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lostforawhile
10-27-2005, 05:10 PM
ok after seeing the post on the gauge bezels,I started on mine,these are aluminum,I've got the first one mocked up on my spare instruments, the only material I had for these was from castings,so when i machined them,there were voids in the top. i will fill those and the very top surface will be flat black,with polished sides,and the inside of the ring will be polished. with it this way it will add a nice accent without too much of a bling look.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/gaugebezel001.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/gaugebezel002.jpg

b8er
10-27-2005, 05:39 PM
i think you gotta roll the tops of them, i gotta say that honestly the flat quareness isnt as appealing as the other ones, but i do like the idea of having the tops just flatblack, that could turn out really nice, other then that i think they look good, nice to see yea around some more

lostforawhile
10-27-2005, 05:56 PM
i'll try to get a pic with the plastic gauge cover in place,they look a little different then. I need to duplicate that one one more time,then a different sized one for the speedo. the speedo is a quarter inch bigger. I also need to machine them flat on the bottom to clear the cover. I want them to look factory when i'm done.

HondaBoy
10-28-2005, 12:16 PM
i dunno. i personally like what your showing. looks more flowing with a 3gee. looks great to me, keep us updated on that.

frankie89
10-28-2005, 12:40 PM
thats nice..props

lostforawhile
10-28-2005, 01:29 PM
ok dummy here made all three then when i got home, discovered I had made the outer two of them the wrong size. so here i go again. I had to make them a little narrower so they would clear the plastic and each other. I made the outer two at 1110 wall thickness by cutting the inside instead of cutting the outside,thus they are too wide. the middle one fits nice though. have to remake the other two on monday. :uh: I also had the center one done the first time,then it caught in the lathe and twisted up. double :uh: :uh:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/bezel2001.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/bezel2002.jpg

gfrg88
10-29-2005, 05:58 PM
thats looking good man:rockon:

lostforawhile
10-29-2005, 06:04 PM
thanks,If i get the other ones done on monday I'll try to get them attaced to my spare gauge panel and installed. I always thought the gauges looked a little flat,then i saw the post on the bezel on here. The main difference is i'm using a factory insert vs. modifying a stock one from another car. the only thing i might do different is to mask off the rings after bonding them to the insert,then paint the flat black rest of the insert with that new smoked black paint from duplcolor. it would make the gauges look like expensive aftermarket gauges were installed in there. the black being a little different.

Cheeseburger
10-29-2005, 10:42 PM
i think that they look pretty good

3gn86lxi
10-30-2005, 12:46 AM
I think that looks nice Tim. Would you make some for us?
No.....seriously, would you make some more? What would you charge for them if so?

lostforawhile
10-30-2005, 04:39 AM
well i thought about it,but after pricing the round aluminum stock i would need to make them,I don't think you would like the price much for me to just break even. The ones i've got were made from some bad wheel hubs I had, I was able to machine them out of that. but I have a very limited stock. If i'm able to get the time eventualy I might make a couple of sets to sell,but they are a pain in the ass,the metal is so thin it keeps wanting to buckle when i cut them off in the lathe. they start as relativly heavy stock and are machined down. by the way does anyone know the diameter of the lxi gauges in case i do? I know some of them are a little wider then my gauges.

lostforawhile
10-30-2005, 04:46 AM
yeah dude, it seriously needs to be rounded or angled. =/I did round the edges quite a bit,it's hard to tell in the pictures,if you look at this one,look at the one off in the corner compared to the one on the gauge,I had to make them a lot thinner, the first one was a prototype.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/bezel2001.jpg

3gn86lxi
10-30-2005, 07:40 PM
Those would look sweet with the glow from my reverse glow guages........and carbon fiber bezel.
I would be interested Tim. And I am pretty sure the sizes are all the same. My car is an 86 LXI, and I have an 89 LX cluster in it.

lostforawhile
10-30-2005, 08:00 PM
Those would look sweet with the glow from my reverse glow guages........and carbon fiber bezel.
I would be interested Tim. And I am pretty sure the sizes are all the same. My car is an 86 LXI, and I have an 89 LX cluster in it.I used to have one of those panels that came from an 89 lxi hatch,I was going to install it in my car,then i found out the gauges in the lxi were bigger and wouldn't fit,one of those running modifications they made. i will consider making some more,it might be a little while,but i might

lostforawhile
10-31-2005, 08:17 PM
well here is another picture,these are the right size, they look off center because they haven't been glued to the plastic piece yet,they are just sitting in there. remember mine isn't an auto,these are some extra gauges i have,so it'll look a little cleaner.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/halloween002.jpg

b8er
11-01-2005, 01:38 AM
looks good man, really like it

Acid X
11-01-2005, 01:45 AM
Looking really good! :)

mkymonkey
11-01-2005, 12:12 PM
will you be willing to make me some? how does 30 + shipping sound?

