Had a few dollars burning a hole in my pocket so I figured what the hell. Some people like to spend money on the girlfriends, mistress, wife, kids, house, etc. I like to spend on all the above plus my favorite car. With a little help from
Pelican Parts;
Pete Engel at
Westminster Auto Upholstery; and
Mark at
Bigmark design(fellow Pelican) I was able to make my car just a little nicer. You know the ole' slippery slope thing. I guess I may stop somewhere around 80K.
A few of my gauges toward the left side of the dash were fading. I also wanted to replace the plastic lens with glass and just refreshen things up a little. I called North Hollywood Gauge and discussed the job with them. They were curtious and very helpful. However, they quoted me around $500 and a 4 week turn around time. OUCH! This included repainting all face plates and rings, replace plastic lens with glass, replace the notorious plastic gears in speedometer (preventative maintenance) and convert the clock hole into a CHT and Voltmeter. They wanted too much for a spare "can" so they recommended I use the clock as a organ donor. Well, I was a little uncomfortable with my gauges gone for 4 weeks and I was emotionally attached to my VDO clock. What if I was not happy with the new combo gauge? What if I wanted to put my beautiful clock back? This is when I got smart!
I called Mark at
Bigmark design bigmarkdesign@aol.com. He was able to complete the entire job in one week and let me keep my clock. He even rebuilt the clock and all other gauges. He painted the inside of the "cans" white to make the new LED's brighter. His price the same and with great customer service. He is highly recommended.
Next, my original seats were really in good condition. However, I made a huge mistake having them refinished by a local "highly recommended" mobile upholstery guy. He left black over-spray all over the interior and window tint. I was not happy with the final product at all. He should have removed the seats from the car and did more prep work. He eventually paid to have the tint replaced but it was a major hassle. I wanted new seats so I bought a set of 1993 RSA America sports seats. They are great but the stock cloth material did not match the leather interior. This is where
Pete Engel at
Westminster Auto Upholstry comes in. He is well known for his work on Porsches and Ferrari's. We decided to replace the carpet, redo the entire door and finish everything up with
Guards Red deviated stitching.
1) I am not a professional photographer!
The new gauges came with all the wiring, hardware, sensors, etc....
Not only did I get to keep my clock but he also made it look new again! Thanks Mark
Sorry I had to through in a gratuituos photo of my car!
