3 gauge idiot light cluster pod
 

This is in NO WAY a gauruntee that I will offer these. This is just to get an idea of how many people would want them. Maybe it'll motivate me to use a perfect finished piece as a plug. Don't know, we'll see.

Here's what I did. I found a generic ricer 3-gauge pod and mounted it onto the idiot cluster bezel with some really fancy G-Flex epoxy that I mixed with some high density adhesive filler. Then I fixed it to a board, scuffed all the painted carbon fiber looking crap off of it, flame treated it mildly, covered it with some very stretchy t-shirt material, used my common sense skills to keep it in place and conform to the curves of the pod while I layed down some epoxy over the material. Before it kicked I cut away the excess and threw on a layer of glass.

I came back a day later & I sanded the hell out of it, bondo'ed, sanded, glazed, sanded, glazed sanded, gel coated, faired, gel coated faired, primed, faired, primed faired some more, sealed, painted, cleared, cut and buffed & nib out and this is what I'm left with. Disgusting I know. All total I probably have close to 40 hours into this piece. Keep this in mind as we all know the only raw material that we are given at birth is time.

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1231393934


https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1231393934


https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1231393934


https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1231393934


https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1231393934


https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1231393934

nice one.

i like it. very neat

only thing is id need one for right hand drive!! lol

in adition to this if people want to keep there idiot cluster as well ive seen them then mounted under a aftermarket stereo where the genuine radio sat!!

best of both worlds!!

The piece that I used is no longer available. It was discontinued by a company that is now out of business. I looked far and wide and called a dozen different "dealers" before I finally found it...... on ebay :facepalm2: Regardless, the point I am making here is that I doubt it can duplicated exactely using the process I used becuase that piece is no longer being made. That said, I know there is a HUGE demand for these judging by how quick the 5one5 pods sell and what they sell for. I'm not knocking that product but I personally hate it. The orientation of the gauges is horrible to me, and we broke it while we were trying to fit a gauge. Regardless, I'm thinking about pulling a mold off of this piece and cranking out some. What you see IS NOT WHAT YOU WOULD GET. I cannot stress this enough. What you would most likely get is a piece that you would need to trim to fit your idiot cluster, glue it on (I CAN provide the epoxy) fair it and paint it. It would be gelcoated and need little to no fairing on the piece itself but I would rather it be epoxied to the idiot cluster bezel

I would strongly recomend doing it this way for two reasons -

1) The fit around the dash would be MUCH better. By fairing the glued piece back to the idiot bexel you will end up with much tighter tolerances. Something the 5one5 pod is lacking in my eyes

2) Adhesion. How exactly does the 5one5 pod stay down on the dash? That little tab in the back? Velcro? Why, there are presumably perfectly good snap pins on the bezel that will keep it in place much better than velcro and be easier to remove

Here you can see the comparision between my pod and the 5one5pod

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1231394344

Look closely at the angle that the two put the gauges at. Then look at this pic

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1231393934

And now look at this pic.
Also, notice how the 5one5 pod dips below the plane of the dash under the farthest left gauge, and then rises over that same plane on the farthest right. This would be avoided by using the factory bezel.
Also notice the chip from the overly THIN fiberglass that was used there. In all honesty I kinda remember it being mostly epoxy with little to no glass at all.

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1231394344

So, you would get a piece that would need to be glued to you existing bezel and faired in. Then painted. Rattle canning it would certainly work. Leaving the gelcoating is always an option. Personally I painted it with a PPG DP Primer/Sealer, PPG Global base (Charcoal Mettalic - I can get the code if someone is really interested) & 3 coats of U-POL clear. All that being said..... who would be honestly interested?

Definitely interested, there is always money in my bank for someone reproducing/replicating these pods, just nobody has/makes them.

Matt

to warn anyone interested.....this will most likely be more expensive than what you are expecting.

Looks good. Much better angle than the 5one5 pod. sign me up

I Wants!!!!!

very nice id be interested in it but if you dont feel like replicating them sell them to some guy that will or pull a mold of it and offer CF versions maybe

I am DEFINATELY interested as well.
I have the 5one5 style triple pod that a fellow club member sell's/sold and it is ok but TTT's pod is 10x better.

I use a peice of electrical tape to hold my pod in place :lol:
It's a little ghetto but I couldn't figure out what else to use on the cheap side.

