TrailBeast
AKA Mopars4us on Youtube
I like one of a kind and also like to fab my own parts for a lot of things, so here are some pics of what I have been doing.
Some of you have seen some of this already but now it's really close to how I wanted it to end up.
The dash cap is hand made metal backed carbon fiber panels with aluminum trim with the gauge cluster in the center for tach, air/fuel ratio and gas gauge. and line lock LED
The cluster gauges are all white faced with orange needles and the 60mph numbers on the speedometer was replaced with a Jack Daniels throwing dart.
The three original gauges to the left side of the cluster were replaced with mechanical aftermarket but using the same holes as the stock ones with the amp gauge replaced with a volt meter. (far left volts, center temp, and right oil pressure.
The original fuel gauge was replaced with a removable analog clock.
I recently painted the cardboard headliner with 3 heavy coats of flat black applied with a 3 inch foam roller.
The interior light has been altered to use 2 led dash style lights and now has a small rocker switch on the rear of it so I can turn it off completely if I want, and I can also turn it on or off with the dimmer switch, as well as letting it come on when the doors open. (or not via the rocker switch)
The overhead light is now a sharp crystal looking blue color (the floor "map" lights currently work as normal. (soon to be LED's)
The device you see between the visors is a flip down Kindle Fire wireless internet touch screen that is tied into the car's sound system, and is where most of my music is now.
I just switch the input source on the stereo to "Auxiliary input" and play whatever I want to hear by song, album, or artist.
Using my phone as a hotspot I can also have internet access any time, and anywhere.
Otherwise I need to be in range of a hotspot, which are everywhere these days.
The Kindle is powered and charged with the same 5 volt regulator that used to power my gauges way back when they were all stock and the factory regulator didn't work.
Kindles require the exact same 5 volts and one amp that the regulator puts out so I already had the hardware and just wired it into the car to come on only when the car is running. (when the car is not running it runs off it's own internal battery, and when the car is running it runs and charges off the car electrical.)
The steering wheel is a Big Dog all billet wheel and mounting hardware, and you may notice it's polished aluminum on the window side of the wheel and black vinyl on the driver facing side.
I added the blue mylar Mopar sticker to the horn button.
The shifter is a Hearst Pro Matic II ratchet shifter with a Hearst T handle, and a line lock switch is mounted on the front of the lever for index finger access (in the pic you can barely see the little satin black bracket that holds it in place) and the clear wires for the switch are super glued to the front side of the lever and run down through the shifter box and under the carpet up to the line lock activation relay.
It has LED brakelights that come on when the line lock is active, but did it in a way that I have never seen or heard of.
I used a 10 amp diode inline between the line lock power wire and the wire at the brakelight switch under the dash, so when the line lock is powered the brake light come on, but when I press the brake pedal the line lock does not activate because the diode stops backflow of power to the lock.
I love doing this stuff, and I get a lot of comments on it everywhere I go.
Seems there is almost always someone standing by it when I come out of a store or after paying for gas, and I am very proud of it.
Here are a few pics of some of the work done so far.
I might start on the body before long now.
Some of you have seen some of this already but now it's really close to how I wanted it to end up.
The dash cap is hand made metal backed carbon fiber panels with aluminum trim with the gauge cluster in the center for tach, air/fuel ratio and gas gauge. and line lock LED
The cluster gauges are all white faced with orange needles and the 60mph numbers on the speedometer was replaced with a Jack Daniels throwing dart.
The three original gauges to the left side of the cluster were replaced with mechanical aftermarket but using the same holes as the stock ones with the amp gauge replaced with a volt meter. (far left volts, center temp, and right oil pressure.
The original fuel gauge was replaced with a removable analog clock.
I recently painted the cardboard headliner with 3 heavy coats of flat black applied with a 3 inch foam roller.
The interior light has been altered to use 2 led dash style lights and now has a small rocker switch on the rear of it so I can turn it off completely if I want, and I can also turn it on or off with the dimmer switch, as well as letting it come on when the doors open. (or not via the rocker switch)
The overhead light is now a sharp crystal looking blue color (the floor "map" lights currently work as normal. (soon to be LED's)
The device you see between the visors is a flip down Kindle Fire wireless internet touch screen that is tied into the car's sound system, and is where most of my music is now.
I just switch the input source on the stereo to "Auxiliary input" and play whatever I want to hear by song, album, or artist.
Using my phone as a hotspot I can also have internet access any time, and anywhere.
Otherwise I need to be in range of a hotspot, which are everywhere these days.
The Kindle is powered and charged with the same 5 volt regulator that used to power my gauges way back when they were all stock and the factory regulator didn't work.
Kindles require the exact same 5 volts and one amp that the regulator puts out so I already had the hardware and just wired it into the car to come on only when the car is running. (when the car is not running it runs off it's own internal battery, and when the car is running it runs and charges off the car electrical.)
The steering wheel is a Big Dog all billet wheel and mounting hardware, and you may notice it's polished aluminum on the window side of the wheel and black vinyl on the driver facing side.
I added the blue mylar Mopar sticker to the horn button.
The shifter is a Hearst Pro Matic II ratchet shifter with a Hearst T handle, and a line lock switch is mounted on the front of the lever for index finger access (in the pic you can barely see the little satin black bracket that holds it in place) and the clear wires for the switch are super glued to the front side of the lever and run down through the shifter box and under the carpet up to the line lock activation relay.
It has LED brakelights that come on when the line lock is active, but did it in a way that I have never seen or heard of.
I used a 10 amp diode inline between the line lock power wire and the wire at the brakelight switch under the dash, so when the line lock is powered the brake light come on, but when I press the brake pedal the line lock does not activate because the diode stops backflow of power to the lock.
I love doing this stuff, and I get a lot of comments on it everywhere I go.
Seems there is almost always someone standing by it when I come out of a store or after paying for gas, and I am very proud of it.
Here are a few pics of some of the work done so far.
I might start on the body before long now.
