Looks like they have them for that car. Let me know when you're ready.

 

Hey JW, eyeing this up as a possible mod, and had a few q's for yah.

- The "reverse glow" setup, this only lights up the letters / gauge notchs like the 'stock' setup does, right?

- What difference does the 'upgraded inverter' make for the reverse glow setup? I'm looking into the silver text on the black background, will this just light up white / silverish, only brighter than normal, or will this color it?

- Is it possible to get no logo at all, or a C5 logo on one and the Jake skull on the other (ie, C5 on speedo, Jake on tach), and if so, what's the extra cost?

- How difficult would you rate the install, particularly running / connecting the wires, and removing the old / securing the new faceplates? Any "be extra extra extra careful or you're gonna fubar this" moments in the install?

- Something else I noticed, do these not come with the seatbelt warning light cutout?

Thanks in advance for the info!

 

- The "reverse glow" setup, this only lights up the letters / gauge notchs like the 'stock' setup does, right?

Correct!

- What difference does the 'upgraded inverter' make for the reverse glow setup? I'm looking into the silver text on the black background, will this just light up white / silverish, only brighter than normal, or will this color it?

There's a bit of an intensity change to the brighter side. There's also a switch on it that chnages the base color for a Blueish to a Greenish color. It's also a smaller and neater package. Your Font, Tick Marks and Logos will light up whichever color you choose

- Is it possible to get no logo at all, or a C5 logo on one and the Jake skull on the other (ie, C5 on speedo, Jake on tach), and if so, what's the extra cost?

Yep and no extra cost as long as you use the "standard logos" that are available. You can also send in your own 300 dpi logo and they can put it on the faceplates.

- How difficult would you rate the install, particularly running / connecting the wires, and removing the old / securing the new faceplates? Any "be extra extra extra careful or you're gonna fubar this" moments in the install?

It isn't hard at all but does take time and attention to detail, get some popcorn and read through this;

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...aceplates.html

Tim

 

is it possible to get white faced gages with black lettering?? Im really just looking for the inverse of the stock gages. Also, do you guys sell the brushed aluminum bezels?

Thanks,
Greg

 

Hey Tim, so from cruising through that thread, couple of things stood out that I didn't notice resolutions for:

- The glow-bleeding around the info lights, is that still only fixed by a Sharpie or some careful cutting?

- The seatbelt cutout didn't seem to be there.

- Is the sanding of the needles a requirement for proper clearance, or was that just a few edge cases.

 

The best solution for the edge bleeding in the warning icons is to cut out the clear film and then paint black paint around the edges...

The VERY best is to have xtremevette do up a set of custom overlays for the Speedhut faceplates. He replaces Speedhut's cosmetic layer with a custom layer that is totally smooth and no bleeding...

Yeah we had to eliminate several lights and the seatblet one was deemed a "non critical" warning light and voted on to be eliminated...

Sanding the needle bases seems to be fairly rare... I certainly wouldn't go through the trouble of doing it as a CYA, in all likelyehood you'll be OK. It does seem more prevelant in hotter climates though, as I recall...

HTH

Tim
PS I like your avatar, I was Crypto repair Tech in the Air Force!

 

Yes, but only in EL glow which will look sort of like the indiglo watches.

If you want reverse glow (where the numbers and logos light up) you will be limited to dark blue, red, or metallic silver fonts.

The seatbelt icon was voted off when they were first designed.

We also offer them without any cutouts.

 

Yes Tim your right man, it happens in the warmer climate regions. What I have been finding out though is there appears to be a quality control issue with the needles and how much space is between the needles and the stock faces. This is why when people install the new faces on top it is a crapshoot as to whether or not the needles are going to stick.

Here is a little test you can do to find out if your going to need to sand. Once you have the faces taped down over the existing ones, take your finger bring the needle up to 12 oclock and let it fall down by itself both clockwise and counter-clockwise. It should fall smooth and controlled with no sticking at all anywhere. If your needle sticks at any point or when you look down toward the base while the needle is dropping, you don't see any space between the base and the face layer then I would sand. As the temperature or humidity increases, the faces and tape expand and that is where the needle will stick and hang up causing you to bang on the dash to get it back down. It doesn't take much to get them to stick, your better off safe then sorry. Ask me how I know this one
My cluster was out of my car more times then I had gotten gas when I was working on my setup.

The sanding is not hard at all either:

You just basically mask off the face with some type of thick paper (I used a sticknote). Then you put some 220 grit behind the base of the needle.

Next you take and rock the needle back and forth while applying pressure so as to rub it against the sandpaper. This removes some of the back of the base to make room/clearance between the new thickness of the face and the base of the needle.

Finally check to make sure you have space between the base of the needle and the face.


That's all there is too it. I would test out all the needles, but primarily your focusing on the 2 large needles for the tach and speedo. I haven't heard of one of the small needles ever sticking, but while you're in there, perform the same test on them. You just never know.

 

Tim I'm an fx artist at Cryptic Studios, so it works out. The job pays for the addiction.. uh.. car.

JW / Jeff - Good to know about the sanding, I think being in California may warrant doing so. By the way, do the screws hold these down good enough, as you said "taped down"?

I'm pretty much sold on this idea. I think I will poke around and see if anyone in my area's done it. I usually like to see the results of a mod in person before I commit to it (learned my lesson from previous experiences).

 

I can't really answer as I still need to install mine.



Did you get that Tigershak Fascia yet (I hope so)?

 

Ha, wicked design on yours!

Yah, the fascia showed up yesterday, dad took the Avalanche to work today to pick it up. I can't wait to get home from work and check it out! You said the screens were showing up in a separate shipment, right?

 

No screws. These are to be 2 way double-face taped down over your existing faces.

 

Ummmm.... Call me crazy but these look Black? I ordered "Cool Blue"

 

Ah~... Is there pressure from the black frame holding them down as well?

I can't say I've had any pleasant experiences thus far with 'vette mods that depended solely on 2-sided tape...

 

Pm or email me with your issue please.

 

PM'd ya

 

well I would agree, two way tape doesn't sound like much to hold them but it does work. I haven't heard of anyone complaining yet. Just be sure to use enough and yes the gauge cluster that pushes down against them also provides some support.

 

Something else holding it down I'm cool with, depending on double sided tape alone, especially in such an isolated location, would be crazy.

Posted up in the local region section to see if anyone around here has this setup.

Actually had one more question - what's the usual turn-around time for getting one of these ordered and shipped? Gonna be getting a few other area-related items on order and readied up, figure it'd probably be best to not have to repeatedly remove my gauge cluster.

 

Do the needles come off for the install..?

 

Nope... But I'm sure you'll find a way to break one!

Tim