It’s 9 o’clock somewhere…
Yeah. Again. Sharka got new gauges AGAIN! The poor little guy. He works hard. He might not have that many miles under his belt, but he does work hard. Most of it is in the garage getting taken apart and put back together again.
Good ol’ Sharka.
And here’s the latest part – some new gauges I’m calling Version Barcode.
80s inspired.
There’s not really a single point of inspiration for these gauges. They’re an original design based on my desire to try 9 o’clock gauges and to modify my Stirling design a bit. I really liked the grey arcs on my Stirling gauges and wanted to design something with that sort of feel.
As for the 9 o’clock-ness, that’s very much an 80s thing. Many cars of that era came with a speedometer and tach starting at nine, so I looked at a lot of them when designing these. Let me just say… wow. There were some boring dashes back then. But still, inspiration can come from anywhere. I tried to keep an open mind.
Speed.
Revs.
Coolant.
Oil.
The good stuff.
In the end, this is very much my own design. There’s some Stirling in there along with a little Revolver. I’m very pleased with the result. Maybe these will stay in Sharka for a whole year?
But what about night mode?
Bars disappear.
Nightspeed.
Ready to rev.
They are, of course, amber at night. That’s my favorite light color for Sharka, so all of his gauges tend to be amber. I might do white someday, but not today.
So. Want a set of Barcode gauges? They’re for sale in my store now.
Awesome Job! I really like it. I wish i could make something similar 🙂 but… :/
Could you tell, how do you make them? O.O”
If you look in my store, there’s an FAQ page. It kinda tells how I make them.
The materials I use are the very definition of high end. A shop in town makes up the plastic for me. It’s VERY not cheap at around $20 per sheet, but it’s the best material I’ve ever found. They’re always coming up with new formulations. It’s pretty sweet having partners who make your plastic.
My cutter is a monster designed for maximum force and cutting very heavy material. It’s pretty exotic. Probably something you’d not find in most cities. New cost was around the price of a used NC.
So… yeah, there’s really nothing DIY about the gauges I make and sell. Sorry.
For real… Too bad that i’m way far away from you 😀
but still i will try to archive something close that you are doing, I think it sounds crazy, but you inspired me to create something special to my old car 🙂 but still i have few questions how to make Gauges, not the top quality but simple, to fit to my simple car and could be made almost in home conditions 🙂 (if it’s possible) (without magic mechanisms, nor cool cutting machinery)
Something simple, home made, custom, good looking 🙂
Is it possible? 😀
That’s another great looking design you’ve put out there ! This have a bit of a retro feeling, but at the same time it is modern. I fear the day I’ll take care of my interior, because each new design you add to your collection, my hesitations grow more and more !
I’d like to see this one in particular in a wavy RS panel.
OH MAN. This would look sweet with the wavy KG panel!!! I’ve always liked that one. I almost ordered it many times years ago. I just kept getting stopped by the lack of writing on it. But I always admired it.
And thanks! I’ve thought about that before. “Would I sell more of these if I stopped doing so many new gauge designs?” But the designing is my favorite part, so I continue.
And I can only say keep going, you’re so good at this ! This choice is the kind of headaches I like to have 🙂 But I still have time to decide while I’m thinking about the rest.
What’s the brand on the panel? I want to change my whole gauge
That’s the KG Works Independent Look gauge cluster. From Japan and discontinued a while ago. Sometimes they make extra batches, but not often. The yahoo Japan auctions are the best place to find them.
I got mine through RSpeed a couple of years ago. They might be able to get them still.
I feel everyone of Adam’s retro styled gauges are designed for the KGW panel because they all look right at home when paired with it.
Hey, how’s the hood coming?
It’s great! It sits against the wall in my shop and looks very slick.
No money yet to paint the whole car… 🙁
Sharka has probably had more gauges than my car has had oil changes. Haha.
LOL! It’s possible. I think I’m up to 13 sets if I count every one installed over the years.
I’ve had version Barcode in my NA for a few months now. I’ve been loving these from day one. I have to say that as good as these gauges look during the day, they’re even better at night. In my opinion these gauges have a fairly modern feel in daylight, but are completely transformed at night!! These have an amazing vintage feel when illuminated. My only proplem now, is that I want another gauge set! Maybe something custom next time, the ideas are already forming.
Thanks Dave! I really liked the Barcode gauges in Sharka. When I decide to go back to a larger steering wheel than the 320mm Prototipo, I’ll likely put them back in.