joe80055

Hey Guys! Here's pics from my latest project! ... To start off, I finally uploaded pics of the underseat neons I installed...





And now, I've moved on to painting the engine cover the other day.. it's a fire-engine red with the manifolds being jet black (the black will be where you can see the unpainted primer.)



Spent 30 mins just detailing this with a mini-sponge bush.. walmart.. 36 cents! lol





The gauge cluster's almost done.. (ignore the first picture, that's when the filter was still in the cluster) I cleaned the blue filter out and threw in the LEDs... just waiting for the resistors to come in the mail now. Definitely going to have that lexus look now!

And tonight, comes the cleared tail lights... yes!.. THREE mods to be completed within TWO days.. good stuff.



Comments anyone?

moralamb

nice gauges, man... installed them yourself?

wmah523

more info/pics on the underseat neon please....looks awsome! is it operated along w/ the headlight switch? how hard is the installation?

ProvidenceLeaf

So far so good...I was wondering if you were going to update us on this. BTW...I did the same LED conversion to my gauges. I tried to see if I could get the tint that you were talking about off...No go...there is a white paint like finish on the back of the gauges. Is that the filter that you "cleaned out"? If it is how did you do it? Maybe the back of my gauges are different because it is an 03 type-S...Hmmm...Let me know...Thanks

snowman81

Looks good. Liking the underseat neons. I finally saw Malayalee King's car and he has footwell neons and illuminated door sills...it looks sick. I am in search of door sills now.

Off topic...Why do people blank out their license plate when the post pics? Just wondering because it's not like it's a secret. Do you realize how many people a day see your license plate(not aimed at anyone directly, I swear). I mean, I've done it before to but stopped b/c I don't see the point anymore.

joe80055

Hey Hey! Thanks! I'm actually searching for door sills as well, I have yet to hear if they're hard to install or not. The only reason why I blanked/covered my license plate is just for fraudulance insurance... There's been stories where people have used other people's license plates for the dumbest things.. including theft. Other than that, I'd be more than happy to leave my pics the way they are. lol You do have a good point though, never thought of that.

joe80055

Hmm.. interesting, good thing you posted a reply just in time.. I just took out my gauge cluster again so I'll take a picture and show you what it looks like in the back. Just give me another 30 mins to upload the pics. Then I'll be able to tell you from there

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

You do realize the center section of the intake manifold cover comes out?

joe80055

Actually, I have it running through a fuse (just as a precaution) and a controlling switch to be able to turn it off or on at will. Whenever I start the car, the lights come on. All I did was buy two $18 - 10" neon blubs, drilled holes into the bottom panels of my front seats, and with plastic brackets, was able to attach the bulbs right behind those plastic panels.. that way, it'll show evenly on the floor for the front and rear passengers. I'll find my pictures and post them up

joe80055

I'm new at this.. I didn't notice until after I finished painting the outer engine cover. haha... but it's okay, you'll see the finished product. I didn't find it a hassle to paint the center while it was still on anyway. Pictures come later on within the hour!

joe80055

hey wmah523, here are the pics you wanted to see for the neon lights.. hopefully this helps somehow.






If you need anything else, feel free to ask!

joe80055

Yeah, I installed them myself.. I must say.. it's a BITCH to get the dashboard trim off, let alone getting the gauges out... Definitely looking forward to a few scratches and cuts whenever I plan on doing the process... Originally, I've been trying to convert the look to white to match the brigther displays of the accord and ES 330, but then again, I feel like being creative and making it blue notches with white letters.. I just stared not long ago. The picture you see all the way at top is not one of my best pictures.. usually they're waaaay brigther at night. If you have any questions, ask away

joe80055

I installed the cover! I have to go ahead and touch up the red/black lining tomorrow. I must say.. for someone who is completely new at this.. I did pretty good.



Where can I find decorative wire covering that goes on the wire that pulls on the throttle? ... futuremore, how difficult is it to install and is it pricey?

To Do List:
** Tomorrow - Clearing out the tail lights; anyone know where to find amber-colored paint to cover the turning signal bulbs?

snowman81

Something like this?? I got mine from Pep Boys or Autozone...can't remember which one. I slit the tubing open and wrapped it around the cable. Took about 10 minutes to do.

vtlec01

hot leds but that red engine paint is gross.

joe80055

snowman81... you're the shit. YES! That's exactly what I need! Thanks so much! By any chance do you know what it is called? The Autozone/Pepboy guys around my way are complete idiots so it's hard for them to help me out with a name of a part to give them. haha

The engine decoration phase shall be done within the next 2-3 days!

joe80055

Keep in mind, I'm no where near done with the engine... Besides, I don't have a satin silver finish, so adding any other color to the engine cover to match the interior LEDs just throws everything off when I look at it from a distance.. sucks to have such a weird paint job sometimes. Trust me, it looks a hell-of-alot better in person. I actually popped open my hood to show it to a few friends down the street... their girlfriends completely fell in love with it. That alone makes me proud of my work.

snowman81

No problem man. They have a couple different options but I got the Spectre Silicone Hose Kit. They also have a plastic one, but I don't like that at all. Here is a link to a place that sells them, but you can find it at just about any autoparts store. I am pretty sure I got mine from autozone.
http://www.seffects.com/parts/SPT28906.htm

1osunut

The girls went crazy for it ???

