Digi Dash Mount Fab

[tweiss3]

lmao

overall, i think it all looks good so far

[vex]

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT

You speak french too? Evidence is really piling up huh :ghey: Just kidding, I actually took 6 years of french through middle and high-school.... damned if I remember anything that wouldn't get me slapped

Nope. Never took French, nor do I speak it above the normal English clichés.

Actually forgot to put in the update:
So I went home and attempted to get the lower portion glued down. The trouble is that when I removed the plastic cover I didn't remove the mounting points, so I was unable to get a good glue surface. So I ended up stitching it like a blind man stitching a hatchet wound while drunk. The end result on the vinyl surface turned out really, really, good (pics will come), while the stitch work... leaves a lot to be desired.

[vex]

So I got some pictures for everyone to giggle about.

For TTT's sake:

You'll notice that towards the front (the upper edge in the picture) you see a few indents along the edge. This comes from the mounting platforms where the clear acrylic plastic went, and this is also something to be aware of in case anyone is planning on doing this themselves.


Notice that there are no wrinkles in the vinyl and it is all glued down to ensure adequate durability for wiping and cleaning. The leading edge indents and what not are clearly visible in this picture.


This is the drivers perspective. You'll notice that you can't see any of the indents, which is what I was hoping for, and I think turned out well enough.


The right side. The 'bump' that you see is an optical illusion. It is not there.


Same as the right side.

[vex]

When test fitting the entire unit with the dash surround I noticed something that is good to know in case anyone else is planning on doing this.

Notice that there is a 'gap' from where the clear acrylic would be if it had not been removed (I really need a better camera):


Never mind the ship rigging underneath the dash, focus on the 'gap' or as it's technically called, the raging crevice of idiocy:


For more contrast I put a scrap piece of vinyl with the clothe side out so you can better see how much it's actually short by:


So if anyone is planning on doing this and would like to do it better than me; build up the leading edge to remedy the gap that you will encounter if you do not, also remove the mounting location for the clear acrylic. By doing this you will avoid the gap as well as be able to glue the vinyl down so it's more uniform.

Here's a completed shot of the Digital Dash surround when it is fully wrapped:


Here's a shot of the under 'rigging' (I was thinking I should have pulled a TTT and done some nautical rigging underneath it... but I didn't because I was lazy and in a rush).



So... any thoughts or comments?

More on the gap: It will not be seen while you're driving, but does leave space enough for the possibility of accent lighting if I chose to go that route. However, I think if I had to do it over again, I would have built up the leading edge by either using epoxy or cutting the clear acrylic leaving the boarder/boundary of it.

[vex]

Since the surround is done I thought it wise to begin mocking up all the pieces as best I can on the table. Here's what I came up with:
The signals need to come down and out while the gauge needs to move in. The buttons can stand to be moved closer to the dash as well, and I even had the thought of placing them on the surround (the piece that was just covered)--but have since talked myself out of it as I wouldn't want the LED's to cast light in that location.

Here's what the buttons look like illuminated. If anyone has any further alterations they wish to suggest feel free to post them.

[tweiss3]

looking like its coming together well

[Mazdabater]

Fuck this is really making me wanna buy one of these. Suppose I should get the car running first though! Looks awesome man!

[TitaniumTT]

Damn, those switchs are pretty badass! What are thier purpose?

[vex]

Blue switches function as the dash buttons (ie, dash setup as well as gauge page selection). The red switch functions as the recalibration button for the innovate wideband o2 sensor. I've toyed with the idea of picking up another button for the datalog activation switch... but for some reason I talked myself out of it.

[vex]

Got the fuel level gauge in today so I decided to mock it up to verify that I need to move the gauge over a little bit. Here's what the gauge looks like:


I like how the LED and colors came out. Both the buttons and the gauge have the same blue and red color.

Here's the gauge without the illumination:


I think the gauge could stand to come towards the IQ3 by about a 1/16 of an inch. What do you guys think?

[chibikougan]

It does look a little sad all alone over there. I would have to agree.

[vex]

I did an in-car mock up and found out a few things.

You'll notice I still haven't moved the fuel gauge over any (that will be coming here shortly). This is also with the picture taken in my field of vision or in other words directly in my line of site of the IQ3. The angle looks spot on to me.


This is my attempt at getting the view of where my eyes are. Of course this is not a 1:1 translation, but you get a good idea of the visible angle and what not.


Now this is where it starts to get a little aggravating to me.

You can see the cut in the vinyl. But the issue isn't with the vinyl wrapped surround. Watch what happens when I push the dash bezel to it's proper location:

Looks absolutely perfect right? Well... The fix is going to be harder than it looks and I would definitely appreciate some input on how to go about it (will be coming in another post).

Here's a view with the steering wheel, just to ensure everything is easy to read, easy to get to, and at the proper angle.

[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?

[vex]

The dash underwent a major re-design: The dash is no longer a complicated two piece assembly, but is now a simple 6 piece assembly (see attached for better understanding). I have moved the turn signal locations down and out, moved the buttons closer to the IQ3, moved the fuel gauge closer to the IQ3 as well, and re-arranged the attachment points for the rivets. The result is an easier to produce dash (as in you could probably build this in your garage with some sheet aluminum or steel and a few tools), which I shall be doing this weekend .

[tweiss3]

i like that better actually