Banpei's two door panda Trueno from Japan

[banpei]

(10-03-2025 06:04 PM)banpei Wrote:  Today, I managed to squeeze in 30 minutes of my time to install the gauge cluster:

I tested if all (warning)lights worked, and everything looks fine. Another job that can be crossed off the list.

And today I uninstalled the gauge cluster once more.
I drove the car today. No more ticking noise from the speedometer, no more jumpy speedometer needles, just a nice, smooth speedometer. I found everything works fine except for the trip meter.

The trip meter worked fine on the test bench last week. Somehow it doesn't roll over, while the odometer works fine. If that were the only issue, I would simply have ignored that, as I hardly ever use the trip meter on the AE86. However, I also experienced a secondary issue: the speedometer was about 7 kilometres off as well. That's also something I could live with, but since there are two issues at the same time, it's better to fix them immediately.

So, I'll disassemble the cluster once more and see what's causing the issue with the odometer and if that can be fixed. I'll also investigate why the speedometer is 7 kilometres off, as I put the needle right on the 0 mark when it's not driven. I'll probably use the speedchime signal to measure exactly when it's at 103km/h and then adjust the needle to the correct position.

Still no horn button, so the good old Toyota steering wheel was put back in its place.

[decryphe]

That's indeed a very fine looking steering wheel, matches really well!

What's the trick to fix a jumpy tachometer? At low engine speeds mine sometimes starts jumping.

The trim piece looks fixable, should be possible to put some structural reinforcement on the rear and glue it together, then plastic weld the front and try to imitate the texture. Alternatively, all plastics can be covered in fake leather or real leather.

[banpei]

Thank you for the suggestions.
I tried glueing the back, but as the part is stressed when mounting/unmounting, it's nearly impossible to only fixate one side and not have the other side break. I'm a bit hesitant about plastic welding it myself. I tried to do this on one of the side repeaters, but I had another spare, and those are relatively easy to find.

This part really seems to be a problem to find. I think this is probably due to the owners stripping the panels on the A-, B- and C-pillars, but not the roofliner.

About the jumpy tachometer: it's often a bad ground that causes that. You could try to clean all the connectors of the gauge cluster and see if that helps.

[Ivan141]

About plastic welding: What I'd suggest is to melt a metal mesh backing into the back of the plastic panels you want to join, lets say about 4-5cm wide.
I have some of that stuff at home (roll of stainless mesh for kitchen strainers), then you need a big flat foot for a cheap ass soldering iron (have that as well, you're welcome to borrow it). Temporarily connect the 2 pieces in the correct position, apply mesh to back and melt the mesh in with the soldering iron.
That will make the join strong enough to hold up to abuse. Making it look good is a different skill. You can either try to weld in new plastic or you can just apply some bondo.
The trick to getting the correct texture is specialty work. Have seen people take silicone molds of the surface and press that against wet bondo / molten plastic.

[banpei]

Thanks for that suggestion Ivan, that sounds like a solution that would make it strong enough. I'll consider that option.

I fixed the gauge cluster. No idea why the trip meter didn't function properly. However, when I removed the odometer from the gauge cluster, it functioned perfectly fine. After installing it once more, it still functioned, and today I installed the cluster and then it functioned fine once more.
I also adjusted the speedometer needle by using the chime contacts as a reference point for 103 km/h. It appears to be functioning about right, but I think it's a bit too low now. I only drove about 50km/h and that was about 47km/h on the speedometer.

I also received the horn button, so I installed the steering wheel:

The steering wheel is 33cm, and it feels really nice. Compared to the 36cm Toyota OEM wheel, this steering wheel is really tiny.
How tiny, you may ask? Well, I can't see how fast I'm going on the speedometer!
The photo above shows you what I can read in my usual driving position: 0-20km/h and 140km/h and higher.

For comparison, this is a photo of the OEM steering wheel:


And this is them side by side:

So it's that tiny!


The steering wheel in my car is in the highest position; adjusting it to the lowest position is still fine regarding legroom and now I can read most of the gauge cluster. But I don't think the steering position is comfortable for my arms.
I'll keep it for now, but I think the ideal steering wheel size for the AE86 is 34cm or 35cm.

[DarkSupra]

Yeah 350 is better suited for a Corolla, thats what I have in my KE70.
330 is what I have in my miata

Do like the Luisi tho!

[banpei]

Thanks! Yeah, I like the design a lot as well.
I'll just keep it for now and review in a few weeks' time whether I'll keep it or will look for another steering wheel.

[Ivan141]

You could probably find something similar in 350 or 360 diameter.. just look for momo prototipo.
Auctions are flooded with Aliexpress replica's though, but the as-new look with low prices are usually enough of a hint.

[ondafly]

350mm seems to be the optimum steering wheel diameter in my experience. I have a Nardi Deep Corn in the Evo (350mm) and I can reach the wiper/indicator stalks fine.

My Levin looks to have a Nardi Deep Corn 340mm - so will reserve judment until I try it out, but does seem to have a quick release also fitted; which could mean the distance to the indicator stalk is too much.

In work now - so can't post photos will try to later though !