I started the bezel friday tonight after dinner and here are the steps I took so far. First I cut a hole for the PVC (sorry no pic currently). I then cut a piece of PVC about 3-4" long and used plastic bond epoxy to attach it. I then sanded the epoxy applied some bondo. I sanded this down with 100, 220, 320, & 400 sandpaper. Note that the PVC pipe needs to be cut about a 1/2" off the back at an angle to fit properly in the car. I decided to bondo everything before actually cutting it down to proper size. Also you may notice the gauge change from oil pressure to water temp. This is due to the fact the line adapter for the mechanical oil gauge doesn't have enough clearance in the limited cluster area. Here are some pics of the process.

 

that look awesome man way to keep up the good work, guess i'll be sending you my bezel when i get ready for some guages haha.

 

not to bad..i do it abit different but nice though

 

lol I don't know if i have the confidence to do someone elses. This was the first time I have ever attempted something like this or even work with bondo. The pics dont show it but there are several defects in the surface but I am happy with it. I have spoken to CA and they will be releasing the dual pod bezel in about a month.

Ya, your setup might have given me the added clearance that I needed for the oil pressure gauge but o well. I will probably just put it in the pillar instead.

 

they have said this before then back out after, i actually don't want duals just need single and the column pod is so flimsy... but i'll probably get a friend locally to do it for me i was just giving you mad props on it

 

man thats nice thanks for the write up

 

not bad for a first time but you should definitely sand that thing alot more and get a nicer finish.

 

Here are some final pics of it installed on the car along with my new gauge faces from BCC. I however did not install the LED kit because 1 I could not get the old light out and didn't want to risk damaging anything and 2 the stock lights put out enough light. Also as an FYI the gauge has not been hooked up yet.

Lights Off


Lights On

 

Looks really good man. I just completed my dual gauge bezel and it took me like 30 hours. I guess I am a perfectionist so the sanding and filling became very time consuming. I will post pics of it today to see what others think.. Anyhow, very nice work especially for your first crack at it

 

Thanks. I know what you mean about the sanding. I was going to do a dual pod but just didnt have the patience to do both this weekend. I figured one that is 1/2 way decent was good for the first shot. Eventually I will probably take it back out and perfect the defects and ad another pod.

 

just out of curiosity, why do a water temp gauge when you could just have temp up on the dic?

 

i wish mine looked that good

 

because I like to see the outside temp and milage on the dic and eliminated the need to constantly cycle threw it to get to the water temp. Also while racing at the track I want to be able to make note of engine temp and outside temp quickly before each run and this will make it a bit easier to do. I also plan on putting in a voltage and oil pressure gauge

Jn2 how did you get the textured look for your pod. I kind of like that better than the smooth look and would hide a lot of my defects.

 

slowbalt_06 made mine, that is his i quoted, ill post pics of mine i took a few mins ago in a sec

 

lol just use some undercoating... not rilly but they sell a spray can that makes it textured like that.( advanced, autozone, walmart( maby), oriely, napa... what ever auto part store u go to most likely.

 

mine is damaged; the bondo seperated from the plastic when i was putting it in, it didnt give enough since it has to slightly bend for like 1 second while i slid into to place back behind the steering wheel, than when i tighened it down with the screw on the bottom it cracked right under the guage, till this point it cant tighen it more bc i fear if i make it tigher it will crack more but slowbalt said he'd fix it for me, also the gauge pod didnt allow the guages to sit flush so i had to dremel it, but i cannot for the life of me get the left gauge to sit flush, i got the right one, but the left one is a bitch, no matte rhow much i dremel i cant get it to sit in there right

 

didnt they fabricate one of these?

 

CA has yet to add it to their site, and they ony make doubles, he made a single

 

I had the same problem with mine sitting flush that I just built up bondo to come out to where the gauge bezel was and then sanded it down to make it flush.

 

yeah mine came with just the pods on there,i had to test fit, and than trim off the back, test fit again, and than trim off the back, test fit again and than trim, than finally when it fit fine, istarted tightening it and it cracked all over the bottom, i didnt even tighen it all the way lol, the bolt is halfweay in there, the more i tighten the more is cracks

 

I didnt use the mounting bracket that came with the gauge. I just added some electrical tape around the middle of the gauge to make it fit nice and snug and cut down the mounting bolts to that it fit properly

 

i may do that once it gets repaired :p those tabs really are a pain

ps ur sig is a size violation lol 20pixels to high

 

Do you have a full on front pic of your gauge pod jn2? I want to see how much of the DIC the other one covers up

 

yeah i do one sec

 

damn i think the cobalt series is the best lookin aftermarket gauges