Any idea on the price range?

great job. much better than the 5one5 pod

I thought you were going to pull a mold of it before you RE-sanded, glazed sanded, gel coated, faired, gel coated faired...ect.

that being said I might be interetsed. i think I have a spare idiot clutser surround floating around somewhere.

oh and BTW, your mounts are almost done. just need to do some drilling and tapping.

yep i thought it would be much eaisier to just pull a mould since he has the original one ready to go!!

just my 2 cents..

that makes the 5one5 look like absolute ass. I totally didn't know that the gauges w/ the 5one5 would be mounted that far off of the path of the eye w/ those. I really enjoy watching the craftsmanship of your work and this piece is amazing.

I would really love to buy one of these but only if you plan on making more. The quality is amazing and the fitment is superb. I really liked the idea of using the snap pins to anchor it in place as well. Nice job and thanks for sharing.

I really hope that there is enough interest in these to make you ponder about making duplicates! I must say I would rock the fuck out of one!

I'll buy one fore sure. Made for 60mm gauges please!

Im Down to buy one!!!

make yourself some money man.

i'm down for one too but if you can make this one that would be kool too!!!

did you just ask him to completely redesign the part he already has done? maybe you could just ask if he could offer it in CF since I'm sure that's what you really like about it ;)

Brian, looks like you need to pull yourself a mold my friend.

That looks VERY nice.

I will add, if you want to really score some points with the 2nd Gen guys, make a replacement A Pillar with 2 or 3 gauge pods incorporated. Very common for FD's, and you can even get them for FB's. But no one makes one for an FC.

You don't know TTT too well, do you?
-a

LOL!!!

I'm not going to offer it in CF. Trying to get the pattern to line up properly with all those contours would be a nightmare. If I were to sell it to someone who would replicate them, I'd be pricing it like a business, a multiple of expected earnings. The plug is the hard part. That and having the balls to lay epoxy over a perfect and fucntioning piece.

Thank you very much

There would be no eletrical tape here ;)

Price I'm still not yet decided on. I have to put some time into making a mold and then see how long/how much each individual one costs. Last time I saw a 5one5 used pod sell, it went int a day for $85.... so it would be more than that. Not my much, but by some.

Thanks Adam

It would be easier to pull a mold and then replicate it that way. The trick it to pull a mold without ruining the original piece.

Thanks. I didn't know the 5one5 pod was like that either. Neither did a good friend of mine when he bought his. We were both very surprised and dissapoitned when we test fitted it. That's what lead to this. I was originally going to use his 5one5 pod to pull a mold. Obviously that idea has since died and quick and painless death.

The three things we both bitched about with the 5one5 pod was the angle, the fitment and confused look we both had when trying to decide how to secure it. I think I've addressed all of these issues and thank you for the compliments. There is definately enough interest here to make me ponder pulling a mold.

You don't understand, I'm not going to redesign or recreate this piece. I can measure to see if it will fit 60mm gauges which it just might, but I'm not altering the design at all. That would require building an entirely new plug and I've never seen a generic 60mm pod like the one I bought to use which would of course double the work involved just to get to the same stage I'm at.

Why would I do that? That piece seems to exibit all of the same complaints I had with the 5one5 pod. How do you secure it? How are the gauges angled? Not to mention I personally think it looks like crap. I like the way my pod is angled, all of the gauges are on thier own plane, it fits PERFECTLY into the stock location. No, I'm ot going to build that.

No way. I had 3 gauges on the A-pillar and hated it. That was another reason for this. Not to mention a double a-pillar pod can be had or $35 and a single for $15, making it very hard to sell a piece for more thatn $60. That amount of work to sell a few wouldn't be worth it by a long shot. Sorry, what you see, is what it will be.... sorta. When I do pull a mold I'll post pics of EXACTELY what would be shipped.

He did.....

Yeah Cliff I know. I'm a little nervous. But if the mold does join with the pod I suppose All I have to do is grind it away until I see clear coat :lol:

:hahaha::rlaugh:

I think it looks great and is an improved design over the 5one5.

My 5one5 does have a glare at certain times of the day due to sun coming through. This seems less likely to have that issue since the gauges are more straight up.

I would think you could sell these. I've known a lot of people which look for 5one5's floating around the net. Whether the avg poor fc owner could pay the true value. who knows.

If I didn't have on e already I'd hit you up.

Very awesome TTT especially with the comparison with your build vs 5one5s.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...0231684429.jpg

That is one sexy gauge pod. Just to add to your motivation to make yourself some extra $$$ i would like to have one of them. And not much more than 85 bucks sounds like a good price for such a quality piece.

