Hey, are you thinking of using any REAL Ferrari emblems?? Like These: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=50452&item=2467160361 OR http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6763&item=2467832033 (They have this in Black, Red and Yellow!) Just Curious...
Thanks for the links man! That big one looks great, but a bit expensive I haven't forgotten about this thread, and I'm very sorry about the lack of updates, unfortunately nothing new has happened with this project I'm still trying to find a car instrument panel to use for the temp, HDD activity etc. I can't do a lot without a panel, I need it so I can design the rest of the case/mods round it :/ I've found a supplier for cheap(er) wheels so I'll be ordering those in a few days or so...
Well, may I recommend Bondo? You could get some mesh, shap that, and put a few layers of Bondo over it. Could save you some money, and maybe even time...
Use bondo for the badge? Or the panel? I have a front panel for the case, I'm looking for some cool gauges to put in it Something like this:
Check your local yard for some '92 or newer Jeep Cherokees (what I drive). They have a nice gauge cluster, each gauge is removeable, and is Metal. Very cool guy by the name of Marcus (in Australia too) sells a OverLay that you can print yourself, for Jeep Cherokee Gauges. Which means you could edit the file to make it look like they are F40 Gauges. Overlay is here: http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/Whitebground.htm He is a good guy, and as you will see, is a Jeep Modder!! Hope all that helps!
Thanks for that I don't know if I'll be able to look for any specific ones though They will probably cost even more... I'll just have to take whatever I can find... Probably a common model, like a Falcon or something. Doesn't really matter what it looks like, I can change it easily enough Some nice gauges on that page I used that technique on my car years ago. Turned out quite nicely This one looks very similar to how I did my Lantra's gauges I made some white faces, and a chrome painted surround too edit: A couple of pics of mine: It has 2 separate illumination systems: the white LEDs, which are connected to the original wiring; and the R, G & B ones which are connected to an extra switch and can be used any time, with the ignition/headlights on or off.
OK, I finally got around to working on this thing again. Didn't get a whole lot done, but I think it's enough to earn an official update I'd been trying for weeks to work out how to get the gearshift to fit together. After spending another 5 minutes on it, I had it all sorted out. I didn't use the toothy round bit, because it broke when I was cutting it It was only going to be a spacer anyway, so I just used a plain piece of acrylic instead. Looking much better! The tricky bit was always going to be getting the switches to work properly. But the ideas came together very quickly once I had the top part attached properly I had to remove the rubber bands, but I didn't really need them anyway... Does it work? Of course it does! Obviously I only got one side done, but I should get the other side done very quickly tomorrow. Because I can't use any auto-centering devices, I'll have to leave the 5th-gear switch out and use 5th gear as the "home" position. It's too risky to leave it in neutral as it could fall into gear and switch the computer off! Altogether, I used roughly 200lb of hot glue on this thing It should never come apart... I'm going to try to get to the wreckers tomorrow to look for an instrument panel, if I'm not too busy with other stuff :/ Project Stats Date: Thurs 15 Apr 2004 Cost to date: $72.40 Working Time: 18hrs Glue sticks used: 3 Dremel disks used: 5 Dremels killed: 0.66 Parts discarded: 2 Parts destroyed: 0 Next: Finish gearshift! Looking for: Instrument panel Next update expected: Fri 16 apr 2004
Hey mate, this might help with your shifter....There are a few sites out there about computer h shifters used for racing sims. I have planned one i am making, but here is one someone else has made http://www.volny.cz/michaljanak/hshift/myhshifter.html If you are a bit confused feel free to email me and i can explain
Thanks for the suggestions guys, but this gearshift isn't for games, it's just a (fancy ) power switch Maybe I'll build a game shifter some other time I finally got an instrument panel! Cost me $25... It's out of an XE Ford Falcon. The panel's not in bad shape, considering it's 20 years old!! So I pulled it to bits and had a look inside... The EconoGauge is vacuum-activated and has no electronic bits That was a disappointment, however the speedo is fully electronic so I can use that with no probs The needle was very easy to remove, so I moved it a bit to see how it would look Ferrari 550-style Unfortunately the small gauges have little copper pins in them that break easily when they're removed from the board They still work, but have to be attached to the board or they won't connect :/ But that doesn't matter: I can't fit them on the case panel, so I'll only be using the speedo anyway Brand new again! ...And finally, here's the design I'll be using for the tacho (speedo) face. With the circuits disconnected it's just a moving-coil meter, so I could change the scale to anything I like! I know it's not an F40 tacho, but I think it looks a bit better, plus it was easier to design Hopefully I'll have the gearshift and/or tacho finished by this time tomorrow. Project Stats Date: Fri 16 Apr 2004 Cost to date: $97.40 Working Time: 26hrs Dremel disks used: 5 Dremels killed: 0.66 Parts discarded: 2 Parts destroyed: 0 Next: Finish gearshift and tacho Looking for: Nothing at the moment... Next update expected: Sat 17 Apr 2004 edit: Worked on the tacho design a bit more...
Yeah i knew you were just doing it as a fancy power thing, but i thought it might some use in regards to holding the stick in gear with a mechanism Those dials should be great, how will you control them?
Oops, I'm sorry I misread your intentions Sadly there's not enough space available to add any extra mechanisms It's a bit frustrating, but I'm just going to have to leave it without any springs etc :/ I went to the hardware store this morning to get some stuff, but they didn't have any suitable flowerpots So I had to use an old pre-modded one I found at home. I also found a speaker grille and removed the mesh so I could use the ring. Last time I made gauge faces, I printed them on an inkjet, so they were coloured. Unfortunately I don't have a working inkjet anymore, so I had to borrow dad's laser and colour the redline by hand :/ didn't turn out perfect, but near enough! The needle won't go right around to the 10k mark, it stops at 9250. But I'll only be running it up to 8500 anyway I found an old RW-CD still in plastic wrap, so I nicked the cover (still in mint condition) and chopped it up... After a little bit of work, it looked like this: The front of the case is curved (as usual) and the tacho wouldn't easily fit, so I took the bay covers out and made an acrylic panel to fit Meanwhile, I was also working on the gearshift. The switches are now all in and usable I put the 5th gear switch in, I'll just leave it disconnected from the circuits when I make them The last pic I took tonight I can't guarantee I'll be doing any more work for the next few days, I've caught the 'flu and I'm not feeling too good Project Stats Date: Sat 17 Apr 2004 Cost to date: $111.85 Working Time: 36hrs Dremel disks used: 7 Dremels killed: 0.75 Parts discarded: 2 Parts destroyed: 0 Next: Start working on actual case bits Looking for: Nothing at the moment... Next update expected: Mon 19 Apr 2004
Very nice especially the spedo, have u thought about making the pointer red? That might make it look a little more posh. Keep it up cant wait to see this finished!
Thanks To be 100% accurate, the needle should be white But I haven't decided what to do with it... It will be painted eventually, just don't know when, or what colour. As predicted, I didn't get much done today. I spent a while designing and tryng a few different ideas, but I wasn't feeling well enough to do much construction work. I have decided to add a keyswitch and starter button, as well as possibly including a circuit to play engine starting and gearshift sounds at appropriate times No new pics sorry Project Stats Date: Mon 19 Apr 2004 Cost to date: $111.85 Working Time: 41hrs Dremel disks used: 8 Dremels killed: 0.75 Parts discarded: 2 Parts destroyed: 0 Next: Continue designing Looking for: Nothing at the moment... Next update expected: Wed 21 Apr 2004
Be careful if you actually "paint" the needle. The extra weight can screw up the gauge (not that your worried about it being accurate...but ya get my drift).
