Scottie-GNZ Posted April 22, 2002 Share Posted April 22, 2002 Anyone know of an A-pillar pod that fits the ridiculously thin Z-car A-pillar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tickwon Posted April 22, 2002 Share Posted April 22, 2002 I've used a Z32 a-pillar dual pod, with very little mods. I used a drummel and applied a little heat to the edge so that it bends in. Then I put it in the trunk of a car under the hot sun, with clamps attaching the pod to my pillar, this helped it form to the existing pillar. I have a 280ZXT. So, from '79 on down I have no clue how thin the pillars are. Hope this helps some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 22, 2002 Share Posted April 22, 2002 I suspect if you can find one close, laying a piece of sandpaper on the pillar and rubbing the pod back and forth till it fits, slow going, but precise... This is a good opportunity to do a Foam project Ala Oxandale technique and fiberglass it into a pod, a neat one could be carved from foam and fitted to the pillar with all the gauges you'd want, a bit of floral foam, a pile of dust, some layers of mat and bam. Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tom sixbey Posted April 28, 2002 Share Posted April 28, 2002 that's a good idea there. i wonder how that would attach to the pillar? - is there anthing underneath the vynil and foam to attach a gauge pod to? this is a subject well worth discussing, because with an aftermarket gauge set, a zcar runs short on essential gauge spots!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 30, 2002 Share Posted April 30, 2002 Hey my plastic trim broke off so there is just metal under the trim. This is a really good idea and I will be watching this and will probally need to do this for all of the extra gauges I still need to install. I wish I could help more. Best of Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 30, 2002 Share Posted April 30, 2002 Well I'll give you helpful (well questionably) first step idea's on it: 1. Waltz (or marangue or foxtrot whatever) into Michaels (craft store, don't worry you won't see any buds in there unless they're shopping with they're wife and they'll be trying to hide anyway) and purchase some floral foam, its a dense foam block about 4x6x12 or something like that. 2. using your largest butch knife, rough the shape into vaguely like a guage pod might look if it weren't smoothed out yet... Remember the finished glassed form will be bigger than your foam mold, so comphensate for that by making it slightly smaller than you want the pod to be. 3. Rub the vaguely shaped pod/block on the post just so you can get the contour and will know where to glass up to and try and get this contour, not a problem if it doesn't work we'll just put the sandpaper on the post and rub it till the glass has molded against the post snugly. 4. Put something on the foam so it doesn't absorb so much glass resin and want to stick when you want to remove the foam from the backside of our project. I used a rubber mold maker that I painted over it. 5. Glass the form using lightweight glass mat like you'll find at Home Depot/Lowes with resin, a epoxy resin takes longer to set (like overnight) but is more flexible, the regular glass resin hardens depending on how much hardener and temperature in under 20 mins. Lay down a coat of resin, lay a sheet of glass on it and then take a small brush and slowly wet the mat with the resin and trying to remove folds and air bubbles. Repeat with another coat of resin and glass and its nearly done. 6: Remove foam from back of smoothly shaped fiberglass pod, if it gets stuborn, don't mess, go chemical on its ass with some acetone, it'll do what you want with acetone on it... 7: Your mold should have had flat faces where the gauges will go, so get the appropriate holesaw for your gauge and put the holez in the pod. 8: To attach bend up a metal piece that screws to the post and has small legs sticking up on each side. Dig? Attachment screws will then come in on each end and from the pod into the metal holding your newly made wonder firmly to the dash. Add gauges, stir, sand and paint and saute' until done. Thats how I intend on doing it anyway. Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted May 4, 2002 Share Posted May 4, 2002 I like the recipe! I think your "a la Terry O" idea is a good one, and one that I'm thinking about. However, there was one car--the imfamous orange one---JT's car? that sported a guage pod in the pillar. I think it was for a Mustang??!?? I may be way off from all this, but it may be worth looking into since his looked really sano too. Still, you can always make it yourself and learn something, but who wants to do that? You can always take the whole shebang one step further and cover the fiberglass with carbon fiber for looks, but do make sure to do the other pillar with some CF as well to match. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 4, 2002 Share Posted May 4, 2002 I didn't see that I don't think, yeah after looking at the pillar its awfully thin, maybe an inch wide, you can probably use the mustang one, but I'm guessing here that you have to notch the pod to fit where the door frame closes into it as I'd imagine the base of the pod is wider than an inch for sure. I'm all for modifying a stock unit if possible, the more I get into these projects the more I'm finding that making it all yourself is great, but I have enough projects now without having to add to many more and if I can get it out of the box and just tweak it, sweet... Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted May 5, 2002 Author Share Posted May 5, 2002 I have a 2 gauge pod for a relatively narrow pillar and there was still a 1" gap which did not look right. I ditched it and made a bracket and used the gauge cups. Does not look sexy, but I would rather have that than a pillar that was obviously botched to fit a car it was not designed for. The grinding idea was not applicable and heating and reshaping the form would have deformed the entire pod. Now, there is something Dominic can make in carbon fiber and a lot of folks could use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratedZ Posted May 5, 2002 Share Posted May 5, 2002 Hey guys...I have a dual gauge pod in my 83zxt. The pillars in my Z is thin as well but I was able to fab a universal pod with fiberglass, fiberglass bondo and some imagination. The universal unit that I used is HUGE...it stuck out another inch or so on each side. First thing I did was somewhat mold the plastic to the outer contours of the pillar. I tried using a blow dryer but it wouldn't heat it enough so I used a zippo lighter After I got it to where I wanted it, I clipped the remaining plastic and screwed the pod to the pillar permanently. Next, I covered it with fiberglass to get the seamless look. Skimmed it with fiberblass bondo, sand, repeat until smooth. Lastly I painted the pod to match my interior. It looks pretty good...it has no seams and fits nicely. I have pics but I still need to get it developed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean 83ZXT Posted May 5, 2002 Share Posted May 5, 2002 I remember reading somewhere the old Fox body pods from Autometer are supposed to fit 280ZX's with mininal cutting. I'm not sure how it would work for older bodies though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cable Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 Anyone have any updates on a 1st GEN pod? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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