why not nick the vents out of a bay kombi (you can take their holders out of the dash as well with a bit of care) or the classy little ones from a late t3? the late t3 ones fit in about the position you are thinking of and are a nice simple look.
Reimagined/Recycled/Upcycled Cool
baybuscamperkid wrote:why not nick the vents out of a bay kombi (you can take their holders out of the dash as well with a bit of care) or the classy little ones from a late t3? the late t3 ones fit in about the position you are thinking of and are a nice simple look.
Wes considered Kombi vents but they are bigger and don't look as cool as the Mx5 ones.
I like the reposted first one
Marc
If you can't laugh at yourself you can't laugh at anyone else! Because life is to short not to LAUGH
You can dress up those plastic vents with stainless steel dress rings. I've put them in my MX-5 and they look great.
Another option would be the vents out of the Toyota RAV4. They are round as well but have flaps that can be closed, unlike the MX-5 ones.
a friend recommended closing vents from an S15 Nissan. They look cool too but would probably be pricey and hard to find...
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
Yes, they look similar to the RAV4 ones
What about some old mini air outlets?
The ones I have in my Libra must be pretty cheap and easy to get hold of, I've never looked tho'
Rich
looking good wes cant wait to see it up close and personal!!
cheers
rhys
it aint just cool its aircool'd
The climate control has been moving along slowly. Too many other things going on this time of year (xmas parties, birthdays, Motorcycle toy runs, broken house air con, planting gardens, putting up xmas lights, mowing the lawn that grows too damn fast). I was planning to finish the wiring on Saturday, but the 36 deg C temperature meant I lost motivation.
But I did get something done. I finished all the welding (hopefully) and the main unit seems to fit very well in it's new home. I welded up the old fuse box hole and painted everything black.
Under the dash is looking mostly complete too, and is also now painted black. I just have to vacuum all the dust out and retrim the carpets a little. I was speaking to the guy who made my carpets in the first place, and he still had some of my colour carpet sitting around from when he first did my car (3 years ago). So hopefully I will have enough to pad and carpet the section under the dash so it really won't be noticeable.
Hopefully this week I will quickly get the old wiring together so the car is driveable for next weekend (I want to go offroading at Mt Mee). Then during my xmas break I will redo the wiring probably and make all the air con ducting. If I get time and find an air-con shop open over the xmas break I might even get it all working.
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
Looks like a neat fit.Good stuff!!
tssnq.com.au
I've been looking into air vents for my Eureka and stumbled upon a company called Flexible Drive Agencies.Thay have outlets in most States. Anyway, they sell and eyeball type vent like the MX-5 but with closeable vents. The part number is 061405 and it retails for $22.56 + gst. the catalogue is here
http://www.fdrive.com.au/docs/Automotive%20Electrical.pdfNearly 6 weeks has passed, and I haven't really gotten too far. I blame xmas (shopping and festivities), going for a trip up 40 mile beach with friends, getting side tracked on other projects and the ridiculous heat 🙂 . I procrastinated about working on the car many times but retired to the comfort of an air conditioned house most of the time.
The first side-track project was the radiator scoop. You can read about that in the rear radiator post.
Next side-tracked project was a third brake light. I have had friends complain they can't see my brake lights many times, so I figured a third brake light was a good idea. My friend bought me a suitable LED light on his trip home to Singapore / Malaysia. I decided to put it in the rear spoiler above the engine. I couldn't screw it there, double sided tape didn't work, so I fiberglassed it in place.
So back to the climate control. I spent a long time rewiring the car (and part of that was another side project where I fitted later model beetle splined windscreen wipers as opposed to the early grub screw wipers I had). I lost my alarm and immobiliser wiring diagrams, but the supplier (Autostrada) was very helpful and photocopied another set for me. Wiring is slow and sometimes frustrating, but I have redone all the VW loom. I also tried to install a Jaycar speedo corrector kit, but it doesn't work and I am currently trying to sort out the problem with Jaycar.
As part of installing the climate control the whole dash needed to be finished off (the instrument cluster was never in there properly). I decided to cut up the plastic mazda dash to use the instrument cluster and climate control unit plastic surrounds.
and then test fit it in the dash
the instrument cluster is quite a different size. I could either spend weeks trying to weld and shape metal, or think or another way of making it look neat. The mid section of the dash was now a bit weak with so much cut out, so I figured adding a mdf panel onto the front of the dash would give some strength back, and give me something to work with so I could inset the plastic surrounds in the dash. This would mean that I will need to carpet the dash, which I was leaning towards anyway. It will be charcoal marine carpet like my floor.
First I cut the mdf panel to shape and moulded the climate control surround into place (above). Then I had to attach the mdf to the dash (rivets in countersunk holes) and fibreglass the dash surround from behind.
The mazda surround had gaps at the side due to the shape of the Mazda dash, so I fiberglassed those over too. Now I just need to spread bog over it all and sand it to shape. Once the carpet is on there you'll never know. I also hopefully have another climate control heat unit coming that still has black buttons (mine have peeled off).
