MadaboutKitcars

I also reduced the outer rollover hoop posts, to make them level. Their only purpose (being that high) is to provide a seat belt anchor, but I now have 4-point harness, so they have been removed. The back is now flat (it has always bugged me!).

Since I am going for a classic/vintage look, I removed a lot of plastic and made up some 'washboards'. The centre compartment opens (as before). I had a set of new rollover bars manufactured, as I needed the ends the same length (a perfect up-side-down 'U').

The new bars are a lot stronger. Stainless steel and 2.5mm, compared to the ebay 1.5mm.



I got them from Tom Wood at [url]www.tube-bender.co.uk[/url], £120 delivered. PM if you want the technical drawing.

Removed the centre console, fitted a handbrake gaiter (CBS). Spent quite a bit of time lowering the automatic gear shifter and working out how to link P-R-N-D to dash LEDs (now sorted).

I have purchased several aftermarket gauges; a GPS speedometer, a tachometer, ampmeter, voltmeter, fuel gauge and water temp gauge. I managed hack the stock instrument cluster to tap into the fuel, tacho and water temp (after quite a bit of trial and error!). Basically, I used the existing Z3 pots (fuel and water temp), and put them inside of the cheap 52mm gauges from ebay. They work perfectly.

All original instrument warning lights from the Z3 cluster are now re-wired to Lucas warning lights. Quite happy with this, as I haven't lost any functionality (lights/gauges, etc.) from the original setup. The stock cluster has lost 'a little weight' and will sit behind the Kobra dash.

This is what the Z3 cluster looks like after several nights of soldering. It has since been sealed, to avoid any accidental damage.

I finished re-wiring the dash this evening. That's removing all BMW switches, instruments, lights, etc ... and wiring them up to the aftermarket setup. It is now ready for the new dash. I will start that tomorrow. The design is below.

Blimey. Great work going on here

Dave

Cheer Dave. Hopefully the leccy prep will pay dividends, once the dash is in, suppose time will tell. Watch this space

I was about to comment how the dash seems amazingly cool but that you might have issues with the removal of the instrument cluster as electronics these days are interconnected, but... I had to eat my words once I lifted my jaw from the floor.
Amazing work rewiring and rerouting everything from the BMW cluster to proper instruments, its something I would never dare attempt myself..

PS, just so I can feel better about myself: Maybe blue and white wouldn't be ideal on the top 'shelf' of the new dashboard due to reflections in the windscreen?

PS2. Nope that didn't work. Still feel inadequate :P

Very interesting approach which is, after sleeping on it, very logical.

What are doing about the lcd display for mileage / service intervals etc ?

Dave

Cheers Piguin.

Hooking into the original cluster is very easy, once I worked out a few things.

1. Figure out which lights actually work and their purpose, as they differ from model to model, country to country.
2. There are 2 wires (that need to be soldered) for each light on cluster, unusually, these are not always positive and negative. But sometimes a supply and return switched positive (like a loop). Hence why I chose to solder 2 wires per light.
3. The fuel gauge (left) and water temp gauge (right) are just three wires, once you remove the pots and insert them inside their new 52mm gauge. Then just run wires between the cluster and the new gauge. Simples.
4. The aftermarket tacho gets its input signal from the white EWS module, just to above/to the right of the steering column behind the dash. Specifically, black wire, pin 4.

If I were to do this again, based on what I know now, I probably would connect the existing speedo too (4 pins, left of the centre chip, see post 154), instead of using a GPS gauge. Either way, it would probably take a total of 3-4 hours to convert the cluster (all gauges plus lights).

I have updated the photo to include names to each connection, as it may help in case someone wanted to have a go themselves ...

It's a good point, I hadn't considered this. Thanks. I will later the faux leather in situe and test to see whether this may be a problem. Cheers

Early bird as well, Dave? I am just about to head to the garage after my coffee

The LCD is still available and fully functional. I did have a quick peak at seeing whether I could dettach the LCD and extend it, so I could have it recessed behind a flap in the new dash, but sadly not. It will be accessible behind the dash in case needed. But my new GPS speedometer has adjustable mileage, so it will show the total mileage of my car. As for service info - I am not that bothered. I also have a OBD2 MX Link fitted, so I can view all data (issues, monitoring, logs, etc.) from my phone.

Cut the dash panel today using 6mm MDF.

I started marking up all the dimensions and cutouts. Also made the glovebox.

Good morning for the first time since i have replaced the Z3 instrument panel with separate warning lights and instruments the MOT station this year failed my car on no ABS light , Geoff .

Hi Geoff, do you mean this one? I can add it if needed by MOT stations. Many thanks.

Yes that`s the one , wiring looks good , are you buying new gauges or making your own? Geoff .

Ok, thanks, I will add that one too. That makes 12 lights in total.

I have been buying cheap 52mm gauges, but replacing the workings with BMW bits. They end up looking the same as the retro 52mm gauges, but still using German tech.

Hi that is what i have done on both my SWBs , although the main difference between the two is that on my second car i decided to have the small Veglia dials with the indicator needles pointing downwards , this meant i could not think of a way of using the standard Z3 fuel and water guages , i decided to fit the Z3 fuel gauge within the large Veglia speedo (courtesy of a Alfa 105 series car) , for the water gauge i used a non-modified Veglia water unit but attached to a seperate sender unit fitted into the top hose , all the best with the dash , Geoff .

Those veglia gauges look the business! Ingenious putting the fuel gauge inside the speedo. Is that the original Z3 needle that i can see?

I believe you can change the direction of the stepper motor on the back of a dashboard gauge by reversing the polarity on the coil. Then, just rotate the stepper motor 90 degrees anti-clockwise on the back of the dial.



More info here.

All the best.
Chris.

Afternoon Chris yes that is the original Z3 fuel needle , have you tried the reverse polarity mod yet ? Geoff .

Hi Geoff, no, but the science stacks up. I will have a go and post back the results. Cheers, Chris.

clinkadink - Nice work Chris.

I thought your computer mock ups of the dash were impressive.

But the skills required to make this dash in reality are equally high tech.

Good luck, Paul.

Thanks Paul. Its been fun, and that's the main thing. Although tonight I hit a snag. The GPS Speedo I purchased to replace the Z3 speedo, was meant to have adjustable mileage. It hasn't. There is a grommet which when removed should reveal a momentary switch. But its isn't there. I have stripped it down to see if I can bridge the connections on the gauge's PCB, just to set the mileage ... alas no. I've already wrote a disgruntled message to the ebay seller.

I now have 2 choices ...

1. Purchase another GPS unit and hope the 'adjustable mileage' button is present and it works (although the last one took a couple of weeks to arrive)
2. Buy an old Smiths speedo, fit the Z3 workings in that. But this would mean I would have to display the original Z3 LCD somewhere (probably too big to insert inside the speedo, width/height wise). Also, this involves extending approximately 40 pins from the PCB to the new dash It can be done, but it's more work. I might be able to use an old 40 pin IDE ribbon cable out of a PC.

Either way, there's no going back now

I'll sleep on it (if that's possible in this heat) and see what tomorrow brings.