2011 Gauges – Version Rossa

What's this?

What's this?

In between gauge face commissions, I’ve been working on a new set for myself. Sharka has been wearing his old gauges (called “Revolution”) since around April of last year. I’ve been feeling a little tired of them and craving something a little more vintage looking. Something flashy and yet minimalist. Something that really complemented my KG Works gauge cluster.

To borrow a line from Jeremy Clarkson: And here it is.

revlimiter Gauges - Version Rossa

revlimiter Gauges - Version Rossa

This set of gauges is inspired by the beautiful Jaeger gauges worn by the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. At least the tach style is inspired by it. I then built the rest of the gauges around that one. And I’m quite pleased with myself.

Fresh from the cutting table.

Fresh from the cutting table.

One nice thing about making gauges commercially is having access to really great tools and materials. These are all plastic, three layers sandwiched together. They’re printed on a silkscreen printer and then perforated on a machine die cutter. I then finish the cutting process by hand with an exacto knife. This is similar to my old gauge face tutorial but with different art on the three layers and different materials of course.

Enough yapping. Time for more pix.

Tachometer and Fuel

Tachometer and Fuel

Speedometer and Coolant

Speedometer and Coolant

The Oil gauge

The Oil gauge

Proper instrumentation.

Proper instrumentation.

I’ve never seen a set of Miata gauges with the speedo/tach Zeros rotated to this position. There are some flat horizontal sets (zero at 9 o’clock) but none at 10 o’clock. And it feels REALLY strange after living with a 4 o’clock tach for over a year. But I’m quite happy with it.

An interesting thing about the design that I’d not planned on is how minimalist it feels. All of the inner markings on the tach and speedometer just… go away when you’re driving. All you notice are the large numbers for the major scale and the outer ring and very small tick marks for the minor scale. It’s like a very decorative minimalist design. Totally unplanned.

And I should mention that these would be nigh unusable without those small tick marks on the outer tach/speedo rings.

Rossa at night.

Rossa at night.

Night Speed

Night Speed

Back-lit redline

Back-lit redline

Years ago, I made another gauge set with this pie-style of redline. But back then, I didn’t have the skill to blot out most of the light and turn it into a wedge at night. I just had this hugely bright red area and the numbers struggling to be seen. That was not quite “optimal” to say the least. This version is much better.

Very little of the yellow/red on the front tachometer face is actually visible at night. The camera sensitivity helps bring out that detail.

By the way, the lighting color is a very soothing amber (orange). If it looks red on your monitor, you might consider calibrating it.

Ready to drive.

Ready to drive.

So… whut what do you think of this new gauge set? I’m obviously very pleased, but I’m also really curious as to my five three loyal viewer’s opinions. Leave a comment and let me know? Thanks!

Tags: , , ,

« | »
  • Skeeler says:

    The old-school style really matches the rest of Sharka’s interior. I much prefer having the zeros at 6 o’clock, like on my NC, but you are certainly welcome to position them how you like.

    When you say you are making gauges commercially, what does that mean?

    Michael

    • revlimiter says:

      I tried having zero at 6, but it just didn’t look…. right with this design. And I’d never had a set with this rotation, so I figured I’d try it.

      And commercially means I make gauges for money. Been doing that for a couple years now. I need to put together a few pages on my site here, but I’ve not had time.

  • Deliverator says:

    Phenomenal job (as always). Really like how the yellow and red on the tach matches the tones of the yellow and red lights on the kg works cluster.

    • Adam says:

      Thanks! Those little indicators were the inspiration behind doing a design with a red AND yellow zone. When I saw the 250 Testa Rossa gauges, I knew I had found what I was after.

  • El Dave says:

    Really digging the new design!

  • Georgee says:

    They look completely astounding, great job!

  • ROB0 says:

    Just want to say I absolutely love these! I didn’t think you could top your last ones and yet, here they are! These gauges really accent Sharka! Also, why did you take off the turned aluminum needle centers? Is it that I just missed the post?

    • revlimiter says:

      No, I’ve never had the metal needle caps. I’ve honestly never liked them. I always thought they looked sort of stuck-on. I’d be more interested in a modified needle that didn’t have the center cap at all. I’ve thought about trying to hack one up like that for years.

      And thanks for the kind words!

      • ROB0 says:

        Oh, I guess I just imagined them…. (<- head-in-clouds moment)
        Anyways, I agree completely on the cap-less needles. You see, our family has an '88 Ferrari in the garage, and I just LOVE the instrument panel… This era had the cap-less needles in style, which you can clearly see in the link below. What you don't get in the photo is the fluorescence of the orange print, and I have absolutely no idea on how I might go about getting that besides going out and buying the Ferrari OEM part and cutting it down to size to put in the '99 NB.

        http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/49137985.jpg

  • OnePaintedMan says:

    These are phenomenal! Want Want Want. Am now looking for a KG Works cluster to do them justice!!!!

  • Bill says:

    These look amazing! I’m practically speechless.

  • Chris Evans says:

    Looks great cannot wait until you put the pages up on the gauges.

  • Stoly says:

    Even better looking in person!

  • Billy T says:

    rev let me just say your work on the gauges is inspiring I am contemplating doing a project like this for my Chevy Colorado now. Thanks for the wonderful how to’s and willingness to teach others.

  • spindiscs says:

    Hi Dude,

    Superb execution as usual.
    How do I send you pics of mine?

  • Dave Kilby says:

    Adam, I got my gauge faces the other day and put them in pretty much the same night, I am very happy with the finished result, it certainly adds that touch of class to one of the best cars I will ever own.

    Thanks again mate,

    I consider myself a continuing customer of yours

    Dave Kilby
    Red 90.

  • A customer pointed your site our to me, and I really like the work you do. It all looks top notch. Didnt know there were many others out there doing this as well (although I mainly focus on Jeeps).

    -Bryan

  • Leave a Reply