bravo 34 Report post Posted January 2, 2005 After successfully putting some life back in the bimmers carpets, the itch to tinker is still there, so I am thinking of sprucing up the instrument cluster. I got the ide of painting the needles a different colour (like red) from one of the cars in TBMW's E30 special, and as it would be an absolutely simple mod, I was just wondering what people think. Would you recolour yours? If yes what colour? I am considering red as orange is dated, and yellow would almost ruin it I think - too much rice? It also got me thinking about the instrument faces themselves - I can get replacement faces in white, silver and one or too other colours, but without seeing them in a car am unsure - what do you all think? Cheers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Napier_E36 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2005 tim (bumpstop325) has replaced his speedo and tacho faces with white face ones - looks pimp, i like em. I think you should do white faces with red needles. As for orange - its not dated - my 95 325 still uses orange for its dash lighting and every other bimmer i have looked at has too - therefore i conclude its not dated, its just one of those quirks that make BMWs massive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aliluya 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2005 The compact dash all lights up orange still .... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted January 2, 2005 Na, na, I mean painted orange needles. I reckon the orange lighting is the shizzle. Mine is orange on low and almost red on high intensity. Love Audis bright red. But during the day orange needles??? Anyway, thanks heaps for the comments, I reckon white faces with red needles is prob the answer but still keen for other opinions. Tim, you got an photos I could look at? Where did you get them from - I am looking at importing from the UK as I haven't seen any in NZ (mainly I think because I don't know where to look). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aliluya 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2005 I think the white on red looks sh*t hot of black interior cars ... here is a pic of one .. don't ask me where to get it from tho cause i don't know .. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMW POWER 2 Report post Posted January 15, 2005 I was reading in Autotrader that you can get flamed backs in the instrument part, ill try find it again and post a scan, i'm sure it was only for Holdens' though Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
entro 0 Report post Posted January 15, 2005 u can get the white replacements from a bmw parts place in ryan place in manukau not sure of the pricing tho Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted January 15, 2005 Cheers man, i know the place you mean. I'll give them a call on Monday - they are around 70 pounds in the UK, so I would be looking at well over $200 to go that way - way too much for that kind of mod. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Andrew Report post Posted January 15, 2005 and do e36/e34 instrument needles - they look a lot more modern. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMW POWER 2 Report post Posted January 15, 2005 Sorry, But i couldn't find that flamed back thing. It'd look abit bling bling though, do ya reckon? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted January 16, 2005 Andy - yeah, cool idea. BMPOWER - not sure if I am cool enough for those Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted January 16, 2005 (edited) Ive seen a website somewhere where you can get all sorts of colours and designs...I think you could even send in pictures to have your own design. Ill see if I can find it. [EDIT] Not quite as I remembered it but the guy is still trading on ebay.... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ssPageName=WDVW Im with Aliluya on this one, black interior, red needles on a white dial looks the dogs bollocks. Cheers Martyn Edited January 16, 2005 by martyyn Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted January 16, 2005 Those look cool - I like the check light being replaced with the ///M logo - very cool. OK, I think I have made the decision to go white dials. Will think some more about the needles, and will let everyone know how things are progressing - don't hold your breath may take a month or so to find the right dials. Cheers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martyyn 2 Report post Posted January 16, 2005 I just learnt something very interesting regarding the red needles Alpinas have. In the old days, and Im talking E34's and E32's here, they used normal needles and simply painted them red with a thin brush ! If you look closely enough you can still see the lines of the brush and in the very early days it was not uncommon for them to fade or even look like they had been coloured in with a felt tip pen !!!! Not what you would expect when paying a small fortune for an Alpina. Cheers Martyn Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted January 16, 2005 (edited) Cheap buggers!, oh well, thats what I was gonna do - good old modelling paint!!! Edited January 16, 2005 by bravomikewhiskey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted January 16, 2005 Anyone got a pic of some E36 needles I can copy? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest WAGON Report post Posted January 17, 2005 so you going with white dials? i really like tims dials aye Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted January 17, 2005 yeah, whit dials I think. Yellow or red with white trim, or just red were discussed in my head, but I think they all look too over the top. So, now I need to find where to buy them for a not ridiculous price. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Andrew Report post Posted January 17, 2005 If your a member of r3v.. you need to log in to view this http://www.r3vlimited.com/phpBB2/viewtopic...trument+cluster that is where Jordan has done it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted January 18, 2005 Thanks Andrew - cool, but I'm not getting that excited. Will make an effort to go and see some in the flesh before I make a decision. Just finished a few minor fix-ups in the electrics dept, just need to finish the sounds off and I'll be getting onto painting the current needles. Will post an update when they are done. Then I have a cunning wheel mod in mind for an old set of bottlecaps. Will start a new thread if I can suss out how to do it..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest WAGON Report post Posted January 18, 2005 cunning idea for bottle caps oh tell Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 34 Report post Posted January 18, 2005 (edited) That would be giving the game away now wouldn't it... but it seems you have taken my well-placed bait ..... You'll have to wait and see. Edited January 18, 2005 by bravomikewhiskey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest WAGON Report post Posted January 19, 2005 come on pm me i can help you with this idea :thumb: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
