Has anyone put gauges where their center vents are? On an S14?

[sirfallsalot243]

Ive seen lots of guys do this on their S13's, they even make kits for it. Im looking to put either 2 or 3 gauges in my center vents on my S14.. and I cant for the life of me find someone else who has done it. I picked up a second center trim peice yesterday so i could give it a shot and not be pissed if i mess it up, but I was curious if anyone has already done it, and if so, maybe they have a few pointers on the best way to do it?

I hate A-pillar gauges, I hate steering column gauges, and I hate gauges mounted on top of the dash. This is the only option that I can live with.

Looking to do something like this
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4205029460_bd80dfd26d.jpg

In here
http://zilvia.net/f/chat/i71.photobucket.com/.../dookiedang/CIMG1115.jpg

[kouness]

i also like the thought of this..ive seen them before.. try searching for the picture thread for gauges.. if i rememeber correctly there was this guy that was trying to create a run of these and see if anyone was interested.. it was like a year or so ago though.. never saw the end result

-kouvang

[240z4u]

I did it, and it worked great. It was a bit of a hassle. I lost all the photos when my computer took a crap.

Be prepared to take a LOT of time sanding and smoothing.

[sirfallsalot243]

I did it, and it worked great. It was a bit of a hassle. I lost all the photos when my computer took a crap.

Be prepared to take a LOT of time sanding and smoothing.

Can you go into a little more detail? Im prepared for it to be time consuming, Im just looking for tips on the best way to do it.

[240rider95sx]

post pics of finish product plzzzz

[sr20drifter1]

http://image.turbomagazine.com/f/8978751/0603tur_11z+1996_nissan_240sx_s14+gauges.jpg

[nyc240sx]

nice carbon fiber bracket on ebay to mount 3 guages on the dash

[RB24_S14]

I have wanted to do the same thing so I tryed fitting the S13 console center vents and it was a match to the A/C controller. Worked for me, you can order it online for $16..

[c72c]

yup, pillar pods and all that crap are annoying so i made a 2 52mm gauge pod for mine.

here's an idea how you can do it...

http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/152/l_092a41e12c0b4725bd863388d47b811d.jpg

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/145/l_4df4bf5e73544a2dbede3d4933f37252.jpg

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/132/l_9c8c39c978a44a08a9a9a5d780204c72.jpg

http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/120/l_b9a752410cb94deebe2df75472680647.jpg

http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/152/l_567bcc359ece48c1b847d24c6bdae6d1.jpg

http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/133/l_133ff393edc24f5e9c2be9e063e0a1d0.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4520362862_3771ffa6ba.jpg

[rhds13crux]

^^^^ that right there is really nice!

[c72c]

^^^^ that right there is really nice!
thanks. came out pretty good for a quicky

[Slammed Assassin]

alot of peeps like this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRx7R8KwX_8

[erik05v]

alot of peeps like this one

YouTube - Nissan 200sx pop out gauges (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRx7R8KwX_8)

damn thats badass i would so rock that

[WoolyS14DET]

Nice Werk Guy !!! I lkie alot

[FusionR240sx]

http://www.streetfire.net/video/stri-guages-s14-cf-cluster_143966.htm

=]

[s14canyoncity]

yup, pillar pods and all that crap are annoying so i made a 2 52mm gauge pod for mine.

here's an idea how you can do it...

http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/152/l_092a41e12c0b4725bd863388d47b811d.jpg

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/145/l_4df4bf5e73544a2dbede3d4933f37252.jpg

http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/132/l_9c8c39c978a44a08a9a9a5d780204c72.jpg

http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/120/l_b9a752410cb94deebe2df75472680647.jpg

http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/152/l_567bcc359ece48c1b847d24c6bdae6d1.jpg

http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/133/l_133ff393edc24f5e9c2be9e063e0a1d0.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4520362862_3771ffa6ba.jpg

mass produce?

alot of peeps like this one

YouTube - Nissan 200sx pop out gauges (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRx7R8KwX_8)

looks clean, badass

[Om1kron]

mass produce?

