Project 300ZX [9] - Instrument Cluster

There were a couple of plastic pieces missing in the center instrument cluster. Basically two screw covers and a plastic trim piece that goes horizontally across the dash and covers a couple more screws.

As it turns out, if you need those parts you can only get them as OEM parts, that is, as original Nissan parts from a dealer (unlike larger items like the hood, steering wheel leather cover, shift knob, etc. that can be found in aftermarket distributors).

As you would expect, you pay a significant premium for these parts (hell, I haven't done a realistic estimation but I'm sure buying a full car part by part would be way more expensive than getting a new Ferrari... and that's for any brand, not just Nissan).

Well I bit the bullet and shelled out $43 for this:

Everything is nicely packed and labeled individually, but they're still just a couple of freakin' plastic pieces!

The two screw covers in the next picture are $8.40 each.


And this other trim piece was $15.65:





And on top of the overpriced parts, shipping was over $10, for something that must have weighed less than 200g.

Anyway, so this is the car before...


And this is how it looks after the parts have been installed:


See the difference?

At least it was as easy as it looks, just snap them into place. Although I kind of understand why they were not present; it's pretty easy to break them if you don't know how they're attached, especially the big piece since those metal clips snap really hard. I sure as hell will be very careful when I need to take them out! (which I'm pretty sure I will need at some point).

You could say it's a very small change, but it happens that way... once you notice the missing parts, it's always there in your mind... you can't help but look right into those ugly holes. Which I don't have to do anymore. Phew!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Project 300ZX [11] - 'Tis the season for reupholstery

Image
I finally got a hold of my new trim kit for the Z interior, gray Alcantara with 13 pieces that cover all places that came with some suede-like fabric originally. I also ordered new leather covers for the seats (which are leather all-around, inlike the original covers with are real leather on the front and synthetic on the backs). Ordered from interior-innovations.com, for about $750 with shipping. Let's quickly remember the status of the seats and trim: Yeah, they needed replacement. So this is the 13-piece kit, more or less. The sections they cover are: Behind the seats: center piece and two side inserts Doors: one insert in each Center armrest Center console: left and right of the lower console, and left and right of the upper console. Glove box and small trim piece to its right Under the steering wheel The actual fabric is somewhat thinner than I imagined, but the surface is really soft to the touch and has a kind of orientation to the tiny little
Read more

Project 300ZX [5] - Shift knob / e-brake handle

Image
As you could see in the initial pictures I took of the car, the shift knob, e-brake handle and their boots were in a terrible condition. There's no way you can repair that, so replacement was the only option. The shift knob had some nasty scratches and its cover was missing (I think it originally came wrapped in leather but  now it was only the soft-plastic inner knob). The boot is synthetic leather and it was peeled everywhere. Those scratches on the knob come from a previous removal I think. The knob screws to the shaft, but to keep it in place, Nissan originally glues it with some blue Loctite. I've read that it's pretty hard to take it off; you need to wrap the knob in towels and then apply as much force as you can to break the glue with a pipe wrench or something. I assume this damage came from that process. I'm glad someone else did that ugly job for me, because I was able to simply unscrew the knob with my bare hands. I'm not sure why they did it and
Read more

RaspHousy part 1

Image
RaspHousy: house automation Part 1 There's some talk nowadays about the "connected home" or "smart home". I've seen some offerings in the local hardware store that attempt to improve upon tradicional HVAC (heating, ventilation & A/C) controls by learning your habits, or being able to connect to the internet. Same thing for sprinkler control but apparently much less advancement in that front. I've been attracted to the idea of a smarter way to monitor and control those things, but those offerings in the market are too limited and most of the time they're quite pricey. On the other hand, since the  Raspberry Pi  came out I've been trying to come up with an excuse to get one and do something. Hm, a project was essentially begging me to take it. So I did. I bought a Raspberry Pi, after deciding that I'd prefer that over an Arduino. Arduino is a nice programmable microcontroller with lots of I/O possibilities. But I decided I wanted t
Read more