Dash Fab analog to Digital

Thanks Henry, ill keep that idea on standby also.

 

So I contacted my buddy who runs a body shop supply store here in Bowling Green, KY he informed me that most automakers clearcoats are only 50-60 microns thick about the thickness of the plastic on a pack of cigarettes. When I told him I used the whole can of two part 2k clear he laughed and said dont be worried about 3000 grit you probably have 100-150 microns of thickness sand away buddy, put a little soap in your water and roll on!!!

So i did! He said you can buff it out with over the counter meguiars swirl X Because 3k grit is really superficial on the scratches. He was right on both counts! I removed all orange peel and nibs, dust, etc! I was still very reserved being afraid of burn theough and ruining my fake wood hydrodip graphics. It turned out great! See pics it took alot of elbow buffing without using a buffer but man when i get it installed ill hit it with a buffing wheel so my paint cures out and gets harder before i try that.

 

I also lined my screen edges of the fiberglass frame with felt And used foam around the edges to prevent creepy crawlers and rain from entering my dash wiring. My last stage before screen install is gluing in a piece of wood for the mounting bracket. I sure hope all the dimensions i have gotten from chetco are correct?

I have done all this without the actual screen in hand, so.....if this thread goes dark its because im taking time to kick myself in the rear and eat crow while its hot!!

 

Screens are finally finished should have complete pics next week. I elected to have a sync guage vs the speedometer as my garmin below this screen has MPH etc.

 

You were totally right. I had to choose between sync gauge and speedo due to having only three pulse inputs. i figured they would have upgraded That by now what year did you have your g2 installed?

 

I spent alot of time looking at those videos on youtube. They were extremely helpful!

 

So guys my worst fear about this came calling about 6am this morning, which my mechanic knows is too early for me lol. He says I need you to come to the lake? This is a 45 min drive my mind says as I yawned (sounds serious) Screen doesnt fit he says... crickets chirping! I say #%€\{}@$& it im on my way!

I now start counting backwards from 2,700 its a long drive. So as my ulcers are pumping blood into my stomach as I pull in the boat yard.

I finally see what he is referring to and study it carefully. I said ill take the dash and screen home, I see the issue also! The mechanic says I am not touching that screen I saw the invoice in the box LOL.

Chetco does a great job btw but the mounting plate and the screen were separated by almost 1” About 1/2”too
tight to Fit so the dash came to the house one more time( fingers crossed) I will post pics on my work around.

 

So after calming down a bit hat in hand I call Joe at chetco after waiting till they open 2hrs behind KY then visit America’s home improvement store. I then proceeded to buy nylon spacers and carefully remove chetco’s handy work. I even re-hot glued the nuts.

Man the 1/2” reduction helped it squeeze into my fiberglass shell. Can I get an AMEN! Whew i even used a few to make sure my mounting Screws and resin coated plywood would have a little slack for hot and cold weather expansion and contraction. This is a touch screen and cant be torqued down hard which made me think this is fate you know how heavy handed mechanics can be I even wrote a note not to tighten the screws LOL

I now have screen in and feel confident my guy can do the rest, as Joe at chetco even pre loaded the screen for my layout. If I get another drive to the lake call it will be a software thing and not a man you are screwed that dash fab doesn’t fit call lol!!!!!

 

My cost without the WiFi option was about 3k and change. I only went this route when I discovered used gauges on ebay would have cost almost this much and probably failed too being used. I guess there is no NAPA for boats lol!

 

I agree man sucks paying that without knowing if it will work? But Ive found in life and especially with boats, good stuff ain't cheap, and cheap stuff ain't good! So thats a Quote from this hillbilly I guess LOL.

 

Screen is In! All gauges are functioning except the trim which I was informed is due to faulty Trim gauge sending units. They have been ordered and should be here Tuesday or weds. my mechanic Scott is a great boat mechanic, if he fixes anything its always right the first time! I Love this guy if you are in KY I can recommend Barren River Boat shop for any repair big or small!!!

So I apologize guys no completed final install pics till mid week. Thats boat repairs hurry up and wait. I will also include a video as I cannot find anyone on YouTube who has posted the sea gauge retrofit in action or pics?

I still havent been out to the boat to see it in person yet! I want it to be a surprise when I get to my slip!

 

Ok drum roll please.......here are a few pics installed! I took it out today and they worked perfectly. I apologize for the delay as My mechanic and Joe at Chetco Digital had to do a little adjustment and resync all the gauges again, due to some kind of thing that I cant explain?

The guys with tall foreheads and thick glasses prevailed because persistence beats resistance and that computer stuff is in chetco’s wheelhouse.

It is tilted a little far but after I realized that I sit elevated on my bolster anyway as the boat does raise quite a bit even with trim and trim tab adjustments. So sitting down only happens on plane and it’s still not that bad. I can live with it, cause id rather take a beating than refab this dash again LOL.

I will upload a video as I was too excited to do one today.