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This was made for a '83 GTi, and was actually completed months ago.... I just got around to installing it, and uploading the pics. I've finished a few other FG projects and will post them as time allows.
I made one of these about 10 years ago (that held 4 gauges) and remembered a lot of mistakes that I made. There wasn't a lot of info on this kind of stuff back then. This one will only hold 2 gauges, and I wanted the pods mounted as low (stealth) as possible.
This started as an experiment. I wanted to see how "Mother's Natural Shine" would work as a release agent. I had a cracked a-pillar, so I used that as the test subject.
I loaded the part with a thick layer of dressing then laid a couple layers of .75oz CSM. After curing, it came apart, but pulled a lot of the a-pillar's color with it. I won't be doing that again.
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Trimmed part next to original part. Those routed flush rings were not used.
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Since I had this part, I decided to put it to use. To construct the pods, I went to HD and bought a 2" ABS pipe and coupler, and a 2.5" Styrofoam ball from AC Moore. I then cut the pipe and coupler on the table saw, and used a hacksaw to cut the ball in half. The foam halves were sanded to the size I needed, then covered in spackle and sanded smooth.
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CA glued the coupler parts to the sanded pipe parts; the coupler would give me the flush ring that I wanted. I added the foam end cap, then stretched Ponte over everything. The wire ties held the fabric as I worked all of the wrinkles out. I then CA glued the Ponte to the couplers, then trimmed the excess material.
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Resined and a couple layers of CSM. Once everything cured, I poured a bit of acetone in each to eat the foam.
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Cut out extra material, so the pod sat tighter to the a-pillar.
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CA glued the pods to the a-pillar.
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I didn't get pics of the Ponte stretched over the pods and pillar, but it was done. Couple more layers of CSM, too. I'm adding bodyfiller, to work out the fabric's natural tendency to concave, when stretched.
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Milkshaked and sanded.
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Test fit. Kitty Hair was packed into a front area that had a gap. I also built up a small ridge of KH along the entire front edge of the pillar. There was a small gap, and I didn't want to see any wiring. Sharp eyes will notice that I had to relocate a mounting hole.
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This is what I used to finish the project.
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There was a small reveal between the outer gauge bezel and the inside of the coupler (maybe 3/32"); this was intentional. Taped it off and hit it with adhesion promoter then "Mars Red" paint.
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In the background of the last pic, you can see the painter tape discs that I covered the red with. Sprayed it down with the bedliner, for the pebble finish.
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Using the bedliner black as a base coat, and 2 very light coats of Sem "Midnight Blue" give me an incredibly close color match. The original a-pillar is to the left and p/s is to the right.
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Installed.... the gauges are just pushed into the pipe. It's a snug compression fit. The end product is slightly larger than the original part, because it was done as an overlay, but I knew that was going to happen when I started this.
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Thanks for looking.
-Todd
I made one of these about 10 years ago (that held 4 gauges) and remembered a lot of mistakes that I made. There wasn't a lot of info on this kind of stuff back then. This one will only hold 2 gauges, and I wanted the pods mounted as low (stealth) as possible.
This started as an experiment. I wanted to see how "Mother's Natural Shine" would work as a release agent. I had a cracked a-pillar, so I used that as the test subject.
I loaded the part with a thick layer of dressing then laid a couple layers of .75oz CSM. After curing, it came apart, but pulled a lot of the a-pillar's color with it. I won't be doing that again.
Trimmed part next to original part. Those routed flush rings were not used.
Since I had this part, I decided to put it to use. To construct the pods, I went to HD and bought a 2" ABS pipe and coupler, and a 2.5" Styrofoam ball from AC Moore. I then cut the pipe and coupler on the table saw, and used a hacksaw to cut the ball in half. The foam halves were sanded to the size I needed, then covered in spackle and sanded smooth.
CA glued the coupler parts to the sanded pipe parts; the coupler would give me the flush ring that I wanted. I added the foam end cap, then stretched Ponte over everything. The wire ties held the fabric as I worked all of the wrinkles out. I then CA glued the Ponte to the couplers, then trimmed the excess material.
Resined and a couple layers of CSM. Once everything cured, I poured a bit of acetone in each to eat the foam.
Cut out extra material, so the pod sat tighter to the a-pillar.
CA glued the pods to the a-pillar.
I didn't get pics of the Ponte stretched over the pods and pillar, but it was done. Couple more layers of CSM, too. I'm adding bodyfiller, to work out the fabric's natural tendency to concave, when stretched.
Milkshaked and sanded.
Test fit. Kitty Hair was packed into a front area that had a gap. I also built up a small ridge of KH along the entire front edge of the pillar. There was a small gap, and I didn't want to see any wiring. Sharp eyes will notice that I had to relocate a mounting hole.
This is what I used to finish the project.
There was a small reveal between the outer gauge bezel and the inside of the coupler (maybe 3/32"); this was intentional. Taped it off and hit it with adhesion promoter then "Mars Red" paint.
In the background of the last pic, you can see the painter tape discs that I covered the red with. Sprayed it down with the bedliner, for the pebble finish.
Using the bedliner black as a base coat, and 2 very light coats of Sem "Midnight Blue" give me an incredibly close color match. The original a-pillar is to the left and p/s is to the right.
Installed.... the gauges are just pushed into the pipe. It's a snug compression fit. The end product is slightly larger than the original part, because it was done as an overlay, but I knew that was going to happen when I started this.
Thanks for looking.
-Todd
