The Project Pad

derracuda wrote:yeah, i couldn't find any clamps small enough for now, and i need like 20 of them zip ties will suffice for now. i'm not going to run 30-40psi it held a few hoses on my white car for a few years with no issues.

PM me an address and I'll hook you up with the correct clamp

just wait sending stuff, as he needs also doorpanels

i made a last minute decision to bite the bullet and make some irreversable changes


you know how when you get the bug to do something for really... no good reason at all? that's pretty much what i did. i've had this cool idea of using a 5kt dash cluster and dash housing to replicate the Sport Quattro dash. the benefits are multi-fold. #1. i get a 160mph speedo. #2. i get the nice backlit gauges. #.3 it has the neat little door open indicator light. #4. it has a higher redline in the tach #5. it has a speedo that goes to 160 mph. and finally #6. it resemlbes a SQ dash for cryin out loud!

it all went down like this...
start off with removing a 5kt dash and cut it to more useable sizes and test fit over the existing dash


then remove the stock 4kq steering column as it's way wrong


stupid non-tamper bolts! i'll show you!


now, you'll need the 5kt steering column for the key and the stalk mounted switches. if you haven't noticed by now, the 5kt dash pod has no provisions for the headlight switches and stuff. so why not use the column mounted


you have to remove the lock ring and spring on the column


and lay everything out like this (it looks more professional that way )


then once the 4kq column is out of the way, hold the new column up in place to get a feel


you'll also have to cut the cluster dog house down quite a bit


it's a pretty good fit to the 4kq's dash contour


that's a spare test dash for seeing how much i'd have to cut before digging too far into the job


stock dash in..


stock dash out..


you can see the difference in mounting here. the 4kq has two bolts that hold it up from the bottom


the 5kt steering column has cross bolts


a lovely surprise though... the width is about perfect for the 5kt piece


a reminder of where it was destined 8)


here goes nothin'!!


no turning back now


oooooh, that fits nice 8)


more test fitting




there is some clearancing needed for the back of the cluster. i'm working on a reinforcement for it, but initially it's proven to be pretty stinkin' stout


holes must be drilled


bolts in place


this is the bracket for supporting the cluster


stock dash one last time


i used the stock 4kq holes for holding the dog house in place, just put grommets in it


and made brackets for which to hold the upper side of the dog house in place


i also had to trim into the back of the dash for clearance on the wiring plugs for the cluster


getting closer


i had to make a couple brackets for the outer portion of the cluster brace. i'll further reinforce them with a piece under the column that's tied to the column itself



here is it mostly finished.




and the last thing i did today was hook up the new ignition switch setup. the plug is different, but the wiring is the same and the terminals pop out and plug into the 5kt plug 8)



i'm not entirely finished. i still have to wire up the lighting, turn signals, cruise control, and a couple other things. but overall i'm very pleased with it i also have to do some either foam or bondo work on the bottom section of the cluster housing where it meets the dash and then recover the whole housing so it's mucho nice 8)

Ive always loved the 5kt clusters over the 4k ones so this is a pretty interesting idea.

Jason M. had put a 7A and pretty much a slew of B3 stuff into his former 4kq did something similar with the B3 cluster, came out pretty snazzy.

Threw together a quick before and after:



I think I like. Well definately the guages and everthing are much better. The over cover is pretty big but still looks good. Awesome work!

perty sweet mate..............
I enjoyed the writeup, had me glued to the end....
definetly looks good in the car.

thanks guys i think it'll be really sweet once the wiring's all done and everything works like it's supposed to. i forgot to mention that i had to shorten the steering column tube as well. the 5kt one is considerably longer as you can see in the pics. i'll have pics of how i do that soon as well

oh, btw guys... i forgot the mention the last benefit to this swap.... with the later 200 style turn signal combo switch... i can now run one of these..


we have a customer car here at the shop that has one.... man, it's nice! i feel special just touching it as the leather is really soft and the suede is a great touch.

:woowoo: ^^^ That alone is worth the effort, I love mine.

I want one.

nice work again, would not do it myself cause I like the 90/4k cluster over the 100/5k cluster and because I can't wait to see the needle pass the 220 km/h on the 90/4k cluster :-D

I see you've fitted an airbag at the same time, safety first :woowoo:

airbag steering wheel is just a temporary. i'm not wiring all that stuff in when i'm just going to change the steering wheel out for one the the CAC units

Looking good Derek but how are you going to mold the 2 into 1?Wouldnt it have been better to just try and fit the stock 5000 dash in the 4000's place?

Wizard-of-OD wrote:Looking good Derek but how are you going to mold the 2 into 1?Wouldnt it have been better to just try and fit the stock 5000 dash in the 4000's place?

the stock 4kq dash pod isn't molded into the dash... it just sits on top. i'm going to work the sides with probably some bondo or something to give it the right shape, and then recover the whole housing.

it was be kind of the wrong way to go with putting the 5kt cluster in the 4kq housing as it's not even close to designed for it.

Very nice. I like that you used the 200 combination switch. I thought of doing this swap, but couldn't think of what to do for the light switches. The 5k combi switches are junk, and I never thought of using the 200 stuff. Great idea! Can't wait to see how it turn out. Bet there will be more of these happening. Personally, I'd like to do it with a B5/C5 cluster. FWIW, you can code them to work with a five cylinder engine. BTDT...

Looking good! I think the sport steering wheel will look better in your car than in Richard's...I feel as though the upscale nature of the 200's interior clashes with the sporty look of the CAC wheel.

seiche wrote:Very nice. I like that you used the 200 combination switch. I thought of doing this swap, but couldn't think of what to do for the light switches. The 5k combi switches are junk, and I never thought of using the 200 stuff. Great idea! Can't wait to see how it turn out. Bet there will be more of these happening. Personally, I'd like to do it with a B5/C5 cluster. FWIW, you can code them to work with a five cylinder engine. BTDT...

man, i dunno. i think i'll be happy if i can get everything ironed out and working like it's supposed to for a good long while i'm very used to the stock 4kq dash, so this will be a huge upgrade 8)


and Miles... man, Rich's car is sooo nice. i think the steering wheel fits it quite nicely

and another impressive feat!! looks much better

derracuda wrote: i'm going to work the sides with probably some bondo or something to give it the right shape, and then recover the whole housing.

Recover in material right?

Wizard-of-OD wrote:

derracuda wrote: i'm going to work the sides with probably some bondo or something to give it the right shape, and then recover the whole housing.

Recover in material right?

right.... either leather or black suede to avoid the nasty glare issue that plagues the 4kq's

Derek you're my favorite kind of maniac.

:woowoo: :stupid:

You are menthol, Seems to be quite a few of us around htese parts! Keep up the good work man.

H

:-D just remember, i get to enjoy it when it's done, that's my main motivation here

you should show that at the Woodburn Bug Run if you have it all buttoned up by then. (June 3rd)

i'm gone to cali then :( stupid work schedule :frustrated: :frustrated: