Quote:
Originally Posted by watahyahknow
those clamps look nice , i think earls have simulair ones , you might even be able to make youre own if you have some of that aluminium left you used to make the spacers with .
it might allso pay of to scrounge around at a pick and pull , maibe one for big rigs or farm equipment , hydraulic lines on those vehicles are about the same size .
just a little bit of comment on the gaugecluster , not sure of the lexan front is strong enough to hold the cauges without cracking over time , wat might work is making a support in the rear so the gauges are held in the rear as whell so the full weight doest hang ontoo the lexan ..... not sure if that makes sence to you the way i tell it but as deep as the gauges are mounted they want to pull the top of the lexan in and push the bottom out and i suspect that on a bumpy road the load will be a little to much for the plastic and it will crack
|
Yes, the OE gauge 'face' (lexan?) is definitely not ideal for rigidity. If the panel is disassembled (but the gauges still installed in the panel), it is very flimsy. Assembled.... not too bad, but not ideal.
I have a couple of potential solutions. Option #1: make the front panel from a sheet of ~.250" aluminum. If I can get my buddies to get involved, I would really like to recess the gauges slightly @ the same time so they're not flush mounted. Con's = cost (materials plus buddies 'time'). Option #2: use the existing face & panel bond a thin sheet of steel/alum behind it to stiffen things up (I could then even open up the current holes allowing the counter-sink option I've considered w/the alum version). Pros: a) already have the panel bond adhesive avail; b) GF's family owns a precision sheetmetal co so I can get the steel for cheap; c) budget & easy.