I'm looking for some replacement gauge needles. Anyone know if the dealers sell them or if anyone has extras lying around? Need all 4.

 

nope.... they don't sell them seperately.

 

I have a set available PM me.

 

Unless one of the other led swappers (I need the set i have ) has a spare set, then you will have to buy the entire cluster to get them.

 

i'm debating whether or not i want to approach a plastics place to have them made... (maybe to sell or something)

it's just... i'm not expecting a really affordable price though..

:?

but then again... doesn't hurt to ask.... i think i'll go do that when i find time.

 

The first mold will be expensive. After that they should be cheap. At my day job, we are working with a new product which requires a mold. It is very cheap to produce a bunch of them, but to make a design change to the mold runs $23,000. And it is a fairly simple shape. I am sure you could get one made cheaper, but expect it to be a substantial tooling cost up front. If you hear of anything, let me know and maybe we can discuss going in together on it. Would be nice to just have them made in bulk and color them rather than re-doing them each time someone sends in a cluster!

 

Gonna check out a few junkyards in the area, see if I can find a tC somewhere in one .

 

car-part.com is your dear friend

 

Anyone here use silicone molds and 2 part resins to cast things?? I make replica Ferrari and Lamborghini HVAC controls for the kit car guys, and just cast some buttons from clear resin the other day. I cast the small parts in a chamber at about 75psi, so there's no visible air bubbles, and you can get incredibly small details in the parts. (I saw somewhere a univeristy actually cast a replica of Gecko skin using the same Dow III mold rubber, and the surface texture had to be seen under an electron microscope it was so tiny.) If anyone has a set of "spare" needles they could loan out for a while, I could see about making a set of molds and some needles. You can also add colors to the clear, to make just about any translucent color... I'd try it with my needles, but I need them to drive with. The needles would have to be taken apart - you'd want to cast the parts seperately... Never done that before myself though. (do they just melt apart?) I ordered a 2.5 gallon pressure pot the other day as well, to try casting some larger things in the future..... That and I can stuff more marshmallow "Peeps" in there and crank down the vacuum... 1 Easter "Peep" swells up about 3x its size at almost full vacuum. LOL

 

eBay has some gauge clusters, you could always take it apart

 

If I can scrounge together some needles while testing around on my spare cluster I may take you up on that rice. I would have to see the quality of the finished product before taking it any further though. I wouldnt want the whole needle cast, just the clear portion.

 

yeah... typically the part that well..... gets broken.

 

Any pictures on the forum here of a needle taken apart? I would assume from seeing other needles in the past that the clear part isn't part of the actual mounting post? If it's just a piece that gets mounted to that post then damn that would make it a bunch easier! I was thinking I could get by with just 2 needles (if there really are only 2 lengths), but it would be better to have a full set if at all possible. That way 1 mold can be made once, so a full set could be cast each time instead of having to make several different molds. With the size of the chamber I could probably make several sets at a time actually.. The quality *should* be pretty much identical to original, the buttons for the Lambo controls have some details I milled with a .010" cutter and it reproduces them perfectly every time. I was amazed the first time I saw it happen.

 

Yep, the clear part is separate and does not mount to the spindle. It does, however have two tiny holes to mount on little posts in the needle housing.

We would also have to come up with the couter weights on the needles. the Tach and speedo both have a brass counter weight on them.

 

At your local hobby store they sell some easily cut weights for model airplanes. You can cut these with normal wire clippers to just about any shape you want. Just ask for the weights they use on model airplanes to correct the center of gravity.

 

I didnt think about that. We could just weigh the stock weights and buy what we needed. hmmmmmm

 

I have a set if you cannot find any. I have a few clusters laying around. They are not cheap if I part a cluster, but it will be cheaper than purchasing a cluster.

 

gahhh... these needles are fragile sometimes..

 

So anyone want to lend a set out to see if I can recreate them? As long as they're separated already, I promise no harm will come to them.. Also anyone have a good picture of them taken apart? I found a closeup in https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...+gauge+needles <- that thread, but they're not taken apart.. I found another pic in Mandos' thread from '05, but it's too blurry.. Should be pretty easy to cast, and they'd be either clear, or whatever translucent color would look good. Though you'd probably still want to paint the backside white to reflect more..

 

As long as we can work out an agreement on replacement cost if anything were to happen to them, and prices once complete, I would be able to send you at least one needle for testing. If you can recreate it well then I could send the set for further work. I need to keep some of the needles on my spare cluster for testing another mod, but we can work out all the details. I will pm you my email address and we can discuss further