New A/C Panel Design Prototype - Thoughts/Suggestions?

[Bitsyncmaster]

Nice looking work your doing.

[kajcienski]

First off great job on the mold and fabrication.

May I ask the process or company you are using to produce the overlay ?
Was considering making one myself that would follow the "original" but never implemented design of solid black until back lights illuminate the panel.
But I'm unfamiliar with the process used to "print" the overlay.

Thanks! There are many companies that will do "graphic overlay" prototyping. Even some that specialize in automotive. Until I get the final from the company I used and see how it turned out, I would rather wait on the recommendation just in case There is probably a way to do the "home" version but to get the quality, heat resistance, and exact professional look and texture of the original decal - as far as I know you need to go through a company. If you look at the back of the original decal, there are quite a few micro-layers going on there.

On a separate note - DMCH has run out of AC light panels. I can honestly say after doing the mold and casting process, most anyone who can follow directions could just use the cracked panel and reproduce a perfect new part. It would run less than $100 using trial kits and other supplies. I will post the product numbers for the mold and resin kits I used from Smooth-On, I don't have that info handy right now.

[Spittybug]

Nice indeed.

Has anyone ever investigated replacing our 3 knob system with something more modern for climate control? I know we are vacuum driven for doors and flappers rather than motor driven like today's modern versions. I was wondering if anyone perhaps knew of an aftermarket product or another car that had a digital interface but vacuum controls....

I'm getting interior mod design fever again... maybe touch screen in place of the whole a/c panel itself...hummmm.

[Farrar]

I would recommend against a touch-screen for safety reasons. They can be hard to see in harsh daylight, and considering what kind of car you're driving do you really want to have to take your eyes off the road just to change the temperature?

I have actually thought of modernizing out HVAC system as well. Since you work faster than I do, here's what I have been thinking. Some early cars with automatic temperature control had a self-contained unit (in other words, they did not connect to the more modern "body control module" that every car has these days). You could simply remove one of those lock, stock, and barrel from a junkyard car -- temp sensor, flap motors, control interface, etc. I was thinking that a nice 7-segment LED display for temperature, with a small blue indicator light for when the compressor is on, would look period-appropriate for our cars. You could make buttons that are easy to used without looking at them -- for example, a single round button for on/off, and next to it two half-circle buttons, the upper half to raise temperature and the lower half to lower temperature. This way, you could easily tell by feel which button you're touching and you would never have to take your eyes off the road. Anyway, that's what I was thinking. Sorry for the long tangent.

[Spittybug]

Pics of "era-appropriate"?

[Farrar]

Pics of "era-appropriate"?

I don't have any.

Perhaps I chose my words poorly. Let me try again: I don't think the display would have been that sophisticated in 1977-81, but I think that a display reminiscent of VFD would not look out of place. In terms of the interior I keep in mind what the car might have looked like if they had stayed in production for a few more years and kept the interior up with the times. The outside of the car looks futuristic; I try to think of what the inside of the car would be if it had the same aesthetic -- if they had been as forward-looking (e.g. DMC6960's backlit gauge cluster project). This may only work in my head; you may think it's hideous and out of place.

For your junkyard searching, I do know that some manufacturers were putting automatic temperature control in some of their vehicles as early as 1985, e.g. Oldsmobile and Lincoln.

[20098]

I like the look of the decal, however, the "M" in the DMC logo looks a little off. Other than that, I think this project is great.

[john 05141]

I like that a lot, can't wait to see pictures installed.

John

[dmc6960]

I hate to burst your bubble here, but after re-reading the thread it looks like you've left out a very important detail...

The position of the knobs lights and buttons are all dictated by the radio bracket as well, NOT just the AC panel. You'll need to do some custom metalwork to get your new decal to fit in the car properly. This image shows the work another forum member did to make a double-din radio bracket...

[Nicholas R]

I hate to burst your bubble here, but after re-reading the thread it looks like you've left out a very important detail...

The position of the knobs lights and buttons are all dictated by the radio bracket as well, NOT just the AC panel. You'll need to do some custom metalwork to get your new decal to fit in the car properly. This image shows the work another forum member did to make a double-din radio bracket...

What ever happened to this project?!!! I was so ready to pay whatever price they wanted for that!