McLovin's Build/journal

McLovin2010 · 07-17-2017, 12:19 PM

This bracket is what the top hats click into, so i am adjusting it for reuse, this way i don't need anything extra and the gauges can get installed fairly close to how the oem ones did.

so this is when i tore out the guts of our factory OEM gauges, i know a few others on here who attempted and used there own hardware and make the gauges stay. I figured out a way to use the original hardware to remount my gauges which always me to service them as well once the dash is back in the car. The black bracket i opened up some more with the dremel so i could run the gauge wires throughs. This bracket will also retain the OEM hats so they will just click back in place with the gauges, boom no extra hardwhere, though i did have to dremel carefully on the white bracket so i could have more than just one screw holding the gauges back in.

The original bracket back in with my modified corner piece, you can see i need the space as the defi gauges arn't the most compact things in the world.

Dremeled the hats down to make room for the longer gauges

Fitment after i took off a lot of excess plastic to get the hat to hug the gauge nice and close.

The key to not having to use any extra hardware when installing new gauges is to dremel the OEM rings only a hair bit smaller than the diameter of the gauges takes time and lot's of back and fourth checking, once i got real close and a nice bit of resistance putting the ring on i make sure the gauge is oriented how i want it in the car and carefully and slowly push the ring all the way on for a nice tight fit, once the ring is all the way on it should be pretty hard to hand turn the gauge-boom tooless install, rinse and repeat for all three.

all three hats and rings finished up, whipped up some JB weld and set the rings in their place

gauges set in place and set aside to let the rings and the JB weld to harden overnight.

Getting the dash ready to go running the daisy chain wires, what i love about these is they plug into one another and the command module runs all three so you only have one set of wires which was a time saver

Defi gauges in place and hooked up, very minimal wiring, super clean install and in my opinion if you have time, worth it to remove the dash instead of resorting to vice grips and destruction lol.

Cat not amused...gauges in their final resting place, literally snap the hats back in and play. I couldn't be happier how this turned out and reusing the OEM brackets and hardware with just a few little tweaks. What do you guys think?

Shout out to galeforce and his handy work on his kick butt gauge pillars that helped me tie all this together. it will be home to my Auquamist methenol gauge and my AFR gauge, thanks again for the awesome piece!

Ran my aquamist and defi computers into my glove box for easy access, all the wiring for the meth kit looks like a lot but wasn't too bad with instructions and pictures.

Last but not least, the finished product for your viewing pleasure. Everything fit back the way it should no rattles no surprises. If a gauge ever goes bad in the future i can now simply pull up on the hat slide the gauge out and replace in 30 seconds and be up and running again.

all of that work so i can monitor my motor when the treats inside these boxes get installed

By treats i mean the beautiful stage 2 twin turbo kit that Fast Intentions has put together that i'm thankful for and get to install and have the pleasure of enjoying, and none of this could have been possible without their countless hours and dedication, thanks again for such a beautiful kit and I cannot wait to get back from my deployment in october so i can throw this beauty on my car and take her for a spin. I promise to take all the pictures so i can add it to this build and share my info for those who would like to know more.

God-Speed · 07-17-2017, 03:08 PM

Very Nice!! Looking forward to the finished product!!

TreeSemdyZee · 07-17-2017, 03:29 PM

Holy crap! Energetic little bastage ain't ya?

And since you've pulled your dash a few times, wanna pull mine and put in my replacement gauges.

Nice work!

Rusty · 07-17-2017, 09:36 PM

About time you started a build thread.

McLovin2010 · 07-17-2017, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty

About time you started a build thread.

Better late than never right

I figured people would enjoy the detailed pictues of the dash pull. Sucks I have to wait till i get home to start on this turbo install.

McLovin2010 · 07-17-2017, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TreeSemdyZee

Holy crap! Energetic little bastage ain't ya?

And since you've pulled your dash a few times, wanna pull mine and put in my replacement gauges.

Nice work!

I wouldn't be against helping out, and meeting up some day for those who are against pulling their entire dash out lol. Since i have it under my belt now any install after this should go a bit quicker, it's the dremeling that takes up a lot of time. But I would definitly be down to help anyone that wants to do it.

TreeSemdyZee · 07-18-2017, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McLovin2010

I wouldn't be against helping out, and meeting up some day for those who are against pulling their entire dash out lol. Since i have it under my belt now any install after this should go a bit quicker, it's the dremeling that takes up a lot of time. But I would definitly be down to help anyone that wants to do it.

I know this is a dumb question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Is it possible to "partially" pull the dash?
The reason I ask is that I'm going to do a straight gauge swap with new OEM. I messed up one of the gauges and I've got a replacement for all three.
I'd love to put in a TPMS reading guage like the 350s had. Don't have a clue if the computer carries than info anymore. Pretty much has to I would think to warn you when it's low.
Anyway, curious since you have experience.
Thanks for the offer BTW. Pretty awesome of you.

