DIY "KNG" Custom Gauge Faces

[KNG SNKE]

Sorry I have had a lot of emails asking me about printing sets for people that's why I have not released the template i have. I have given you the knowledge to tackle the job and if folks want to make the printing easier I can do that part for them.

 

[KNG SNKE]

So I have gotten to actually installing these gauge faces and they look awesome, even at night with white led's! I have run into a snag though and it appears the tachometer had other plans besides the needle going back in easily. Huge pain in the butt so I am on hold for now but I have 4 installed and I am going to give them a good test run.

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[Mopar Boy]

Very nice! Can't wait to see final pics!

 

[KNG SNKE]

Final pics will be delayed till after I get one of 2 tachs working or order a new one to butcher.

 

[Mopar Boy]

LOL Lovely! Have fun with that!

Whats not working on it?

 

[KNG SNKE]

The needle does not want to cooperate. I know they are removable and able to be Reinstalling but its acting up and driving me crazy.

 

[KNG SNKE]

Ok I know it has been a while but I have an update. I got the new tachometer in and it was cake. I think one of the old ones was broken and one of them I broke.

Things to note. The tachometer is the hardest part of the install. Here is how you do it.

Remove or buy a spare tach (call Scharf). Open the face of the tachometer exposing the needle. With the plastic gauge cover off and the needle exposed, plug the gauge face into your car. Flip the needle to the opposite side of the gauge so that it is on the wrong side of the needle stopper. Mark this position with the key in the on position (NOT STARTED). Use 2 spoons to remove the needle. Remove the stopper and swap the gauge face. Install the stopper. Plug the gauge into your car WITHOUT the needle. Turn the car to the on position then reinstall your needle VERY CAREFULLY. No need to force it, gently push the needle into place. Once in place move the needle to the left side of the gauge where it is suppose to be and start the car. Check the RPM's and check the speed of the needle. If its moving slower just carefully make small adjustments to loosen the needles travel up. It takes a bit of fiddling but I got mine accurate within 50 rpms or so.


Also if anyone wants gauge faces done and printed out just shoot me a pm. I have shipped a couple sets thus far.

 

[VIPER BAZ UK]

Looking great........

 

[KNG SNKE]

Just happened to rehash this thread but longevity wise I have had zero issues with the gauges faces and they have been installed over a year.

 

[Darth Menace]

Are there daytime and nighttime final pics?

 

[alwayscode390]

Nice writeup, thanks for your time and effort ---

 

[KNG SNKE]

Thought I posted final pics. Ill dig some up or take new ones.

 

[lxadeuce]

i just finished doing mine. Thanks for the write up. I have 2 gauges that dont work right. the fuel gauge moves freely but always goes to the same position at just under 3/4 tank. the tach needle came most of the way off before pulling out the post. i got it back in straight and it works most of the time but occasioanlly sticks. i think the needle may not be all the way on. i need to pull the dash to fix those issues and when i do i'll paint the white part of the gauge face either dark grey or black. the white stands out too much but the blue lights look awesome. any FYI for those replacing bulbs, you'll need (5) #74 bulbs and (3) #194 bulbs. I got my blue LED ones and they are really bright from superbrightleds . com and they fit perfectly. I also replaced the white gauge face to black with white numbers and a different font.

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[Darth Menace]

i just finished doing mine. Thanks for the write up. I have 2 gauges that dont work right. the fuel gauge moves freely but always goes to the same position at just under 3/4 tank. the tach needle came most of the way off before pulling out the post. i got it back in straight and it works most of the time but occasioanlly sticks. i think the needle may not be all the way on. i need to pull the dash to fix those issues and when i do i'll paint the white part of the gauge face either dark grey or black. the white stands out too much but the blue lights look awesome. any FYI for those replacing bulbs, you'll need (5) #74 bulbs and (3) #194 bulbs. I got my blue LED ones and they are really bright from superbrightleds . com and they fit perfectly. I also replaced the white gauge face to black with white numbers and a different font.

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I love those and really want to do them. Unfortunately I had a headache fighting with the needles with my mustang so I think I am too scared. Especialy with replacement parts for the Viper

 

[KNG SNKE]

Check your connection on the fuel gauge. Its really hard to break that one so its connection is probably a little loose. Also for the fuel you should go fill up the car then set that needle.

Once I was able to get the tach back in I ran into that same problem. You are close to where the tach needs to sit but most likely it needs to be pulled out ever so slightly. Wha I ended up doing was hook it up to the car and revving it slightly. As the needle would sink down and get stuck I would give it a small tug by hand. After a couple times it works just fine, no issues.

 

[Jance GTS]

i just finished doing mine.

Got any close up pictures with the lights on and off?

 

[lxadeuce]

Got any close up pictures with the lights on and off?

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[spikeone]

that looks pretty damn nice!

wish I had the guts to do this mod hehe

 

[lxadeuce]

i just got the gauges in that i broke. and have added the different faceplates. the initial ones were only printed on one side but the black background was not dark enough so it let some of the blue light through. I printed front and back on the same sheet of paper and it made a HUGE difference. I also have the actual white ring out of the gauge so it'll be painted black before everything is reassembled. i did find that a #1 phillips screwdriver works REALLY well when used kinda like a can opener to bend the black ring to come off the gauge housing. pictures will be posted again once i get them installed.