Well now you need to repaint your radio/ac surround to match this piece or repaint it to match your car which is what the surround colors looks like?? Maybe i'm wrong but matching would be just a bit better.

that is by far the nicest gauge pod for our cars i have ever seen that damn thing is flawless man, shit!!!!

looks good, but I would not feel comfortable removing the factory idiot lights.

It's usually for people with non-working idiot clusters due to failures or standalone ECU's.

I had a 5one5 pod,and I sold it.From what I remember was,there was a Piece(tab sort of) that went into the Top part where the Idiot lights were.Now I was able to Retain my idiot lights and still Stick that tab part in between the Idiot lights and make the Pod sit half decently on the Dash,but I never fastened it.I never got around to it.Lazy..heh..
But,that "era" is all over...TTT,I am interested in one of those Pods if you are Going to start Fabbing them.

:lol: Thanks

Cool - seems like there's enough interest.

The gauge cluster and the radio surround I painted the same base/clear as the car, yes. I though about painting the pod in the same color but felt it would stand out too much on top of the black dash so I painted it the same color as the trim and the other interior pieces that I painted.

Excellent. Yes the 5one5 pod does have a little tab in the back to keep the back down. There's nothing in the front though and no easy, and repeatedly strong way to make it fasten in the front without a ton of fiberglass work

Thanks

The pertanient idiot lights are either routed to my ECU thru new inputs (low sump/coolant) which are displayed on my AIM dash as idiot lights, or other ones like low washer, brakes, etc are on the "dash" (not the AIM but around it) as LED lights. I'm covered. Hopefully anyone buying one will work something out as well. There have been threads where people have moved them to the spot below the radio. A good friend of mine & I are going to pull the important ones and fit them on the dash surround where the cruise control switch would be as he is going to retain the stock FC dash

That's interesting. Any pics?

i want one also, get back to me when you have it ready

TTT... yeah I noticed driving my friends built 240sx through the mountains that left hand turns seem to pose a slower speed than right handed ones b/c of the 3-gauge pillar pod on the a-pillar. I would definitely buy one b/c of that reason and the fact that I love to thrash the mountains. The obstruction of the view on left hand turns is annoying when running pretty enthusiastically down hill on our runs you know.

omg! i would nut in my car if i had that! and i do want it!

Im very interested, id definitely drop a hundo on that.

Wow fantastic fabricating work there TTT! Im defo interested in one if u decide too mold more, but in a standard version, not the CF ( well CF is preferred if the pod doesnt have the same texture as the rest of the cockpit or one that at least is similar)

Looks incredible dude, I'm actually looking at undertaking a similiar fiberglass project in the upcoming week or so.

Is that the full-blown two part bondo, or just the spot putty? I've also never used gel coating before, any tips? Where can I find it?

Sory Titanium.I sold the pod,..
OH..am I leading you to "think" that I still Had the Idiots lights Visible while running the 5one5 pod?..NOPE!.the pod covered up the lights entirely,but I only had to take the surround out to install the pod.
If you want Pics of the Pod Installed IN the car,as I had it in the summer,By all means,I can send you a Pic by Email.If you wish you can post it,as I don't know How to get Pics from My Computer to Post on the Forum(my computer is possessed!).

Yup, I don't think I really noticed a slower pace on lefthanders but there definately was some decreased visibility. The other problem that I had with 3 gauges on the A-pillar was that the top, I think, gauge interferred with viewing the middle. Not to mention bumping your head and the general appearance of it was less than desireable. Which reminds me, anyone have an S4 drivers side a-pillar cover they want to part with :lol: color not important

Thanks. There will be no carbon offered as stated earlier. I think getting the pattern to look decent would be near impossible if not at least a HUGE PITA. The mold will be pulled of the piece you see so the texture will be as smooth as what you see. I suppose you could always wrap it in a vinyl to match the dash if you really wanted to.

You have a PM

AH, now I understand. Yeah, I thought you somehow rigged the 5one5 pod so that the lights were still visible.

read the thread and ye will recieve

actually there is vinyl sprays, u just pray the object and it crupples up and get the same texture as the interior , if u dont have those over there im happy too help get you some if people need it.

i will take one of these like yesterday!! i really dont care what it cost, if you have the ability to make these, what are you waiting for? there isnt one single other person making one of these. you will sell the shit outta these!!

yep waiting for pics of the molded copies and lets go from there. always look foward to new things people fab up for the fc. great work there ttt i dont have the patience to go about fabbing up things like yourself, but hats off to you and keep us posted on progress

Didn't get one?