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Old Oct 22, 2007 | 02:48 PM
  #21 (permalink)  
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AMGrasoul
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 72
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From: Tulsa, OK
Default Re: Gauge setup on it's way

Originally Posted by jonnyangel04
Off topic as well but did you fiberglass your monitor into your dash? It looks very nicely done. I have been thinking of doing that as well. Wondering if you want to give up your secrets on that too... PLEASE.
Yes, I did that as well, but it took considerably longer and ended up being a pain to find a way to mount it from the back. In a nutshell... I took a monitor like this one...
http://cgi.ebay.com/VM80-8-TFT-LCD-t...QQcmdZViewItem

and I removed the screen from the bezel, then cut the bezel out except for the posts (that hold the LCD to the back of it). Then I took out the stock panel and cut out everything in that area (that holds the radio in) and then cut the strip along where the buttons go. Then I took the top and bottom and fitted them where they needed to sit, and glued (hot glue... temporary and dries quick) the monitor into place in regards to the top cluster and bottom strip. Then I removed everything and used the width of the top and the width of the bottom to fill in the sides of the monitor that didn't fill the gaps on the sides entirely. Then I glued the backside of it with Duramix... it's expensive, but it's the best glue, PERIOD. I tried several epoxy's and it kept breaking... I asked a veteran fibreglassed and he swore by duramix and sure enough it's worth every penny. You'll need a special gun (around $60) and the tubes are $30 each and then you need the self mixing tips, don't remember how much those were. Sorry, no links but shouldn't be hard to find. Anyways, once it was all in place I tried several methods of brackets and they would all fail, or not tension high enough (would always sag) so finally I just silicone it in place, hasn't moved since. And if I ever need to take it out, I can just use a thin wire and cut it out. But I can access all the wires from behind by removing the panels to the side of the center console. You can't see it in this pic, but I did a similar integration on the bottom part too, I cut out and flush mounted a 4 port USB hub, so I can plug in USB drives or my portable keyboard.

I left out a lot of sanding and bondo shaping, and painting, but you get the idea.
 
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