Fabricating the new instrument panel
The time has come to start looking at getting the replacement instruments. Thought about making a panel out of carbon fiber mat so that the instruments could be arranged in a different layout and allow the use of additional guages to be incorporated as well.
Started off by prepping the surface to lay out the carbon mat. 1000 to 2000 grit wet sanding on the aluminum sheet followed by aluminum polish gives a fairly polished finish.
Applied a wax mold release to the surface before laying the carbon matting down with resin. The panel placed on top and set with weights. Started with the 1 layer for the back side of the panel.
The finish is almost flawless except the small bubbles that form as the resin drains out. Found that 2 layers create a stiff enough surface for the front.
The panel should look good when everything gets placed and the aluminum trim is installed.
12/15/08
The installation of the new instrument panel was time consuming and working with carbon fiber looks great when finished.
Alot of cutting and fitting to get the instruments to align up correctly. In this process, i found the resistor on the back of the tach which changed the indication back to normal rpm's. The oil pressure gauge is the only item that i needed off the other cluster, still have to hook it up. Even had time to install the 90W Blaupunkts in the door that utilize the rear speaker outputs (anything beats factory speakers).
7/17/09
Picked up a vacuum/pressure gauge(considering where the needle was sitting) from the parts tent at the arlington airshow over the previous weekend. Will have to find a different oil pressure gauge to install underneath. Hooked it up on the manifold line that connects up to the brake booster and gave a different perspective on where the engine runs according to the vacuum created by the engine.
If the needle can be set to start at the 45 on the high end, it should give a better breakdown on when to shift to aid in power utilization. As the gauge is shown, this is where the needle is at rest, when the engine starts, the needle moves to the bottom of the gauge to show vacuum. As the gas pedal is pressed, the needle moves up to show less suction from an open throttle. Right now, when the needle moves to the 20 mark, the engine starts to accelerate the truck, it also shows when the engine can utilize the power band a little more accurately when the needle peaks out and starts moving down, tells you when to shift gears to stay in the power.
