with my current faces. The whole "backlit" thing is gonna be a challenge. No promises, but yes, I'm gonna see what happens, and hopefully I can make those too.
Stay Tuned.
If you are interested in 145mph/Iroc faces, shoot me a PM and lets talk.
) I'll begin moving forward with putting them up for sale. 
