triple progress, now with carbon fiber Options

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I was hoping to have this put together but had an argument with a bag of concrete mix and now I have either a herniated disc or a stress fracture. L4 - my favorite. So, it is all I can do to sit at the computer for a half hour. I still am hoping to do WCR, but that is 4,000 miles for me in a 914. Heal faster (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)

Anyway here is what we got:

Started with the dies from an earlier attempt. Smooth out the old and mill the new


I bought a rotating table and the mill for this project. Well and other things too


First step was making the clamps.

I also made a punch so the I can start with the holes for lights and maintain registration


That gives me this:


Ready to press. I spent a lot of time setting things up for a pin router to cut out the gauge windows, but that didn't work out. So I have the dies and the sheet ready to form.

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From there it is a matter of opening the window sectors so the gauges show through. As it turns out, the dies do a partial cut. That is a help, but it is a bit ragged, so I finished the job with an angle grinder. harbor Freight sold this to me for $10. I have always been spooked by that, but now I have close to a dozen so I don't have to change grinding wheels for different jobs. I digress.



I spent several weeks trying to engrave through black paint with a laser. 2 and a half watts will set paper on fire, but don't do the job I wanted. BTW I hate Rustoleum. The master of lifting on the second coat.
Made back plates. Thanks Stephen! Also, this one uses the newer plug back fuel gauge, and I am going to use LED strip lighting, so the back is kind of different. Soldering on the light holders.


I wanted to match the old warning light look, so went with acrylic rod 10mm or 3/8 in. The light guides are carbon fiber tubes used for making model aircraft.


Carbon Fiber gauges! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drunk.gif) such fun. Not really a cool factor, as cardboard would also do. I am going to use titanium white paint to seal the screws on the back. Whooo. Titanium.

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So now it is a matter of assembly.


I decided to wrap the LED strip instead of attaching the strip to the can. I will report on that layer. I used a sheet of acetate film to insulate the back. Not shown here but it outgo handle any heat since it goes through the laser printer.


I cracked some of the paint on the face in the background above, so the next photo shows a blank face, and you can see that the warning lights look like the 914 style, but of course they could also be like the donor 911 gauge at right.

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The light guides hold the face off the gauges, and the inner glass bezel holds the new face down against the light guides, so it is mechanically anchored. I decided to make the back plate slide into the can from above rather than screw on from the back. In the original the hole in the back is big enough to get the gauges out without opening the front. That works for two gauges, but not for three. There isn't enough room.

I have acquired enough gauge parts for say a half a dozen more of these. I have them safely on a shelf so that the hoarders cannot get them. I would like to make some of these for people to take advantage of the tooling and experience. Sort of a shame to make just one. But I don't need a business nor do I want to charge for my time. Not sure if anyone wants them either. Kinda of a specialty item. There are other sources. My idea was to make something that looks like it would have been made back then. Trying to explain to my wife that there is no real triple gauge for a 914. The real gauges would have looked out of place I think.