3gn86lxi
11-01-2005, 06:06 PM
will you be willing to make me some? how does 30 + shipping sound?
I'm telling you Tim, you could sell em. What would cover your cost for materials and such?
Cause I would like to have you do a set for me.:)

lostforawhile
11-01-2005, 06:17 PM
well i'm figuring all that out, i might make a few sets, now if i make them you'll have to attach them yourself, since i don't have your gauge cluster plate. they have to be attached with epoxy or something like it. the dimessions i have are four inch inside diameter for the spedo and 3 3/4 inside diameter for the other two gauges. this is just slightly bigger then the opening because of the fact that the needles stick out slightly farthur then the opening. I'm working on it now. I'll keep you updated on what i come up with

3gn86lxi
11-01-2005, 06:26 PM
Cool, and I can check diameters so you know if they are the same also. And if it doesn't work out to be worth your time, then no biggie.
They really do look cool, and it would be a nice custom touch for any 3gee.

lostforawhile
11-01-2005, 08:10 PM
well it's not really the time i mind,i don't mind making stuff for people on the site,it's just the material. the stuff i'm using is made from bad wheel hubs of what i make at work, so being from a casting it has small imperfections. if i had the billet material it wouldn't have those but the price on that is like OMG. I'll see what i can do to cut some more, it will probably be next week before I can do anything.

lostforawhile
11-04-2005, 10:41 PM
ok the bezels are done,i glued the rings to the plate,tomorrow i'll transfer it to the car,I need to change the information center anyway. after much sanding and polishing,I coated them with the translucent smoke paint,this was a big debate,but i think they came out nice,it just tones it down a bit,it seems better suited to the car. you can still see the aluminum through the paint,it's like a candy.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/finishedbezel001.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/finishedbezel002.jpg:)

3gn86lxi
11-04-2005, 10:51 PM
:thumbup:

mkymonkey
11-04-2005, 10:53 PM
dude, that looks awesome! cant wait to see what it looks like in the car. be sure to keep us posted. oh and have you decided on making them for the rest of us? :D

PortugalFocus
11-05-2005, 05:39 AM
Similar?

2005 VUE

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y149/portugalfocus/9622IMG_0937.jpg

86 Accord

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/bezel2002.jpg

nswst8
11-05-2005, 05:58 AM
Those are sweet, If you would be willing to run another set I'd be interested. You could really make some extra cash on this.

lostforawhile
11-05-2005, 06:40 AM
yea i'm looking into making some more, crazy managment changes at work so I don't get to use the machine shop like i used to:sad2:,but i really am going to try to do a few sets. yea they look like the other pic, but the smoke tinting just tones them down a bit, The super highly polishd look was just a little bright for my interior,but the smoke seems to work better.

lostforawhile
11-05-2005, 02:15 PM
ok they're done,after glueing the bezels to the plate,of course it wouldn't fit in the car,I think they must be different on every one of these years,not much different,but just enough to make them not interchangable. i had to pry them off and take my cluster all apart to make them work. I was able to swap out the information center, now i have a dome light again. if anyone ever wants to swap one from an auto to a manual, you have to grind down the plug for the auto indicator on the back of the module,then there are a couple of small tabs in the instrument cluster part that have to be removed. once you do that it functions just like the one in the manual. it fits right in under the manual gauge face. in order to get it out of the one on my dx though,involved taking apart the entire cluster. the gauges interlock with each other. this is not for the faint of heart,all those screws are different lengths,and if you put it together wrong,it won't work right. what a job. I had never noticed before that my gauge needles face out and the one just a year later face in. towards each other. wierd. but everything works,I took some pics but the ones where the gauges were all disassembled,didn't turn out. best to not have anyway for the faint of stomache. wires and guts bother some people.
http://re2.mm-c1.yimg.com/image/1080396456
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/finishedbezel009.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/finishedbezel008.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/finishedbezel005.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/finishedbezel004.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/finishedbezel003.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/finishedbezel010.jpg
^the one above says-fuel remaining in tanks when indicator reads zero,cannot be used safely in flight:lol:

Cheeseburger
11-05-2005, 05:37 PM
just awsome tim

lostforawhile
11-05-2005, 06:46 PM
ok i took a couple more,the red halo is the oil pressure warning light,the ignition was on without the engine running.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/bezel4001.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/bezel4002.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b205/moultriemanicmechanic/bezel4003.jpg

lostforawhile
11-11-2005, 09:38 PM
well after seeing the other gauge bezel post,I think i'll add a diffuser so the blue neon is more soft. def going to put some leds in the climate controls.

lostforawhile
11-13-2005, 07:59 AM
10 dollars?:lol: if you can find a set on ebay i would say go for it,the amount of work it takes to cut and polish those ones i made isn't even worth the material for ten bucks.

mkymonkey
11-13-2005, 09:03 AM
yeah i would actually pay 45 to 55 bucks for these and thats just because they're made out of true metal and custom!

lostforawhile
11-13-2005, 09:43 AM
yea i'm looking into making some,it's just gotten stupid crazy at work,they are even making us ask permission to go to the bathroom, I finished kindegarden like 29 years ago. thats why i haven't gotten a lot of stuff done lately,I'm friends with my boss so i sometimes stay late on fridays making stuff, :sad2: