Ooooo - Shiney! ETB Instruments have arrived.

GreatOldOne · #1 20th January 2009, 21:27

Here they are. Links, as even though I've resized them they're still big:

http://www.greatoldone.co.uk/Sportst...all_clocks.jpg
http://www.greatoldone.co.uk/SportsterPics/speedo.jpg
http://www.greatoldone.co.uk/SportsterPics/tacho.jpg
http://www.greatoldone.co.uk/SportsterPics/fuel_oil.jpg
http://www.greatoldone.co.uk/Sportst...volt_water.jpg

The speedo & tacho are both 100mm, and have a plastic case, with two plug / clip in light bulbs for illumination each.

The fuel, oil, water and volt meter gauges are 52mm and have a metal case. They have built in bulb holders.

They look and feel very well made - the fact that the larger instruments are plastic cased doesn't detract from the overall quality of them.

I've already been out in the garage fitting the oil pressure and water senders.

MartinClan · #2 21st January 2009, 07:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatOldOne

The fuel, oil, water and volt meter gauges are 52mm and have a metal case. They have built in bulb holders.

They look and feel very well made - the fact that the larger instruments are plastic cased doesn't detract from the overall quality of them.

Thanks for posting the pics. They look good!

Robin

Patrick · #3 21st January 2009, 11:57

Those look nice IVA compliant as well with the km/h bit

GreatOldOne · #4 21st January 2009, 12:32

Thanks - I suppose I need to think about layouts etc now. What's the best way of cutting the holes in the dash blank? Hole saw?

Most of the saws I've seen have been a fraction off the sizes required (51mm, 102mm)

Patrick · #5 21st January 2009, 12:59

I used an infinitely adjustable hole cutter in a piller drill to cut mine, if your covering your dash in leatherette you'll need to cut the holes ever so slightly bigger

GreatOldOne · #6 21st January 2009, 13:36

That was the plan - I guess I need to invest in a new tool!

I guess you mean one of these?

https://buckandryan.co.uk/product.ph.../1420/sn/MON68

Patrick · #7 21st January 2009, 13:43

Yeah something similar that my dad had in his box of accessories for the lathe

MartinClan · #8 21st January 2009, 16:33

What tool you need depends on what material you are using for the dash. Peter used carbon fibre - I seem to remember it was a bit of a bugg&r

If using ally, the holes for the smaller instruments are probably best cut with a hole saw. I have a 52mm bi=metalic jobby if you want to borrow it - but you will need a good drill. I also have a pillar drill that you are welcome to use but it's a bit big to post lol. Once you have made the 52mm hole it will just need cleaning up with a half round file.

The larger ones I would use chain drilling for, and clean up with a file after.

A tip that I had from another builder if you are using an ally dash was to bond it to a piece of ply first. (He used gripfast) Ally is very easy to accidentally bend once you have a large hole in the middle! He used 9mm but I recon 6mm is probably enough.

Robin

GreatOldOne · #9 21st January 2009, 16:39

Thanks for the advice Robin - I will measure the exact dimensions of the clock cases and see what hole sizes I need. As Patrick mentioned, I need to be a bit over as I will be covering my ali dashboard blank.

timbo · #10 21st January 2009, 17:47

I used a standard hole cutter, but as Robin says, back the ally onto a bit of ply. A pillar drill is also a good idea, as the hole cutter can slip on the ally. I found it is possible to do it with just a hand drill, you just have to concentrate

Good luck
Tim

peterux · #11 21st January 2009, 21:33

I bonded the carbon fibre to the ali blank first.
I cut the holes for the warning lamps and smaller gauges with hole saws in a pillar drill. The holes for the smaller gauges were deliberately cut slightly over-size so that the bezels 'sank' in a bit to meet the SVA reqiuirement.

The larger gauge holes were cut with a battery operated jig saw with a fine metal cutting blade. This was much easier than I expected apart from the fact that the carbon fibre blunts the blades very quickly.

I also cut the curved dashboard shape with the jig saw as well. I used one of those 'flexicurve' thingies to mark out the shape. (if your as old as me, you probably had one at school for drawing graphs as we didn't have PC's

)

good luck,

Peter

MartinClan · #12 22nd January 2009, 09:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by peterux

I used one of those 'flexicurve' thingies to mark out the shape. (if your as old as me, you probably had one at school for drawing graphs as we didn't have PC's

)

Fippin 'eck - That's a co-incidence I did exactly the same - I had to buy a new one though 'cause the one I had from school was well past its best.

Come on you youngsters - who is gonna ask "what is a flexicurve....."

Robin

GreatOldOne · #13 22nd January 2009, 09:33

I can just see you two old buffers leaning up against a gate somewhere...

'Eee, when I where t'lad, this internet was nothing but fields...'

Did you mean one of these?

http://www.greatart.co.uk/RUMOLDFLEX...R-rulers-1.htm

I have one gathering dust up in the loft along with my drawing boards and other technical drawing / drafting stuff. Packed it all up when I left school and got into this computer marlarky.

GreatOldOne · #14 26th January 2009, 08:51

Robin - I was flicking through the latest (Feb '09) copy of Kit Car magazine, and came across an ETB advert (page 104). It has two sets of instruments on offer, the Cobra set and the Seven set.

Looking at them, the Cobra set is exactly what I ordered from them - 100mm electronic Speedo & Tacho, 52mm Volt, Fuel, Oil & Water + temp, oil pressure fuel level senders. It also has a speedo sensor as well, which I didn't order.

You can have them with black or white faces.

All for the princely sum of £395 inclusive of VAT and Delivery. That's over £20 cheaper than I paid, without the speedo sender!

Ho Hum, Cest la vie...

If you're ordering, mention the cobra kit...

MartinClan · #15 26th January 2009, 10:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatOldOne

Robin - I was flicking through the latest (Feb '09) copy of Kit Car magazine, and came across an ETB advert (page 104). It has two sets of instruments on offer, the Cobra set and the Seven set.

Looking at them, the Cobra set is exactly what I ordered from them - 100mm electronic Speedo & Tacho, 52mm Volt, Fuel, Oil & Water + temp, oil pressure fuel level senders. It also has a speedo sensor as well, which I didn't order.

You can have them with black or white faces.

All for the princely sum of £395 inclusive of VAT and Delivery. That's over £20 cheaper than I paid, without the speedo sender!

Ho Hum, Cest la vie...

If you're ordering, mention the cobra kit...

I was going to order this week so that's good news

It will also give me an excuse to buy the Feb copy of the Kit Car magazine...

Robin

GreatOldOne · #16 27th January 2009, 19:54

I've been playing around with the dash layout... I first tried this - Layout A - but unfortunately there wasn't enough room for a symmetrical layout as I definitely wanted the two main instruments in the middle of the dash. So I've pumped for this - Layout B as it still gives me the central location for the Tacho and Speedo, and I can still clearly see the others as they arent obscured by the wheel.

I've printed it out full size, and stuck them to the dash:

I think it works... I'm thinking of shaping the area below the main gauges to allow a bit better access to the heater controls below. I'm also planning on shaping the dash here:

To allow easier access to the ignition switch. I think it needs to be a bit more of a flowing curve though. What do you think?

Can any of you guys give me an idea of how wide the dash perimeter padding is? I want to ensure that the dials will miss it before cutting any holes...

Patrick · #17 27th January 2009, 20:09

Looking good

I ended up cutting into the piping on my dash to fit the dials past. I'll do some measuring next time I'm in the garage

I've got my dash blanks and test here which gives a bit of an idea: http://www.msportster.co.uk/detail.asp?cat=7&offset=420

MartinClan · #18 27th January 2009, 20:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatOldOne

Can any of you guys give me an idea of how wide the dash perimeter padding is? I want to ensure that the dials will miss it before cutting any holes...

It's about 2". Sorry that's 50mm to you youngsters lol.

I am actually working on my dash as well. I have placed the minor instruments so you can see them through the steering wheel - but I am only using 3. (No voltmeter) Speedo and tacho in the same place as yours. Indicator lights in a curve following the left rim of the steering wheel.

Have you allowed for extra indicator lights? It seems the new IVA needs a light to indicate dipped headlights are on.

BTW that steering wheel of yours looks ginormous. Most aftermarket wheels are only about 325 to 350mm.

Robin

MartinClan · #19 27th January 2009, 20:31

One other hint. Be careful that the fiberglass moulding that forms the dash top (scuttle) is in its final position. By the time I had spread it (at the front) and squashed it (at the rear) so that it lined up well around the A post closing panels, the top of the dash bowed up considerably - about 12mm. It made my dash blank a very poor fit. Fortunately I was able to jiggle it and the padded top should cover the difference.

Don't assume Marlin put it in the correct position for you!

I can post a picture if you want (tomorrow)

Robin

GreatOldOne · #20 27th January 2009, 20:33

That's the wheel from the donor... It's 15" in old money

I plan on putting a 14" or 13" Moto-Lita on it once it's past SVA / BIVA

I've got room in that layout for 3 light warnings - Dip / Side, Main Beam and Driving Lamps (top 3 blue indicators behind the wheel).