Gary Lewis Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 One thing that would be super helpful is knowing the dimensions of the various panels. Given the dash/trim sizes I suspect they were a common size just with different stencils on them. My whole thought process here is that the "hard part" is getting the acrylic panels laser cut. If they're all one size that's a lot easier. Mine is 7.59" x 2.09". Strange numbers that don't quite work out to metric either. I suspect they were originally a more nominal size, but there was some loss from a kerf when they were cut out. Or maybe they're just deliberately under-sized from 7-5/8 x 2-1/8 to allow some spacing when installed in a trim hole of that size. I would think they'd all be the same size since the hole in the dash is the same. But I have some of them and will measure them in a bit - after more coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 4, 2021 Share Posted December 4, 2021 One thing that would be super helpful is knowing the dimensions of the various panels. Given the dash/trim sizes I suspect they were a common size just with different stencils on them. My whole thought process here is that the "hard part" is getting the acrylic panels laser cut. If they're all one size that's a lot easier. Mine is 7.59" x 2.09". Strange numbers that don't quite work out to metric either. I suspect they were originally a more nominal size, but there was some loss from a kerf when they were cut out. Or maybe they're just deliberately under-sized from 7-5/8 x 2-1/8 to allow some spacing when installed in a trim hole of that size. I only found one, but know I have others. Anyway, this factory A/C panel measures 7 9/16 x 2 1/16. And the inset plastic piece is 7 1/4 x 2". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 I only found one, but know I have others. Anyway, this factory A/C panel measures 7 9/16 x 2 1/16. And the inset plastic piece is 7 1/4 x 2". here's what I came up with. Here's a PDF of it if anybody wants to try printing it and comparing it to their panel. This matches mine within a half-millimeter so I think it will work for me but there's no telling if there were slight differences especially in the placements of the holes. Faceplate.pdf I found a laser cutting shop with reasonable rates and ordered a batch of 5. I may as well, it was $2-$3 apiece but a minimum of $19 for an order. Free shipping. So the unit cost would only be a few dollars but that assumes a batch got made. I'm going to use a drawing tool to design up a "rear design" and just print it on my laser printer. If I can get good enough quality I'll print it on a transparency sheet. if I can't get a good enough quality print, Staples offers the same thing for $1.71. If the black isn't "black enough" I can just print two layers I think. Anything is better than what I have now. And if this works out it could be a cool option for folks repurposing some switches like the tank selector. I'll post pics when I have something to show. Expect it to take a week or two before I get the parts back from the laser cutter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 here's what I came up with. Here's a PDF of it if anybody wants to try printing it and comparing it to their panel. This matches mine within a half-millimeter so I think it will work for me but there's no telling if there were slight differences especially in the placements of the holes. Faceplate.pdf I found a laser cutting shop with reasonable rates and ordered a batch of 5. I may as well, it was $2-$3 apiece but a minimum of $19 for an order. Free shipping. So the unit cost would only be a few dollars but that assumes a batch got made. I'm going to use a drawing tool to design up a "rear design" and just print it on my laser printer. If I can get good enough quality I'll print it on a transparency sheet. if I can't get a good enough quality print, Staples offers the same thing for $1.71. If the black isn't "black enough" I can just print two layers I think. Anything is better than what I have now. And if this works out it could be a cool option for folks repurposing some switches like the tank selector. I'll post pics when I have something to show. Expect it to take a week or two before I get the parts back from the laser cutter... Very excited to see what you come up with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 here's what I came up with. Here's a PDF of it if anybody wants to try printing it and comparing it to their panel. This matches mine within a half-millimeter so I think it will work for me but there's no telling if there were slight differences especially in the placements of the holes. Faceplate.pdf I found a laser cutting shop with reasonable rates and ordered a batch of 5. I may as well, it was $2-$3 apiece but a minimum of $19 for an order. Free shipping. So the unit cost would only be a few dollars but that assumes a batch got made. I'm going to use a drawing tool to design up a "rear design" and just print it on my laser printer. If I can get good enough quality I'll print it on a transparency sheet. if I can't get a good enough quality print, Staples offers the same thing for $1.71. If the black isn't "black enough" I can just print two layers I think. Anything is better than what I have now. And if this works out it could be a cool option for folks repurposing some switches like the tank selector. I'll post