Pay really really good attention to which direction they're pointing...

[TurboSE]

Pay really really good attention to which direction they're pointing...

Thought that too....I tried the fiberglass idea on another car and couldn't stop it from cracking....any idea what I was doing wrong?

[sirfallsalot243]

c72c's option looks like my best bet. How much will removing those vents affect my climate control? Id assume it would just blow twice as much air from the other two side vents? Do I need to do anything specific as far as protecting the gauges from the heat? I wouldnt think AC would be an issue..

I was also considering relocating the climate control to the center console, but Id much prefer to do what c72c did, but with three gauges.

[c72c]

mass produce?
if enough people want em, i can make some.

Pay really really good attention to which direction they're pointing...
haha. no worries, it's not any harder to make em for lhd.

Thought that too....I tried the fiberglass idea on another car and couldn't stop it from cracking....any idea what I was doing wrong?
you'd have to tell me how you went along with it and what materials you used.
the most basic steps are in the pics, but here's the jizz of what i did... i cut to fit the visors, glued them in place, sand the top half of the bezel, resin, cloth, resin, cure, sand, fiberglass jelly, sand, glazing putty, sand, then sanded the whole bezel, primer, wetsand, primer again, wetsand, paint, clear, color sand, clear. normally after the resin and cloth i'd use chop mat and more resin, but i was just tinkering with this and it just came together after a few hours.


c72c's option looks like my best bet. How much will removing those vents affect my climate control? Id assume it would just blow twice as much air from the other two side vents? Do I need to do anything specific as far as protecting the gauges from the heat? I wouldnt think AC would be an issue..

I was also considering relocating the climate control to the center console, but Id much prefer to do what c72c did, but with three gauges.

I couldn't tell you about the climate control since i don't use the upper vents. i only use the floor vents. maybe in a few weeks when it's ballsweat hot outside i might try it out.
and honestly, even the heat or ac blowing on it shouldn't cause any problems with readings. if your car is sitting in the sun in cali, or az, middle of summer, windows up, it's goin to be hotter inside the car then it will ever be with the heater blowing... just as an idea, the highest setting on my heater is 32*c (89.6*f), it can get well above 150*f in your car when its sitting in the sun.
you can do 3 gauges, but you'd have to cut the beam out between the vents. you wanna be carefull because the opening will spread apart when cut, and if you mold everything in without paying attention, you could come out with an arched bezel and it may not fit as well or at all.

[vvtisupra]

this is what i did

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3253/2337227104_eac6e40e35_o.jpg


I'm willing to sell that piece with the 2 switches for 100 bucks plus trade for your stock factory piece if and only if its clean.

60mm gauges

[Broadfield]

Not to bring up an old thread, but for anyone finding this thread through a search for S14 gauge panels, I finally got a customer to have me do an S14 panel. So now I have an example I can show. I can make anything custom of course, so it doesn't have to be anything like this for that matter. Everything I do is one-off, so it can be fabricated to your specifications.... you may want them angled or simply surface mounted instead of flush mounted.

http://images45.fotki.com/v153/photos/2/47612/9243518/IMG_1877-vi.jpg

http://images56.fotki.com/v127/photos/2/47612/9243518/IMG_1892-vi.jpg

[hellion240sx]

damnations toby, You just amazw me every singal time! Some great ideas in here. I hope to start learning to mess with fiberglass soon... I have many ideas I would like to do, Just don't konow what I'm doing..

[c72c]

:eek: haha, I had the same design drawn up for the gauge spot. I didn't really like the last triple pod I did with the visors so I wanted to try something different, and you beat me to it. :-/ damn deployment. lol
Looks good though. :bigok:

[Chewbacca]

Sort of but not quite...

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/787/img0367v.jpg

[singlecamslam]

Broadfiled what do you use to glue in that delete panel where the hvac control used to be, where the SAFC is mounted.

[illvialuver]

Sort of but not quite...

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/787/img0367v.jpg

Wtf???? is his ebrake coming out of his ashtray?