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
Baja Wes wrote:I procrastinated about working on the car many times but retired to the comfort of an air conditioned house most of the time.
I know what you mean, but then the other way around, it below freezing over here.....
You're bug is going to be really nice!! Aircon, the ability to go everywhere AND with lots of power, very nice!!:thumb
It's looking good!
[ Edited on 24/1/2006 by gerrelt ]
Wes If you weren't doing something crazy to that car I'd be worried about you😁
Nice going Wes!
I'm doing a similar job grafting the subaru instruments into my 1303 dash...
Rich
after many people objecting to my plans to carpet my dash, I have gone for the painting option. This of course means more work, and hours of sanding and preparation to get it all smooth. I'm getting pretty close though, it's pretty smooth...
my only concern is that offroading the dash might flex and cracked the filler out, but it never did that before I guess...
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
here are two pics of my painted dash. I painted it with my air brush. It just needs a clear coat to make it shiny like the rest of the car. The very left part of the dash is still the original clear coated colour. I blended the colour across. The preparation wasn't perfect, they are still some small marks, but it's pretty good and I didn't feel like sanding for another week to get it perfect.
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
love your work
This disclaimer does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of either myself, my company, my friends, or my dog: don't quote me on that; don't quote me on anything; this disclaimer is subject to change without notice; text is slightly enlarged to show detail; resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental; dry clean only; do not bend, fold, or mutilate; anchovies or jalapenos added to this disclaimer upon request; your mileage may vary; no substitutions are allowed; for a limited time only while supplies last; offer void where prohibited; this disclaimer is provided "as is" without any warranties expressed or implied
thats damn sexy, i personally think it was worth the time to prep the dash to be painted it looks the good 👍
Founding member of the C'town Rat-Pack
That looks like ex-factory! Better than shag-piling the dash, for sure.
Peter Hill
1975 Type 2 Double Cab
modulus.com.auYour dash looks great. All your guages should work since you are using the original instrument cluster. But what are you going to do for the fuel level guage because the VDO sender is probably different OHMs that the instrument cluster?
yes they don't like each other. I have been running the mazda cluster for 2+ years. The fuel sender kinda works. Full is full, half is 1/4, and 1/4 is empty. So it works for me but will confuse others. I think I may be able to fix it by modifying the stock sender (bend or shorten the arm) or by adding a resistor.
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
I put the dash together for a trial fit, and it looks pretty good.
I had Troy send his climate control face unit down to me, and his was not perfect either so I will try repainting the buttons on mine black.
I also had dramas with my instrument cluster. I got a little overspray on the clear cover, and decided to try cleaning it with metho. I dabbed it on one corner and then wiped it straight off to test to see if it melted the surface (which I could have buffed back out). To my disappointment (even after wiping it off) the metho caused the plastic to start crazy cracking. So now the left of the clear cover is cracked. I'll have to get another from a wreckers 🙁
Now I just have to make the under dash panel which will basically be an extension of the one already there. I will make it full width with the vents in each corner. I will probably also carpet the boxed out section under the dash.
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
Lookin Good! 👍
I dunno, purple leapard skin could do it!
modulus wrote:That looks like ex-factory! Better than shag-piling the dash, for sure.
This disclaimer does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of either myself, my company, my friends, or my dog: don't quote me on that; don't quote me on anything; this disclaimer is subject to change without notice; text is slightly enlarged to show detail; resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental; dry clean only; do not bend, fold, or mutilate; anchovies or jalapenos added to this disclaimer upon request; your mileage may vary; no substitutions are allowed; for a limited time only while supplies last; offer void where prohibited; this disclaimer is provided "as is" without any warranties expressed or implied
I'll add more words later, but I am just posting to show the new dash.
I carpeted the section that is boxed down below the dash, so you virtually don't notice it, especially behind the lower velour panels I made for the dash (to house the outer vents). I also added some little MX5 courtesy lights that come on with the door light in the under-dash panels.
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
Looks great!!!!:bounce:bounce
tssnq.com.au
Looks fantastic Wes 👍
How does the AC work?
Rich
So what are you using the switch on the gearstick for?
65 Meyers Manx
68 Country Buggy (KO 367)
68 Country Buggy (KO 669)
68 Country Buggy (KO 789)
68 Country Buggy (KO 815)
68 Baja Bug
76 Baja Kombi Twincab
the switch on the gearstick is just for my rear offroading spotlights.
The AC doesn't work yet, as I still haven't finished the ducting, or mounted the condensor at the front, or run all the AC lines.
I'll try to get all the ducting finished so at least the heater and fan of the climate control work before winter. But I will probably wait until winter to mount the condensor and run the AC lines. That way the AC shops will be low on business (in winter) so I will have more chance of finding one that will be helpful and patient when running the new hoses.
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