pics when I have something to show. Expect it to take a week or two before I get the parts back from the laser cutter... This is cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 This is cool! Thanks! One more pic before I pause on this (and wait for stuff to arrive). I got a little eager and went ahead and designed the background. I made a few changes over the factory. My original panel had "warm/defrost logo/defrost" all packed in one small area and I wanted to clean that up so I just put the defrost symbol in red. I also made FUEL smaller and orange just for fun, and changed the fan icon to be a little smaller so it wasn't so imbalanced. I've noticed a lot of the more modern temp sliders have blue/red triangles in a sort of scarf joint merging together. But mine had rectangles that got narrower from cold to neutral to hot. I kinda liked the look of mine, and this has to print on a laserjet on acetate sheets which don't always pick up tiny details like the ends of those triangles. So I went with the rectangles. I think they look neat. I have a Figma design for all this and would be happy to share it. It's an easy tool to learn especially if you're just shoving around rectangles to get a layout you like, so it would be easy to modify for folks with different layouts. But I want to wait until I get a few test prints on actual acetate first. One thing I've learned is that even if it looks amazing on paper, sometimes you have to adjust things when it goes onto a transparency. And it has to be printed there because mine is backlit and I've learned that printing on transparency sheets isn't always perfect even on a good laserjet. It seems from photos I've seen that not all of these are backlit? Some units seem to have solid colors painted right on. I think that's how this style works? If that's the case, folks with that style could just print a design on any heavy weight paper, like 80lb card stock, and probably get amazing results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 Thanks! One more pic before I pause on this (and wait for stuff to arrive). I got a little eager and went ahead and designed the background. I made a few changes over the factory. My original panel had "warm/defrost logo/defrost" all packed in one small area and I wanted to clean that up so I just put the defrost symbol in red. I also made FUEL smaller and orange just for fun, and changed the fan icon to be a little smaller so it wasn't so imbalanced. I've noticed a lot of the more modern temp sliders have blue/red triangles in a sort of scarf joint merging together. But mine had rectangles that got narrower from cold to neutral to hot. I kinda liked the look of mine, and this has to print on a laserjet on acetate sheets which don't always pick up tiny details like the ends of those triangles. So I went with the rectangles. I think they look neat. I have a Figma design for all this and would be happy to share it. It's an easy tool to learn especially if you're just shoving around rectangles to get a layout you like, so it would be easy to modify for folks with different layouts. But I want to wait until I get a few test prints on actual acetate first. One thing I've learned is that even if it looks amazing on paper, sometimes you have to adjust things when it goes onto a transparency. And it has to be printed there because mine is backlit and I've learned that printing on transparency sheets isn't always perfect even on a good laserjet. It seems from photos I've seen that not all of these are backlit? Some units seem to have solid colors painted right on. I think that's how this style works? If that's the case, folks with that style could just print a design on any heavy weight paper, like 80lb card stock, and probably get amazing results. I think all of the factory ones are backlit. Anyway, that looks amazing! But to my eye it doesn't quite look balanced with an icon for the fan and a word for fuel. Why not a fuel icon? Still, it looks wonderful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 I think all of the factory ones are backlit. Anyway, that looks amazing! But to my eye it doesn't quite look balanced with an icon for the fan and a word for fuel. Why not a fuel icon? Still, it looks wonderful! The dealer installed a/c version that goes in the cubby to the right of the steering wheel is the only one I know of that isn't backlit. That does look really good! I second liking the rectangles vs the gradient and would prefer that style on my 86. I might be tempted to put a little arrow next to the F of FUEL pointing to the left Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taskswap Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 The dealer installed a/c version that goes in the cubby to the right of the steering wheel is the only one I know of that isn't backlit. That does look really good! I second liking the rectangles vs the gradient and would prefer that style on my 86. I might be tempted to put a little arrow next to the F of FUEL pointing to the left Now see, this is why being able to hack on your own car is so fun... Probably need to move it down a pixel but... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 Now see, this is why being able to hack on your own car is so fun... Probably need to move it down a pixel but... Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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