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

I like the LEDs and neons but I just felt that you could of done a better job on the engine paint. I see that you got a little of black on the red part of the cover and some silver where you tried to do the accent on the 3.2 vtec emblem on the red plate.

joe80055

Yeah, I know I made 2-3 mistakes on the engine paint. Besides, it's the first time I've ever used spray paint before. I'm going to do a touch up tomorrow first thing in the afternoon. I'll post new pics from there

ProvidenceLeaf

Don't frget to post pics of the backs of your gauges!! Thanks!

joe80055

Can't help it.. they thought it looked cool despite the 2-3 mistakes on there. lol I'll touch up the paint job tomorrow.

NYZGREATST

very niceeee

joe80055

Thank you.. I love the job you did with your engine

joe80055

GUYS!!! I'M ALMOST DONE WITH THE GAUGE PROJECT!!! Here are recent photos of my development.. by the way, the Gauges DO SHOW UP AS WHITE NOW. ESPECIALLY NICE WITH THE HYPER WHITE LEDS INSTALLED IF YOU HAVE THEM ALREADY.... here take a look..

Here's the back of them.




And this IS proof, that there is NO MORE blue filter... The light shows directly THROUGH the gauge... and what! ha!



.... One more thing... Check this out.. I'm only half way through and I already LOVE the results... Here's a preview of both the first two gauges that are already finished...



I have to get an extra led to cover the dark spot.. other than that, everything's all good. Comments anyone?

SiCrew

nice work...i would never let myself touch the gauges, too scared to mess something up...props on the job well done

ProvidenceLeaf

That looks great! Okay, what exactly did you do to the backs of those gauges? They look like they used to look like mine...It looks like there is still a lot of that white on back, but the light comes through nice and clear. It almost looks like you sanded the backs a bit. Hmmm...how? Please?!?!

joe80055

Ah! I see you're mighty happy with the results.. well, here's how everything went down.. I'm sure you've noticed my gauges are a smeared white.. that's actually the results after applying the nail polish.. there was no sanding of any kind needed! I wish I took the picture of the gauge before.. oh wait! I think I do! Check out my fuel gauge this is before I change... I'm not sure if you can see it well, but here it is:



As you can notice, there is that black-spotted/blue filter. All I did was giggle the gauge around so I can get to the filter and keep the needle out of the way without dismantling the gauge itself. All you need is some sort of abrasive cloth (I used the inside of my own sock. haha) Wrap my finger around the sock, dip it in nail polish and just wipe the crap away.. you'll get the blackness off.. and then there'll be a blueish type film.. that's the filter I've been talking about.. after you're all the way through, You'll see the white base... That's when you knwo you've done the job. It actually was VERY easy.. I cleared each gauge within minutes.. the first one took me the longest because I just had to findout a way to maneuver around the needle.. all the others were fine. The Fuel/temperature gauge is the real bitch.. You'll see why. lol As the finished product, here they are:



Since you have a Type-S.. I've never seen it lit at night. Post a picture, I'll be able to tell you if you're able to do something to make your gauges bright like mine. Ah! One more thing... most of the others on here used 20+ LEDs for their gauges to make theirs look bright... Originally I bought mine from LEDautomotive when they were cheap.. about 5 of them. I just need two more to completely illuminate the gauge cluster. Remember, no sanding required, just a sock and nail polish. All I have to do now is find blue LED's to make the odometer turn a royal blue once the lights come on.

The end product so far:

The ES330/Accord Replication.



If you ever want to see this in person or meet up just to brag, hit me up sometime.. I'm only a few mins away.

I'll post the complete cluster tonight.. stay tuned!

joe80055

Thanks! To be honest, I was actually scared shit at first too thinking I might damage the motors/gauges themselves, but after playing around with them and actually seeing what I need to do and what I shouldn't do, It was all okay in the end. Just remember, if you decide to attempt to do this, remember to NOT let the liquid touch the front of your gauges.

joe80055

Ah! I forgot to tell you.. by all means, DO NOT let the liquid touch the front of your gauges.. You don't want to strip anything in the front of the gauges, just the back.

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

Those LED gauges are even brighter than the ES330/Accord's dash. Nice work!

joe80055

GUYS! I found an error in my post.. I meant to say you have to use NAIL POLISH REMOVER.. not nail polish.. sorry about that.

To VoLLy_1llusioNz: Thanks!!

flydog

f*ck I just painted them with purple nail polish

joe80055

oh shit.. sorry about that. hey.. at least the remover will fix everything. haha

ProvidenceLeaf

I hope you're joking...you are joking right? I know you're joking...

joe80055

Hey guys, I was wondering... Apparently, My fuel gauge's been acting up recently.. apparently, the motor accumulated alot of rust for some weird odd reason (this is before I removed the filter).. is there any place I can go to that actually provides the fuel/temp gauge? Once I get it, I'll be able to complete the project and be able to write up a DIY for you guys if possible.

joe80055

I need a favor... Can a few of you go ahead and put pictures of your cleared tail lights? ... Just only those with tail lights from 1999 TL's please.. I have a new project to undertake in a day

mezzerTL-S

i never thought of that and i wasn't prepared to remove the needles and fvck up my gauges (again), brilliant idea... doing this today

joe80055

Glad to be of some help, remember, don't get the nail polish remover on the front of the gauges.. don't want your nice black finish to get ruined. By the way, where can someone get replacement gauges anyway? Just incase of any inconvieniences