new cluster

i wanted to get your opinions on this cluster. i started out with the outside trim from a spare cluster and made a fiberglass insert that follows the angle of the trim. then i made a rubber mold and cast a new one piece cluster and drilled it out for the gauges. i tried to match the silver on the trim to the guages and sprayed the black area to get a sort of suade texture to it(dam tape lifted some of the paint so i need to touch it up) want to do the glove compartment door to match but i'm torn on the silver trim. anyone think i should go with a chrome look for the trim or stick with the silver? pics aren't great but i hope there clear enough. thanks everyone ron

Buddy, she looks good to me...Nice job, Now I gotta build one!

That's really nice!

AWESOME work Ron! You have talent my friend!:yes:

Richard

That is way cool! how long did it take you?
Wayne

Great job!

thanks everyone. wayne i actually spent more time fixing the outside trim than making the insertbut it was probably a couple of days from start to finish before i had something that i could make a mold from. after that i played around with a few different things for the casting but settled on a plastic that i got from the same company that supplied the mold rubber. it was fun playing with some of this stuff just to find out what you could pull off. ron

You did a great job. To answer your question.... I think you should stay with the silver.

Ron,
I think silver would be good too.
Wayne

thanks for the input on this. staying with the silver trim. got it all wired up and made a box to clean up the back so i don't have to worry about snagging anything. set the thing up so i can just plug it in and go. going to try to get it set in the dash this weekend and get the mounts set up. i'll post a few pics of it in the dash when its installed. ron

Looks FANTASTIC Ron!:yes: I can't wait to see how it looks in the dash! :cool:

Richard

thanks richard, i really want to see what it looks like when its lit up in the dark. ron

Ok... the million dollar question that no one has asked, will you fabricate more of these now that you have a mold?

very nice gauge set. is there a shift light in there too?

Great piece there Ron. I completely re-built my dash insert but retained the original gauges. Real sweet piece. Like mentioned above...You planning on producing any more? Please let us know...cr8crshr/Bill

where are you gonna put the heater controls if your gonna use them? looks awesome by the way.

a few pics of the cluster installed in my spare dash, looks like it clears everything back there. no shift light daredevil, turn signals,high beam light and brake light.and to those who have asked i am thinking of selling these but i have a few things that i need to straighten out first. first a new mold with the gauge holes cast in and a vacume chamber so i can get all the bubbles out of my resin so i don't have to do a bunch of touch ups to each casting.i have also found that there are at least two different styles of trim on the origional clusters so the one i'm doing may not match the one you currently have. and the biggest issue i have is selling them into the u.s. i'm not sure of all the ins and outs of selling something cross border. i know from experience if i order something in from the u.s. to canada i get hit with a hefty brokerage fee so i would probably ship them out of international falls so i could take care of the paperwork myself. and the big question to all of you that are interested is cost would you be willing to pay $250.00 u.s. for the bare unpainted cluster and $300.00 for the cluster, cover and mounting brackets? i would consider doing a run of say 10 of these to start if i can solve all the problems listed above,most of which concern the quality of the casting. send me a pm if your interested so i can judge if doing this would be worthwhile. thanks for all the comments. ron

sorry i forgot about the heater controls...i plan on useing something from a newer car thats either electric or vacume controlled so i can move it inside the console where its out of sight. ron

Looks AWESOME Ron! Have you tried putting in the left side defroster duct vent nozzle behind the new cluster yet? Maybe I missed this earlier, but how are you lighting up all of the gauges? Will you be using the lights that came with the gauges, or are you going to use LED lights?

Richard

thank you richard, i went outside and snapped a couple of pics with the duct on and theres about 2 1/2'' inches of clearence between but i still think i'm going to move the plugs to the bottom to get more room for wiring. i think i'll try it with the lights that came with the guages first to see how it looks, i know i've seen some guages that look too dark even when there turned all the way up. ron

Hi Ron,

I think it's a good idea to route the wiring out of the bottom of the new cluster rather than through the back side, because you're also going to have the over 2 inch diameter defroster ducts to deal with also and it looks pretty tight right now with just the vent nozzles themselves in place. :shruggy:

Richard

Beautiful work Ron, Thanks for sharing your creation.

Is a 66 & 67 Bel & Sat cluster the same? I know the GTX has a different speedo. But would your molding fit both year ? What is the max size of the speedo & tach that will fit into your dash panel ?

John

Nice. Real clean factory kinda look. Looks right at home. I like lots.....