And Toby, you kill it. When I go turbo, imma need you to do shit for me, because I believe in oem or better quality and you exemplify that in your work.

[MidwestMyriad]

Hydro brake...

[Broadfield]

damnations toby, You just amazw me every singal time! Some great ideas in here. I hope to start learning to mess with fiberglass soon... I have many ideas I would like to do, Just don't konow what I'm doing..

You just have to dive in and not be afraid of messing up. You can always grind/cut stuff back off and start over. Also, you will learn your own little methods of doing things that may differ than mine.... which is fine. As long as you are getting the results you want and the piece is structurally sound, you will be good to go. Keep in mind, it's VERY rare I use fiberglass on any of my interior pieces. Besides, fiberglass does not bond well with plastic, so it's another reason not to use it. I have only used fiberglass once on any of my pieces and that was for the cup I made for an S13 cluster to angle a Dash2 into the plate:

http://images40.fotki.com/v776/photos/2/47612/8840999/IMG_7772-vi.jpg

http://images54.fotki.com/v1594/photos/2/47612/8840999/IMG_7781-vi.jpg

http://images55.fotki.com/v1604/photos/2/47612/8840999/IMG_7830-vi.jpg

http://images54.fotki.com/v459/photos/2/47612/8840999/IMG_8022-vi.jpg


:eek: haha, I had the same design drawn up for the gauge spot. I didn't really like the last triple pod I did with the visors so I wanted to try something different, and you beat me to it. :-/ damn deployment. lol
Looks good though. :bigok:

Yeah, I went with this gauge placement because it's very OEM styled.... I kept the original contours of the opening. It was a lot more work because I actually had to enlarge the OEM opening which then led to cutting away the OEM round over. So I had to go back and make my own/new round over which leads back to the plate the gauges are essentially mounted in.

Broadfiled what do you use to glue in that delete panel where the hvac control used to be, where the SAFC is mounted.

On this specific piece I used CA glue(high-end super glue) to temporarily hold the 2 little pieces where I wanted them. Then I went over the back with the good shit: 3M Duramix 4240

http://images108.fotki.com/v105/photos/2/47612/9243518/IMG_1836-vi.jpg

If you simply want to slap a piece of ABS on the back side of the opening to cover the hole, then simply use OEM yellow hot glue.... anything else(black or white hot glue) will slightly melt in the heat.


And Toby, you kill it. When I go turbo, imma need you to do shit for me, because I believe in oem or better quality and you exemplify that in your work.

Thanks man, I strive for the OEM look and quality.

[captainfalco]

Yeah, I went with this gauge placement because it's very OEM styled.... I kept the original contours of the opening. It was a lot more work because I actually had to enlarge the OEM opening which then led to cutting away the OEM round over. So I had to go back and make my own/new round over which leads back to the plate the gauges are essentially mounted in.



On this specific piece I used CA glue(high-end super glue) to temporarily hold the 2 little pieces where I wanted them. Then I went over the back with the good shit: 3M Duramix 4240


If you simply want to slap a piece of ABS on the back side of the opening to cover the hole, then simply use OEM yellow hot glue.... anything else(black or white hot glue) will slightly melt in the heat.



Thanks man, I strive for the OEM look and quality.

How much would you charge for something like S14 piece above (just the gauge part)? Pm me please.

[hellion240sx]

if you don't use fiberglass, then what do you use? duramix is your glue right?

[Jonathong]

alot of peeps like this one

YouTube - Nissan 200sx pop out gauges (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRx7R8KwX_8)

some james bond shit right here! ahah

[Broadfield]

if you don't use fiberglass, then what do you use? duramix is your glue right?

Depending on the project: ABS, kitty hair bondo, standard bondo, Duramix, super glue etc.

[ixfxi]

alot of peeps like this one

YouTube - Nissan 200sx pop out gauges (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRx7R8KwX_8)

some james bond shit right here! ahah

while i appreciate the effort


i think its horrible. driving around with a square cut in your dash and a jack-in-the-box that pops out to see gauges. then you have this vent hanging down while youre driving around

its cool and all, but completely impractical