Since it sucks to work on the car outside, I've been playing with my interior a little bit. I designed a gauge panel(very simple) that fits in the bottom DIN slot below my stereo. I had a local machine shop rough cut the piece, and am having mounting brackets put onto the back of it tomorrow morning. I had him cut the 3/16" aluminum square, and I cut the angles and curves so that it would fit nicely. I will post pics when it is totaly complete...when everything is sanded smooth/painted like the rest of my interior pieces. The head unit and its surround just fits...until I get a new head unit. The holes are 2 1/16" each. But, click on the link to see what I have so far. (The linked pic may not work) Tell me what you think.
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/440224/7

that is badass imo. anyway you could make me one?

lol...It's a pain in the ass just figuring out how to mount this thing. I actually started out with a piece of cardboard, and cut it to match the lower piece of the panel. Then I drew the circles for the gauges. It requires the lower half of the trim piece to be removed, and you have to figure out how to mount it. Do this, then call the machine shop...I still haven't totally finished the mounting! Head Units are different too, and you have to compensate for this. I told the guy at the machine shop that I wanted a 3/16" piece of aluminum cut 8 1/2" by 2 1/2" with a 2 1/16" hole centered in the piece, and another hole on each side that was spaced 11/16" apart from the center hole. I got the piece back and grinded the edges to where they matched my cardboard template, then test fit it to my car, and had to re-trim until it fit nicely. Good Luck! It cost me $30. Thats about the same as what it costs to buy a 1 gauge screw-on pillar pod.(with shipping) P.S. Thanks for the compliment.

Yea not bad at all. I thought about doing something liek this but with An SAFC in the top vent part. hmmmm but those are my favorite vents....warmth is important IMO. Needless to say....godd work!

Originally posted by Blizare
Yea not bad at all. I thought about doing something liek this but with An SAFC in the top vent part. hmmmm but those are my favorite vents....warmth is important IMO. Needless to say....godd work!

Yeah, Thats why I went this route...noone else has it, and there isn't anywhere to easily mount gauges on our dash. I don't use the little plastic box that this is replacing anyway. I figured...when I'm all done...the A Pillar triple pod and this will be more than enough, and still keep the interior looking clean.

pimp imo.

looks good man, props for being different, but why not just get the triple a pillar then go through all that trouble?

steve

Originally posted by blinkbizkit500
looks good man, props for being different, but why not just get the triple a pillar then go through all that trouble? steve

Actually, I will still be getting the triple pillar when I buy more gauges. I'm going all motor, and I'm gonna stick with Autometer Cobalt gauges which are VERY expensive. All of them aren't a priority right now. I'm just buying them one at a time. I'm trying to build my car in stages so I have no extended downtime. I'm having the piece drilled and tapped right now so it will be easy to attach. It will be sanded and painted along with the upper part of the AC surround in the pic above by Friday...I'll post pics when it's done and installed. Thanks for the compliments guys!

OK...I'm not done, but will be sometime this week. Here's an update. I hand sanded the entire painted piece in the pic below. Man did that suck! I just need to seal/prime, and paint it. The piece for the gauges is prepped and ready to be painted also. Here's a pic of the sanded trim piece:
The aluminum gauge piece has been drilled and tapped so it can be mounted, but the guy tapped the bottom holes in the wrong spot. RRRRR! I can still make it work, but it's just not going to be exactly how I planned. Oh well

The finished product! Now you can see where the guy at the machine shop screwed up the placement of the bottom holes. No problem though, I made it work. I will post pics of the setup installed tomorrow...hopefully.

nice creativity, i like it!

tight! Points for the creativity. Keep updates on how it works out.

Cool! Thanks! I had probs with the car today and didn't finish installing it. I got the top part in, and the head unit bezel on -then 9 hours of engine work later...I'm beat, and will finish it later...lol. I need more gauges now. I just have the Autometer cobalt A/F(pointless, I know) I'm just trying to stick with the blue interior lighting. I'll get it together soon.

Here are the pics of it installed, or just go to: http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/440224/2

oooh oooh make me one! dude you got yourself a real money maker there. that is pimp! i also have that spot empty and desperately need room for gauges, that'sa hell of an idea! how much would you do it for? and silver painted?

Originally posted by DarKReaLity
oooh oooh make me one! dude you got yourself a real money maker there. that is pimp! i also have that spot empty and desperately need room for gauges, that'sa hell of an idea! how much would you do it for? and silver painted?

well, it cost $30 for the machine shop to cut the holes, and I had to cut the curves on the sides to fit as good as the stock piece....and round the edges to conform with the edges of the stock piece....you get the picture. You have to cut your plastic trim so this fits. How bout I tell you how to do it...it would save alot of pain in the ass. The mounting brackets also have to be fabricated from scratch. Email me, and I'll hit you back.

just post it here so everyone can read it...yeah i'll make the attempt on making one for myself.

O.K. give me until tomorrow to get all the pics together and a write-up done.

that is totally bad ass.. definately givin ya points for 2 reasons, when I first saw it I said "wow" and then I was going to ask if a cd player would fit, and you posted pics and you have the exact cd player I do, so definatley points for you, cant wait for the write up, cept mine will be o'yeller :)

writeup writeup :squint writeup writeup :evilgrin writeup writeup :squint writeup writeup :evilgrin writeup writeup :squint writeup writeup :evilgrin writeup writeup :squint writeup writeup :evilgrin :bowdown :bowdown plz :love

Originally posted by 95dsmrsproj
O.K. give me until tomorrow to get all the pics together and a write-up done.

Definitely nice

But...um...it's tomorrow!!!

