Centre Console and Dash Modified

[PETROLHEAD]

Hi all

as you all know, i'm never really happy with a stock standard car, i like to put my stamp on it a little!

wheels are a hugely personal thing for me, but thats what everyone else sees, on the outside, i also like to enjoy what i see whilst driving, so dashboard mods are also high up there on the personalisation list.


now the 164 has a nice dash, not a bad layout although the steering wheel chops the tops of the main clocks out of my field of vision, not smart! but it didn't yet fit my planned theme of more of a street demon than a sleepy pipe n slippers kind of environment, so RED was always in my mind.

No i'm not having the dash painted or leathered rosso red, or red disco lights in the roof lining (although, hmmm )

but the green backlighting has alway been a little serene for my liking, and having my centre console now fully serviced and repaired by the excellent Porto (see trader Index) it was the perfect time to get the led's out!

Pretty crap pictures but here's my new dash look!

[Porto]

Where are the pictures?

[PETROLHEAD]

Coming Davy coming!

Had a bit of a site issue


Here you go

[Porto]

Looks quite nice that red!

Maybe you should also lighty paint those greenish plastic parts in red,
you need Motip Magic Light paint for that, it's in color but a bit transparant
made mainly to give your normal bulbs another color but I guess you can
also use it on those plastic transparant parts.

http://www.motip.com/products/motip/aut ... gic-light/

[PETROLHEAD]

I thought about something like that, but then sat back and rather liked the contrast to ne honest.

Ive always been a bit "goose fair " when it comes to lights!


You might have to google that one?

[Porto]

I thought about something like that, but then sat back and rather liked the contrast to ne honest.

Ive always been a bit "goose fair " when it comes to lights!


You might have to google that one?

I'll google that!

But you put alot of effort into how the dashboard looks and it pays off, it looks really nice indeed!
Talking about the contrast, I like the red display and above that in the middle the red of the hazard lights,
surrounded by the green. Almost everyone I know that posess an Alfa 164 leave those lights the original
green color but a bit of playing with those lights can amaze you.

One person I know have installed RGB LED's driven by an Arduino; his backlight is changing color everytime
the unit gets power, not my idea but it looks rather cool in real life.

[Spacenut]

Very nice

I've seen similar colour conversions done on backlit LCD displays on other makes too - one that particularly caught my eye was an old Vauxhall Carlton digidash, the ones that used to have that awful orange backlighting. Hyper blue LEDs turned it into a stunning display, although probably didn't do much for daylight visibility!

I've never had a close-up look at a 164 dash before. Plenty of switches there!

Lauren

[PETROLHEAD]

Yeah i remember the vauxhall digi dash, didnt look too pretty or even work that well either in the quick cars, not easily read when accelerating hard


Ive always liked "bells n whistles" in cars, all the toys! So a 164 qv fits the bill quite well on that score, very well equipped and not a bad layout, love the centre console, quite unique,

But,

The steering wheels still cuts the top of the clocks off unless i sit like a chav staring at the sunroof! Ha ha!


Fitted a nice head unit in too now, but its a little bright and busy, so i repaired the secrecy panel for it so it doesnt conflict with classy image,

At least what i can see is nice to look at now! Lol!

[Spacenut]

Ive always liked "bells n whistles" in cars, all the toys!

Quite right too! After all, you spend most of your time behind the wheel, so the view from inside should be as good as the outside, something I have been coming to terms with on the Nova for some years now

[PETROLHEAD]

Speaking of which Lauren, any progress for your nova dash thread yet, or too busy sunning yourself?

[Spacenut]

Sunning myself? Sunning myself??!!??!? Pah!

Actually, there is progress to report. I will put something together and post it up shortly...

Lauren

[PETROLHEAD]

Nice one lauren, i look forward to it,

Proper dash mods!


Not much of a sunbather then eh, me neither, proper english me, handkerchief knotted on head, socks and sandals, and burnt to a lobster the moment im exposed to high teens centigrade! Lol!

What an image eh

[Spacenut]

Not much of a sunbather then eh

Absolutely not - burn in an instant. It's early August and I still look pasty as a Goth

[Alfasixnut]

Very nice



I've never had a close-up look at a 164 dash before. Plenty of switches there!

Lauren

Well I still have nightmares about trying to use the 164 instrument binnacle in the 6C - There were 64 wires in 6 plugs to make it work. Some parts needed earths to work - other parts needed 12v and when you got to a certain number of connections it all went to boot!!!