07-17-2017, 12:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
McLovin2010 Base Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Yorktown, VA Posts: 68 Drives: 15 370z white manual Rep Power: 40	This bracket is what the top hats click into, so i am adjusting it for reuse, this way i don't need anything extra and the gauges can get installed fairly close to how the oem ones did. so this is when i tore out the guts of our factory OEM gauges, i know a few others on here who attempted and used there own hardware and make the gauges stay. I figured out a way to use the original hardware to remount my gauges which always me to service them as well once the dash is back in the car. The black bracket i opened up some more with the dremel so i could run the gauge wires throughs. This bracket will also retain the OEM hats so they will just click back in place with the gauges, boom no extra hardwhere, though i did have to dremel carefully on the white bracket so i could have more than just one screw holding the gauges back in. The original bracket back in with my modified corner piece, you can see i need the space as the defi gauges arn't the most compact things in the world. Dremeled the hats down to make room for the longer gauges Fitment after i took off a lot of excess plastic to get the hat to hug the gauge nice and close. The key to not having to use any extra hardware when installing new gauges is to dremel the OEM rings only a hair bit smaller than the diameter of the gauges takes time and lot's of back and fourth checking, once i got real close and a nice bit of resistance putting the ring on i make sure the gauge is oriented how i want it in the car and carefully and slowly push the ring all the way on for a nice tight fit, once the ring is all the way on it should be pretty hard to hand turn the gauge-boom tooless install, rinse and repeat for all three. all three hats and rings finished up, whipped up some JB weld and set the rings in their place gauges set in place and set aside to let the rings and the JB weld to harden overnight. Getting the dash ready to go running the daisy chain wires, what i love about these is they plug into one another and the command module runs all three so you only have one set of wires which was a time saver Defi gauges in place and hooked up, very minimal wiring, super clean install and in my opinion if you have time, worth it to remove the dash instead of resorting to vice grips and destruction lol. Cat not amused...gauges in their final resting place, literally snap the hats back in and play. I couldn't be happier how this turned out and reusing the OEM brackets and hardware with just a few little tweaks. What do you guys think? Shout out to galeforce and his handy work on his kick butt gauge pillars that helped me tie all this together. it will be home to my Auquamist methenol gauge and my AFR gauge, thanks again for the awesome piece! Ran my aquamist and defi computers into my glove box for easy access, all the wiring for the meth kit looks like a lot but wasn't too bad with instructions and pictures. Last but not least, the finished product for your viewing pleasure. Everything fit back the way it should no rattles no surprises. If a gauge ever goes bad in the future i can now simply pull up on the hat slide the gauge out and replace in 30 seconds and be up and running again. all of that work so i can monitor my motor when the treats inside these boxes get installed By treats i mean the beautiful stage 2 twin turbo kit that Fast Intentions has put together that i'm thankful for and get to install and have the pleasure of enjoying, and none of this could have been possible without their countless hours and dedication, thanks again for such a beautiful kit and I cannot wait to get back from my deployment in october so i can throw this beauty on my car and take her for a spin. I promise to take all the pictures so i can add it to this build and share my info for those who would like to know more. Rusty, Hotrodz, P's_Z and 2 others like this. __________________ Fast Intentions stage 2 TT kit\| Specialty Z clutch kit\|FI 34 Row oil cooler\|Fast 500E fuel return \|Aquamist Methanol kit\|3.3 Quaife diff\|Ported Manifolds\|Poly mounts\|Defi 3 gauge cluster swap\| 3in Motordyne x-pipe Catback \|4100Nex\|JL XD1000/5v2 \|Fx165 Focal\|JL 10w3v3\| Last edited by McLovin2010; 07-18-2017 at 12:06 AM.

07-17-2017, 03:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
God-Speed A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Austin, Tx. Posts: 4,366 Drives: Prototype Rep Power: 2684377	Very Nice!! Looking forward to the finished product!! McLovin2010 likes this.

07-17-2017, 03:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
TreeSemdyZee Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Kentuck-IANA Age: 61 Posts: 4,887 Drives: '09 370 & ‘14 Juke Rep Power: 27409	Holy crap! Energetic little bastage ain't ya? And since you've pulled your dash a few times, wanna pull mine and put in my replacement gauges. Nice work! Rusty, Hotrodz and McLovin2010 like this. __________________ Borla S-Type \| Motordyne \| Z1 (lots) \| South Bend \| K&N \| Nismo/Nismo S-Tune \| Eibach \| Aerojacket \| Fujimara \| Spl \| ZSpeed Performance \| Kenwood-Infinity-Sound Ordnance \| Whiteline \| Ecutek \| Hotchkis \| Clazzio \| VQ Vortex \|Morimoto XB \|Dynosty Tune 329.64hp 265.73 ft/lb

07-17-2017, 09:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
Rusty Ronin Samurai - Assassin Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Fayettenam,Pennsyltucky Age: 69 Posts: 35,489 Drives: 2011 Nismo GM 6M Rep Power: 2684438	About time you started a build thread. McLovin2010 likes this. __________________ 浪人 - 殺し屋 "The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only" http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

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