"Quicksilver" Retro-Future Scooter from appliances and scrap metal

Step 6 Dash board

Time now to look at the instrument panel. The original was a blocky, purple plastic thing, that the world is better off without. Rich suggested that we try to make a nixie tube speedometer. I couldn't think of anything that would be cooler than that so I went ahead and mounted everything up so that he could route the original encoder through a contraption of his own making. I used the original fuel and temp. meters, but hacked them into antique voltage meter bodies to maintain the vintage feel of the machine. A lot of hours went into these little details. The meters had to be mounted on a piece of plexiglas, hung behind the face plate with aluminum standoffs. I cut out new meter scales from pieces of plastic and drew in the scales by hand. Then some LEDs were added to illuminate them. I found some old Russian nixies on the internet and mounted them behind a slightly larger voltage meter body.
Update: I just realized I never posted an image of the final instrument cluster. The speedometer worked out quite well, though the temp meter reads backwards, doh! I suspect it is a simple matter of reversing the wires but I have not had the motivation to pull the panel apart since I finished it.

Comments

[circuitmage]

OMG. The design is awesome. And the display is...WOW. Great work. One of a kind.

[nicko]

[Jiggsy]

First off, LOVE the scooter! It's everything a Vespa is and more! If you put this into production, I want to be on the waiting list! However, I do have one teeny little comment. Shouldn't you be concerned with the nixie tubes breaking while driving? Although a cool design element, I just figure they're too expensive and fragile to be put to use in a scooter.

[nemomatic]

Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Your comment about the nixies is a good one. I am not sure yet how well they will hold up. I did make sure though to design the console around a style that I can get more of. They were only eight dollars each and very easy to pull out of their sockets if something goes wrong. Fine for a one of a kind project, not a great idea for a production vehicle. I will post my observations once I have put them through their paces a bit.