The first attempt, just the custom faces, seemed a bit too dark. Next one, just white needles and metal bezel, went too far the other way; it was a bit too light. I got it right this time.
I Got It Right This Time
Completely Custom Revlimeter Gauge Faces – $$$
Used 1999-2000 Complete Gauge Cluster – $$
Jass Stainless Steel Gauge Cluster Bezel – $$
IL Motorsport Chrome Needle Caps – $$
Polished Aluminum Gauge Rings – $$
I really loved the custom gauges, but after taking several photos of them, I realized they looked too dark. So in an effort to lighten up the gauge cluster, I purchased a brushed metal gauge back piece. I also had to buy a broken 99-00 gauge cluster so that I could harvest the white needles. And because the brushed metal only fits the earlier gauges, I also needed the black gauge covering piece.
I guess if I want to get as close as I can to the inspiration image, I’m going to have to buy the polished gauge rings and the shiny needle caps. Technically, I should go back to the red needles too.
They have been in the car for about a week, but Saturday I photographed them. And today I’m blogging about them. These gauges were inspired by a photo I’ve had on my hard drive since 2005, when I was considering getting a set for the 2003 Garnet Red Miata.
I thought they were Mr. Revlimiter’s creation, but they are actually the work of AWD, a Japanese Miata customizing shop that is no longer in business. Before the AWD site disappeared, someone scraped the server for the web pages and has them posted online: AWD ARTWORKS/DEWA
I’ve ordered a silver gauge cluster cover similar to this from Moss Motors, and I bought a busted 1999-2000 gauge cluster off eBay to harvest the white needles and put them in place of the red ones.
Nothing’s Easy With You
Yesterday Buckey got a set of air horns from Moss Motors installed. Today I thought to myself, why didn’t I try them out? So this morning I went out and hit the horn…nothing. Crap! What did I do wrong? The first thing to check is, power? I unplug the hot lead and hook it back up to the regular horn, beep, beep.
Next is to check the ground wire, and as soon as I touch it, the wire drops off. I try to press it back on the terminal, and it just barely engages. I dismount the compressor, and the ground terminal has been pushed up into the body partway. No wonder the wire came off so easily. The connection is so tenuous it would come off after a mile on a bumpy road.
So, I pull everything off, and I put it in the box it came in so I can return the air horns. I might just get a refund, I very rarely use the horn anyway.
While getting the air compressor off the car, I notice a broken piece of plastic. Uh-oh, that is the headlight mounting bracket. And look, the headlight itself is pushed back 1/4 inch. Damn turkey! I turn on the headlights, and the high and low beams come on, but not the turn signal/running light. Can’t go out at night, it is the driver’s side light, and it might be blinding to oncoming cars. These headlights aren’t cheap. For grins I check the price of a new unit from Mazda. Yikes, $669! Off to eBay I go, and for $180 it’ll be here next week.
Interstates Suck Bumper Sticker
Yesterday’s post I lamented the situation of having to drive on the Interstate around here and said I should go ahead and buy an apt bumper sticker that I created on CafePress. It wasn’t until today that I remembered that I already had one in a drawer…
After yesterday’s hour-and-forty-five-minute Uber ride back from PDX Wraps and today’s hour-and-fifteen-minute trip back, I think it is time to pony up the $5.24 on this bumper sticker. This is also why, on the way home from picking up Bucky in Sherwood, I didn’t take one home. It probably took me a little more than the 1.25 hours to get back home, but it was worth it just not to have to creep along in three lanes of traffic. Either way, I think the results were worth that hassle.
New Side Stripes
Yesterday I mentioned I was a belt and suspenders guy with the backup house key options. What would be a way to add a third option to that saying? Asking because I went to Lowes today and bought a digital deadbolt that I’ll install tomorrow.
I’m finally going to get him registered and get the title in my name versus the Bring-A-Trailer seller. Hard to believe, but I won the auction for the car nearly 7 months ago. I’ve even decided to try and get a personalized plate. You get six letters, so I’ve asked for BUC KEY or BUC KIE with the state’s base license plate that features a tree in the center. Odds are probably kind of slim though; the mascot of Oregon State University is a beaver…the only saving grace is the mascot’s name is Bennie.
After the DMV I’m dropping him off at my friend’s at PDX Wraps to have some side stripes put on like I mocked up back in July. Here is the proof they sent me today. We’ll see when I get there. When I mocked up my stripe on it sat a little higher; theirs shows it lower, and I’m wondering how well the thinness of the stripe at the back end of the door will hold up.
Side Stripe Design Proof
I’m also going to get them to put a 4″ or so dark black tint along the top of the windshield. Even though I spent money on the old-school folding visors from the first-gen cars, I might be able to eliminate them altogether with that tint.
And there is one last modification (or so I’m telling myself) to be done: a set of custom gauges from Revlimiter. We are ironing out all the details as we speak; it is based on a combination of his Spyder faces and something I’ve had sitting in my Miata folder for a couple decades.
Custom Gauges Go Here
