Fascia Panel Project

[Doug]

Blair, be sure to get 2 of the LED lights in case the first ever fails -- cheaper than re-doing the whole thing for a new design when the old one is out of production . . .

hope your Elan is ready for the driving season!

[tweetdriver63]

I can't wait to see how that fascia looks when it's done and in. I wish I had the balls to do something like this.

Did you consider a cupholder? I think I would have tried to locate one of those 1/2 din size holders that retracts into the panel in there somewhere (probably right below the head unit), but that's just me.

[Elanlover]

See that long slot to the right of the vents and lcd cutout?




Saab 9-5 cupholder

[Candles]

Did you consider a cupholder?

[Elanlover]

Its for the passenger.

or........

There's nothing like a cold beer on a long drive.

or........

I play hockey and needed a place for my jock to dry out.



You pick one

[GeoffSmith]

Hey Blair, where are the Mountain knob and display going?

[Elanlover]

Hi Geoff, I believe we've decided that the display will go just below where the Turbo gauge will be. Not in the gauge "depression" area per se but on the flat part of the fascia just below it. Somewhat above where the digital clock was. As for the switcher control, its going into a "new" section of the fascia not yet built.

They are going to lengthen or add to the areas of the fascia that are just to the left and right of the steering column and shorten the knee bolster. In the Uk models, you folks are fortunate enough to have this area already enlongated (instead of the truncated Fed version) with some switches there already. They will add some fibreglass to this area and on the left we will mount the switcher along with a custom Metal Monkey dial face for it. On the right will be mounted the Saab foglight switches I sourced.

[Elanlover]

Here's a little pic to show it better. Open to suggesitons to better placements if anyone has some ideas.

[tweetdriver63]

See that long slot to the right of the vents and lcd cutout?




Saab 9-5 cupholder

Ahhh....I wondered about that slit.

[Elanlover]

More progress.....................

[F1 LOTUS]

We placed the fascia mask in the car just to get a sense of what it will look like (needs a bit of paint fiorst of course).

You mean you're not going to splash a mold off first then bang-out a batch of carbon fiber fascia's?

[Monty]

Going to look great when complete

Whats used to doctor the panel? fiberglass and body filler?

It`s a shame your not doing a custom main instruments as that would finish it off nicely

[tweetdriver63]

We placed the fascia mask in the car just to get a sense of what it will look like (needs a bit of paint fiorst of course).

You mean you're not going to splash a mold off first then bang-out a batch of carbon fiber fascia's?

I think he would lose that "one-off" custom thing if he did. Shame.

I'm diggin' it.

Paint? Since you've got it all off and stripped, you're not going to give it a nice covering a-la LGM?

BTW, what's the extra hole for next to the lights rheostat, and where is the hazard light switch going?

[Elanlover]

In order..........

You mean you're not going to splash a mold off first then bang-out a batch of carbon fiber fascia's?

Brian, I'd love too. I truly would but these guys have no vacuum molding (or any other molding) equipment available. I asked them if they'd like to send it out to be molded but the problem was that they weren't really intereted in spending thousands of $'s on making a mold for no guaranteed return.

Whats used to doctor the panel? fiberglass and body filler?

It's a shame your not doing a custom main instruments as that would finish it off nicely

Fibreglass and some form of filler (but not body) specifically for this kind of work (so they tell me). I actually don't mind the OEM cluster now that the Metal Monkey dial faces are in. I think it will look quite nice. No doubt a completely redesigned cluster would improve the look but I'm not unhappy with this combination. Maybe next year's project.........

I think he would lose that "one-off" custom thing if he did. Shame.

I'm diggin' it.

Paint? Since you've got it all off and stripped, you're not going to give it a nice covering a-la LGM?

BTW, what's the extra hole for next to the lights rheostat, and where is the hazard light switch going?

Not worried about being original. If there was a cheap may to knock off some copies I'd be fine with that. No suede for me. Its going to be black with a matte finish. I gave some more exotic finishes a though but the truth is that there's not really that much panel showing once all the gear's all in place. And, I didn't want the attention to be drawn to the panel itself. That extra hole is for the round Saab hazard switch I sourced. Should be nicer looking than the old square one. I left the AC switch in though but they've mounted it in a way that it will be virtually flush with the panel making it look smaller.

[tweetdriver63]

There's something about that stock A/C switch that just doesn't seem to fit in anymore with the rest of your panel. You now have a round theme, with none of the original square/retangular items, except that switch. If it were mine, I would go for a round A/C switch. I actually have a suggestion for one. I had a Plymouth Laser back in 1990, until everybody else got one too. It had a nice round switch about the same size as the Saab hazard switch and OEM rheostat. I found one on ebay, just so you could have a look. You may agree, and want to change before the project is too far along to do it. Then again, you might not agree. I think your whole project looks awesome (with the exception of the A/C switch, of course).

Eclipse/Talon/Laser A/C switch on ebay

[Elanlover]

The AC switch was the only thing I wasn't entirely thrilled about. Not hating it but thinking there had to be somethign else I could do that would really look great. I decided to stay with it because:

1. I was already going to have to figure out the wiring on the 2 foglight switches and the hazard light (and didn't really feel like one more electrical sub-project).

2. I had already bought an AC switch but decided not to use it because, as I understand it, most of the newer switches don't turn on the AC directly - they send a signal to a computer that does the work.

3. Any other switches I had seen looked "better" but not outstanding. I wasn't going to go through the hassle of changingit to be marginally better.

4. The guys said they could use it and make it look pretty good. When its flush mounted it doesn't look nearly as big, black, boxy and 90's as it does in the OEM setup surrounded by other big, black, boxy, 90's type switches.

With the rectangular fan control above it (one of the only other sqaure-ish items in the dash) it doen't look too bad but, I do get the point about a round one fitting in nicely. I appreciate the link but I think it might be a bit late now to have them rework that area completely. I've discovered that even small changes, once the work has already been done, can get costly

[Candles]

Very nice but........ What about this?

[Elanlover]

Very nice but........ What about this?

Hey, there's a lot of work on that page .....can you be more specific as to what "this" refers to????


By the way, how are you wiring up the hazard switch? I think I may have figured out the rear foglight switch but I've yet to tackle the hazard switch.

[Doug]

I like the project Blair.

I have intimate knowledge with the Saab switches. They are functional but they too are not the smallest switches and feel a bit big and heavy to use. I'd bet you could find some more sleek fog switches, but they will get the job done nonetheless.

[Elanlover]

Hey Doug, the main reason I opted for the Saab switches was availability of wiring schematics. I know the local Saab service manager so I was able to get some time with a mechanic who walked me through the wiring diagrams. The foglight switches "appear" to be pretty simple to connect up. The hazard switch will be a bit more difficult and I'm hoping our master electrican (yes Geoff, that's you!) can provide some advice. The foglight switches won't be mounted where they are overtly visible so the size shouldn't be a visual disappointment if you know what I mean.

I suppose with the Saab cupholder and hazard switches it was appropriate to use the Saab foglight switches too .

p.s. I did get an extra LED bar display for backup.