Some of you know I dabble in electronics. It really is only a side job/hobby. I have no formal training in electronics repair. But, I have done it for years, it’s easy, and I can do it for you if need be.
But, I’ve been doing more and more custom work for the MR2 scene. In June I started a “Group Buy” where I upgrade various parts of the MKII MR2. I did mine in 2009 and have done a few other cars on here as well.
I wanted to post this thread so that if anyone is seriously thinking about retro-fitting their interior they can know that I may be able to help.
I can also help repair some things you may not think are repairable. So, here are some of the things I have done the past few months.
are you capable of getting a red to come through a green-illuminated HVAC panel? the bulbs are clear and the green overlay is a coating between the plastic and the final dials/paint
others have found ways to get a blue through but not red.
Possibly. Is this a Gauge Cluster? If it is I cannot recalibrate your needles. You will have to do that. Most of the filtered guage faces have a screened filter within the layer of the gauge overlay. One method, if the colored filter is on the outer layer, is to sand off the colored layer.
But, you obviously cannot return it to OEM afterwards.
I would need to look at it.
It’s 5 easy steps; Sandblast, Prime, Paint, Laser Etch, and…ok 4 steps. Srsly though, I recreate the button nomenclature in CAD and I laser etch the button face. This is a timely process but once I have the nomenclature done it is easy to turn out multiple parts.
I’ve never messed with a Fox. But, I can do pretty much anything damn near within reason. If you are seriously considering it a few things to mention.
I try to make my mods 100% reversible in the event you ever want to go back to stock. In some cases this is NOT possible. So be prepared for it to be permanent.
Just because you can think it up doesn’t make it possible or worth it. If you want color changing LEDs, to be programmed on a PWM dimmer circuit it is going to cost…$$$…and I don’t want to spend a year on it.
I work at a fairly steady pace. But, some retrofits can take months depending on complexity. So be prepared to have your car “sit” for a while…With winter around the corner you might be fine no matter what.
I can ball park pricing for these mods but sometimes it takes trail and error. I may need a couple tries on complex things to get them right.
In some cases I can retro fit 99% of an interior. Sometimes digital technology hinders modifications. So be prepared that there may be some things I shouldn’t even attempt to crack open… So, you either need to live with a lit interior with ONE or TWO things that are still OEM. Some example are; OEM Clocks, Odometers, and aftermarket Gauges.
If you are interested and want to proceed shoot me a PM when you are ready. We can plan a time and come up with “design” for your application.
Ever replaced a data ribbon inside of a late 90s/early 00s BMW Cluster? The pixels are bad on both my cluster and MID (radio). I hear it’s easy, but I just don’t have the dexterity for it.
You make this stuff look easy, Luke. Really great job. If you ever get the itch to play around with something a bit older, I’d love to get all my gauges in my fastback running and LED illuminated this winter.
what others have done is carefully dremel the whole face of the HVAC dial surrounds, then have decals made for the little logos and numbers, then paint over them and peel the decals off and put LED’s of color choice inside… I wanted to do this, but don’t know where I could get the decals made that small yet detailed. I thought maybe you’d have some input after seeing your refurbishing of other buttons and such. Even more awesome would be having the surround done with hydrographics to look like CF
I have never done it. If you have a link that shows what is done and what cabel to use I can let you know if I can do it…I love it when the hard part is already done. Plus, it’s much, much, cheaper to not have to re-invent the fix.
See…
I have a few projects lined up. But how many will go through. My suggestion is when You are ready you contact me. If you want to wait until snow flies…that’s fine. If I have other projects in the making we will cross that road when we get there. I have 2 projects I am working on right now. They should be done in a few weeks. Nothing else in the pipeline at the moment, just a few PMs back and forth. I really don’t invest time until I meet the person, talk over the plan, and get parts. Then it’s go time.
To answer your question. I would. Very much so.
I’ll check out this info. Thanks for sending it. I’m sure we can make something work.
Latest side project - MGonzalez325 sent me two Amps to retro-fit to Red LEDs; Polk PA500.4 and Polk PA1200.1. The Polk PA500.4 had an intermittent channel. I re-soldered all the power connections and everything is back to perfect.
