Rooty

The back gauge mounting plate is 20 gauge mild steel and shaping this was the most difficult part. Using rigid cardboard and tracing through the metal housing I managed to get a reasonable shape. I then glued small cardboard pieces to extend the edge of the template to the edge of the housing. Finished plate fit like a glove 1 1/4 inch down in. An aluminum bar was used to secure it. After plotting and drilling the holes for the gauges the plate was covered in 3M vinyl with a carbon fibre look. There are hundreds of choices in this self stick product, from chome, gold, solid colors, carbon fiber and come in varying sheens. Great for redoing interior dashes and consols. I sourced this from Top Vinyl Films where the also sell vehicle wraps and most any other applied coating to get the creative juices flowing. The lower bend in the faceplate covers the slot that the shift indicator needle used to protrude though and serves for mounting and keeping debris out as well as ambient light. A skirt was fabbed to give the interior of the cluster a "finished" look by spraying 3 coats of flat lacquer.The skirt protrudes up into the finished top trim bezel
and cleans things up. Because the gauges are back lit the reflective skirt that was part of the originalbezel will not be used. New foam seals will be made to fit on the top of the signal light boxes to prevent light from bleeding into the gauge area. Bulbs will
be LED. The two smaller holes next to the large speedometer hole house a halfbrite LED for high beam indicator on the left and
a red LED indicator light for oil pressure up to 18 p.s.i. and then it goes out.