Tommorrow isn't over yet. I just got home from work. I'm working on it now. Patience :nono ...Patience.

phew!...I'm FINISHED! Here's the link: http://www.geocities.com/type_r_delsol//howto.html I had it much neater in notepad, but once I put it on one of my pages it kind of turned into a big paragraph...Oh well, If this concerns you email me and I'll send you the notepad file.
mark.teegarden@verizon.net

Here...looks better like this: Link to site for the pic.
http://www.geocities.com/type_r_delsol/howto.html
HOW TO MAKE A LOWER DIN AREA GAUGE PANEL FOR A 2G ECLIPSE
-----
READ this whole article before attempting/starting this project.
-----
These directions assume that you are installing (3) 2 1/16" gauges. You can alter these
directions to suit your application. This project WILL NOT WORK if you have to have
your head unit in the bottom DIN slot.
-----
MAKING THE TEMPLATE FOR YOUR GAUGE PANEL
You will need Masking or Duct Tape, a utility knife or razor blade, a straightedge
of some sort(ruler...etc.)and a piece of THICK cardboard for this part.
With your trim piece, head unit and its surround installed, tape across the trim
piece flush with the bottom edge of your head unit assembly.(RED LINE) Keep taping so
you cover the entire bottom part of the trim piece below your head unit. Do not trim
the tape yet.
Now remove the taped trim piece, and with a utility knife, or razor blade...trim the
tape so its even with the outside edges of the trim piece. Now, lay a piece of
cardboard on the edge of a table. Place the face of the lower part of the trim piece
against the cardboard, and trace the ouside edges of the piece, and trace the top of
the tape. (KEEP THE TAPE ON, YOU WILL NEED IT ON THERE LATER) Now remove the trim
piece, and with a straight edge; fill in the lines that were from the top of the tape
to the outside edges. If you cut this piece out of the cardboard, it is the base of
your template. Now with your head unit and its surround still being in your car(don't
install the trim piece for this part)...hold the cardboard piece into where it will go.
Make sure it is even with the bottm edge of the console as if it were mounted in there.
If it fits...GOOD...If not, you will need to keep trimming the cardboard until it sits
in there nice. You may have to make another template if you mess up and cut too much,
but I made 4 because I'm very picky....don't feel bad. When you are happy with your
piece you can move on to the next section.
-----
TURNING YOUR CARDBOARD TEMPLATE INTO ALUMINUM
(Get the Aluminum piece cut at a machine shop to save alot of trouble)
First, you need a piece of 9" x ***" piece of aluminum that is 3/16" or 1/4" thick.
The "***" is your exact height of your template that you made earlier which is also
represented in the picture as the BLACK line with arrows. "***" should not be any less
than 2 5/16" for structural purposes. Mine was exactly 2.5". I would suggest that you
measure your template from #1 to # 1 in the picture, and from #2 to #2. Whichever has
the bigger dimension is the size of the "***". You can gradually trim the excess off of
the shorter side after the holes have been cut. The piece will end up being around 8 1/2"
wide, but it differs from car to car because of warpage and age. You will need to shave
the edges of the aluminum piece later to fit your console. Once you have your aluminum
piece cut and in rectangular form, you can place your template on top of it, and trace
the outline of it onto the aluminum piece. Do not shave the edges yet. Go to the next
section first.


MEASURING AND CUTTING THE HOLES
(If you are having a machine shop do this then refer to this section, print it, and give
it to the person at the machine shop along with your individual measurements and/or your
template/s.)

Now you can do this next part if you have a drill press with a vise, and a 2 1/16"
metal hole saw. You need to find the center of the piece. Take a straight edge and a
pencil and draw an "X" from corner as perfect as you can get it. With a ruler; check
that the center of the "X" is acually centered horizontally and vertically. Once you
are sure it is centered you can make a dot in the center with a pencil, fine tip
permanent marker, or a center punch if you have one. The center of the piece is
representd by the YELLOW X in the picture. From the center; you will
measure 2 3/4" to the left and make a centerpoint, and 2 3/4" to the right and make a
centerpoint. These centerpoints are where the center of your holesaw will be placed to
cut your 3 holes. The idea is to have an 11/16" gap (GREEN lines) between the gauges.

SHAVING THE EDGES
For this part you will need a belt sander with 40 or 80 grit sandpaper or an air
grinder of some sort. If you choose to use a bench grinder with grind wheels...you will
clog the wheel with aluminum! You have been warned. you are going to remove the excess
material from the rectangular aluminum piece so that it matches up with your cardboard
template. The area you will remove is represented in the picture as the YELLOW areas.
Once you get close to the lines you traced from your template...try to fit your piece
in your console. This way you won't go too far and ruin your piece. As you keep
knocking the material down...keep test fitting it until you are happy with the fit.
When you are happy, sand down the whole piece with 180 grit sandpaper until the texture
is nice and even. You're almost finished.

MOUNTING THE PIECE
You want to get your piece mounted before you prime and paint it. This way you don't
risk scratching it up. You may want to find your own way to mount yours, but I'll quickly
tell you how I mounted mine. I had holes drilled and tapped at the centers of the area in
the upper left and right corners. I also had holes done at the bottom edge of the piece
centered between the 1st and 2nd gauge hole, and between the 2nd and 3rd gauge hole. Then
I put stainless screws through the holes and attached brackets to the top holes that
mounted to where the storage box used to mount. I simply used a flat piece of small steel
scrap that I bent at a 90 degree angle to mount to the panel, then bent them to meet the
holes where the storage box mounted. I also drilled holes in it where it mounted. The
screws that went through the bottom of the piece sat into grooves that I cut out of the
inside lip of the console so it would sit evenly. Once the panel was mounted at the top,
I simply slid rubber grommets over the bottom screws to secure the panel and help prevent
vibration. Feel free to copy, print, or modify these instructions at your discretion.
...Oh, and have fun!