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Watching this with great interest. Please post all the details for me to blag at a later date.
Looking at the central holes you have obviosly left a space on the right for a key switch or start button. If you go for the key switch you will find they rub on the dash and will scratch it very quickly. A starter button is a better option.
What instruments are you going to use and where did you get the dials from?
I will do
It will probably be a push button at some point to control some aspect of the car.
I liked Geoff's idea of some kind of hybrid instruments so I have followed a similar route with a little bit of a change. I couldn't find any older dial casings to use that I could get for a reasonable price so I looked into making my own.
Taking some stock material and fabricating some dial cases. The material started off as some 5 inch 6mm wall aluminium pipe.
Plus a 5 inch dial trim ring for £4 on eBay and some left of 3mm acrylic sheet from my rear lights resulting in some dial casings.
The dial internals will be from the original z3 instrument cluster rewired so that they are on plugs. The odometer will also be removed from the original cluster and placed in its own binical between the two dials. The warning lights will be relocated to here too.
Evening Joe that is a cracking piece of work to make those bespoke dial clusters , i would think you could make a few for others , are you going to un-solder the odometer from the instrument cluster? I installed the complete instrument cluster in such a position that my odometer can still be seen behind my new centre console , Geoff .
At first it was a little complicated as trying to work out how I'd fit all the components into the housing (motors, leds, needles, etc) was a bit tough although once I'd figured out how the dials would be assembled and fitted it was quite simple. Making some more would be easier as now I know what works and what doesn't!
The Odometer itself is actually a socket! The circuit board has an integrated plug and the two fit together. What is a little strange is the light that is housed in the odometer is not on a plug and permanently attached to the circuit board. This prevents the odometer and the circuit board from coming apart and makes me wonder why have it on a plug and socket if you cannot remove it without and soldering iron?!
I have un-soldered the plug on the circuit board anyway so I can place the odometer wherever I choose.
Geoff your build has inspired the majority of the things I have undertaken in my own build, including the idea of hybrid dials!
Speaking of the dials, this is what I have come up with so far....
Checking the dials for fit in the dashboard (Dial face is just a rough version to check sizing)
Once I knew the dials would fit it allowed me to see exactly how much space I had left in the centre for the odometer and warning lights. This is what I came up with at first...
This was a mock up of how I would've liked it to look however this didn't really work for me in the end as I couldn't get everything straightened up or get it to look 'right'. Plus I had to think of a way of getting the warning lights to work.
I decided to make up a sort of binnacle to house the odometer and warning lights as it looked neater and better when next to the dials.
Finally, I took some inspiration from the modern types of gauges you see with blank faces until they light up with ignition. (Defi Gauges) I wanted this type of effect with the odometer and warning lights.
This is achieved using a 30% tint film on the acrylic so that the odometer and warning lights can only be seen when they are on.
Jaguartvr here are a few photos of the rear of the new cluster.
The odometer plug has 45 pins that each need to be desoldered from the circuit board and cables putting in for anyone also wanting to move the odometer.
There are 45 pins on the odometer plug, 45 wires to solder to the circuit board plus with the warning lights I've used, 30 wires to be soldered to the LEDs, 30 wires to the plug, 30 wires from the plug to the corresponding places on the circuit board for the warning lights.
Plus 4 more wires for the lights that sit inside the odometer to produce the back light to be connected to the illumination circuit on the circuit board.
98 soldered connections for odometer
Around 120 soldered connections if you have the warning lights on a plug and socket.
Quite a lot of soldering to do this particular task.
It a monster task to complete but I could probably do another one if needed.
An easier method of doing it would be to get a spare instrument cluster for the Z3 and dismantle it for parts (odometer housing and plug).
You could then use the parts salvaged to create something like an extension lead to plug into your existing odometer and instruments? This would be a little easier to make as it would not have to be as precise.
If soldering is not really your thing, you could actually run a hacksaw blade between the plug and spare circuit board to separate them. Then just solder onto the remaining pins left of the plug.
It wouldn't need to be as accurate and would be a bit easier to solder on to once the plug is free from the circuit board.
Just wondering if anyone with a Z300S or 250 SWB had considered any type of forced induction on their car? Either turbo charging or super charging?
I know many people prefer using the 6 cylinder engines for their builds so there are a few potential options but I just wondered if anyone had thought about it, or better yet done it?
Thanks Dave! I've changed suspension, brakes and a few other bits before but nothing at this level. Hopefully all will go well and I will have a nice shiny car at the end!
