These are my custom gauge faces (custom is just another word for homemade). They're Adobe Illustrator overlays
of the original gauge faces. About 60 hours of work were involved in their creation. Visit the custom gauge face page
if you'd like a little more detail. The rings are Brainstorm vintage-look rings. They were dull pot metal when I got them; very unshiny.
A few hours with the dremel fixed them right up. That's the last cent I've ever wasted at Brainstorm.
My second attempt at gauge faces. More minimalist than the last set (below).
These were inspired by the gauge pod in the Mclaren F1 roadcar. Fans will recognize the tach.
The needle-placement takes a little time to get used to, but I like it!
Mmm... Vintage! This was my first attempt at a custom gauge face set.
A little better look at the tach. Vintage lights, polished screws, and a painted needle-stop.
I'm not one to be happy with just monitoring an engine via the stock gauges, and needed something more.
The gauges are from VDO's Industrial Chrome line. I installed water temp, oil temp, and volt
gauges in a custom single DIN slot (left over from an old radio). Notice the angle rings. They're
modified Autometer rings, cut in half so as to not stick out so far. As the three rings are much larger in diameter than
the three gauges, and the gauges barely fit a DIN panel anyway, I also had to slot the rings to make them fit.
The bottoms are sanded flat for a closer mount, and the two temperature gauge rings are slotted on the sides so that
they interlock and fit the width of the panel. It makes for a very tidy installation. Previously, I had these gauges mounted on a badly measured
piece of flat plastic that I had whipped up in about 10 minutes. The 3/16" ABS panel, the slotted rings, and the customized DIN
slot took a couple hours of work, but the result is much nicer.
The JVC head unit complements the chrome quite nicely. It plays MP3s off CD and is definitely a necessary modification
for any daily-driver. As an added bonus, it has the ability to angle itself at the driver. Pretty cool!
Having the gauges point at me removes a lot of guess work. And as you can tell, I like Pearl Jam.
Trying to show the angle of the gauges here. The rings are hard to photograph.
You can see how the rings slot into each other here (between the 1st and 2nd gauges).
This is about the angle I see the gauges at. Busy? Maybe. But I like them!