 

[KNG SNKE]

i just got the gauges in that i broke. and have added the different faceplates. the initial ones were only printed on one side but the black background was not dark enough so it let some of the blue light through. I printed front and back on the same sheet of paper and it made a HUGE difference. I also have the actual white ring out of the gauge so it'll be painted black before everything is reassembled. i did find that a #1 phillips screwdriver works REALLY well when used kinda like a can opener to bend the black ring to come off the gauge housing. pictures will be posted again once i get them installed.

Can't wait to see. Not sure how the other gauges got broken but the tach is very sensitive.

 

[97snk]

Can't wait to see. Not sure how the other gauges got broken but the tach is very sensitive.

Did you start doing these as a service yet? if so when do I ship you mine?

 

[KNG SNKE]

Did you start doing these as a service yet? if so when do I ship you mine?

I wish I could. The problem is I don't have a way to bench calibrate then, specifically the tach and speedometer. I would need a hall effect tool to adjust the speedo which is expensive as well as a tach signal and this would require me to keep my dash out .

 

[lxadeuce]

Can't wait to see. Not sure how the other gauges got broken but the tach is very sensitive.

The tach kinda worked but was a little slow to drop the RPMS back down, the oil gauge had a loose wire inside so it would occasionally just drop to zero then bounce back up once i tapped it, the fuel gauge would go up to about 3/4 and just stay there, not sure what the deal was with it. so, i ordered 3 repalcements and learned something new. Either they are from a newer car with a different coating on the underside of the needle or mine are just that faded but the 3 new needles actually almost glow under the blue light as you can see in the after picture. the before picture you can see the amount of bleed through of the black background and the hot-spot on the 3, that is now fixed. I also painted the white surround grey. on the 3 new gauges, that white was actually white, my old ones were kinda yellowing.

before

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after

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lights off

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[KNG SNKE]

That looks really good. At one point I tried to print on the backside of the paper like you did but I could never get it to line up 100% so it looked odd. The tach needle will go a little slow for a short period for dropping down, another reason why its a pain. It will fix itself, you just have to get it to the exact point it needs to be at.

 

[Luisv]

I've seen these but I'm not brave enough to do this on the stock guages. If I do it I'll do it on a second set.

The reason for my reply... I see you have had some issues/concerns with The printing and the quality... I'd be happy to run the prints for some body that wants to try. I have some high end printing cabilities and we can try some things. I print on an Epson 7800. I produce large high res prints all the time so this should be simple. The main issue is the original. The better the quality/resolution the better I can make the print.

If anybody would like to do this, PM me. I'll try to experiment a bit as well... I may see what I can print on to give us the best look...

 

[KNG SNKE]

I've seen these but I'm not brave enough to do this on the stock guages. If I do it I'll do it on a second set.

The reason for my reply... I see you have had some issues/concerns with The printing and the quality... I'd be happy to run the prints for some body that wants to try. I have some high end printing cabilities and we can try some things. I print on an Epson 7800. I produce large high res prints all the time so this should be simple. The main issue is the original. The better the quality/resolution the better I can make the print.

If anybody would like to do this, PM me. I'll try to experiment a bit as well... I may see what I can print on to give us the best look...

Shoot me a PM with your email and ill send you a high res scan of the gauges. The issue is printing on the paper. Gauges are made of plastic and shining light through paper your going to get bleedthrough in some spots. I played around with going heavier with the ink etc, no dice. The only other option is to have a professional company make them but that's like 300 bucks.

 

[lxadeuce]

I have a similar printer at home too, the problem is still getting it to line up exactly. I used a good laser printer at my job to get these right and they are still barely off but I got tired of trying after about 15 times so I used the best ones.

I've seen these but I'm not brave enough to do this on the stock guages. If I do it I'll do it on a second set.

The reason for my reply... I see you have had some issues/concerns with The printing and the quality... I'd be happy to run the prints for some body that wants to try. I have some high end printing cabilities and we can try some things. I print on an Epson 7800. I produce large high res prints all the time so this should be simple. The main issue is the original. The better the quality/resolution the better I can make the print.

If anybody would like to do this, PM me. I'll try to experiment a bit as well... I may see what I can print on to give us the best look...

 

[Luisv]

I have a similar printer at home too, the problem is still getting it to line up exactly. I used a good laser printer at my job to get these right and they are still barely off but I got tired of trying after about 15 times so I used the best ones.

Can you explain what you mean by getting it to line up properly? What are you lining up on the print side?

 

[KNG SNKE]

He printed the image straight on one side of the paper then flipped the paper and printed it backwards so the black ink would be on both sides to reduce the amount of light allowed throw the gauge.

 

[Luisv]

He printed the image straight on one side of the paper then flipped the paper and printed it backwards so the black ink would be on both sides to reduce the amount of light allowed throw the gauge.

Ahhhh.... I would be trying something else... let's see if I can make this happen. Doing that would be next to impossible to line up. The printer feed is not precise enough. Regardless... let's see what I can swing. I'll have to wait on some supplies, but will let you know...