Dash panel makeover project...
 

Thanks to Steve at Innotech, I've started my dash panel makeover. Here's some pictures of the start.. The side panel was pretty easy but I'm waiting until the season's over to do the main dash as that is likely to take several weeks..[ATTACH=CONFIG]507345[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]507346[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]507347[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]507348[/ATTACH]

Looks good

Thanks. The pictures really don't do it justice. The carbon fibre really comes alive when the light hits it. Can't wait to get the dash in..

nice job

That is going to look awesome!

Steve just sent my dash as well. I cant wait to see it installed! Steve know his chit.

Looks good.

And couldn't be a nicer guy to deal with. He was incredibly knowledgeable and did everything he said he would. What a pleasure to work with. I can't wait to get my dash installed too!!

Absolutely. He did mine with the Garmin 740 in the center. This will really update my 91. I have black carbon fiber with black face gauges, red rims and stainless bezels. All the Livorsi stuff isn't cheap but it will be worth it.

I got my carbon dash from Steve last Summer too, it fit perfect.

I'm looking to replace my gauges and redo my panel as well, can someone give a contact number or email for Innotech
Thanks

Thanks

I'm finally tackling the main dash this weekend. Any of you guys that have done this already, do you have any tips / tricks / things to watch out for to offer to make this go more smoothly? I am using all of my existing gauges and switches, just swapping them out and moving to the new panel. I know there are a few master plugs and I've been told I should be able to remove the whole dash as a unit but there seems to be a number of things that have to stay in the boat. One thing I'm not sure of is the best way to disconnect the throttle / shifter cable assembly. All advice appreciated.

Progress...[ATTACH=CONFIG]508399[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]508400[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]508401[/ATTACH]

Looking good.......was there a harness connector so you could remove the dash with the wires connected to the gauges?..once your done do you want to come down to the Keys and do mine...LOL..free beer

I was able to remove the dash with all of the wires connected, but there are only two harness connectors and everything else is connected with snap plugs, so I divided the bundles of wires into four groups, cable tied them together, and then labeled them individually so I can re-snap them together. There were also a few wires that had to be cut because they were crimped together instead of snap plugs and those will have to be re-soldered once I re-install the dash. The trim/drive switches, ignition switches and panel switches can all be removed from the back and moved to the new panel while still connected.

Overall, it's going pretty smoothly, I started Saturday morning, took me about 3 hours to get the dash out and most of that was spent labeling everything. I spent about 3 more hours on it Saturday afternoon removing the wiring and moving the gauges, and two hours yesterday moving the wiring to the new panel, and now the only thing I have left is reconnecting the LED's for the switches.

It's all pretty tedious work but rewarding watching it all come together. Can't wait until I get it back on the boat. I'd love to come to the Keys for the beer but not sure I'd be so enthusiastic about doing this for someone else... LOL... Here's a few tips on things that could trip you up.

1) Get yourself one of those P-Touch label makers with a few cartridges and label EVERYTHING before you remove a single wire. Take as many pictures as you can and for everything that you disconnect, write it down.

2) The FireBoy LED plaque is glued on the dash panel and behind it is where the screws are that hold the trim/drive indicators. I used a small 1" spackle knife and hammer to GENTLY break the seal of the glue to get it off without cracking it.

3) I needed a two-jaw puller for the steering wheel. My standard 3-point puller with bolts would not work.

4) I took the throttle/shifter assembly apart from the side screws rather than disconnect the cables. Make sure you make note of which way the neutral sensor wires are connected because they were different from port to starboard.

I'd be happy to offer pointers if you need it once you get started, so feel free to PM me.

Mines a bit older ...a 1990 Fever, in looking at the wiring under my dash it looks rather crammed in there, but I,m going to give it a try, and thanks for the tips

Just curious how much he charged you for that dash? I'm thinking of doing something similar

Out of respect for Steve, I don't want to broadcast his prices. I sent you a PM with details.

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Ready to go back into the boat!!

Looks good. Love that blue

Steve did my new one for my Formula too, turned out perfect, ....................yours is turning out great too.

Thanks!! Hoping to get it back in the boat this evening.

Isn't that scary removing all those wires and worrying about getting them all back to the correct gauges and you've got 3-4 more than me, I'm guessing you labeled them like I did, plus I took a few pics of the back of mine, post a pic when your 100% done.

Yes, definitely a little unsettling but I was fanatical about labeling everything and I wrote down the color and specific terminal location of every single wire on the gauges as I disconnected. Also, as I was disconnecting everything in the boat, I made a checklist of everything I have to put back and reconnect. So in all, lots of tedious work but doing so made it very easy to put it all back together. I think the worst of it was reconnecting all of the LED's to the panel switches as all of those wires had to be cut; lots of soldering and shrink wrapping. But all worth it. I just hope everything still works when I reconnect it..

Will definitely post pic after it's back in.

The shop installing my dash is going with a new harness where it splits towards the front. The square 8 wire plug. I am told, he will have it all hooked up and then just plug the harness in. Not sure if this is an option for your boat.

My panel has two of those 8 wire plugs plus a whole lot of wires that connect with snap plugs. I've already done 99% of the work, so changing those at this point doesn't really make sense for me. I just have to reconnect the two plugs and snap the remaining wires back together and theyre all color coded.

10-4. Looks great. I hope to post pics of mine soon.

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Mission accomplished!!! Got the dash installed back in the boat. Will have to take a daylight picture, but here's what it looked like after I finished tonight..

Looks great!!

Posting at 2:29am... Must have been a late one:)

It was actually 3:29 am... I'm in the Eastern time zone. I didn't start until almost 11:30 by the time I got my work lights rigged up and all of the supplies on the boat. Finished around 2:30am and then it's a 25 minute ride home from the marina.

Real nice job!!! Looks amazing!! Sounds like a late night but well worth it!

Looks great! Nice job.

Now you need to bring her down South this Winter for a little January boating.......................looks great BTW.

Thanks MissBehavin... Did you notice the billet pointers???

Come on.. how could I miss them? I was waiting for that pic since you started the dash redo!! I was debating about going blue dash or stay white with blue accents. I think I'm in love with the all blue dash.

Honestly, the pictures don't really do it justice. It really looks SO much nicer in person. The blue is simply spectacular; almost electric looking.. kind of hard to describe. White carbon fibre is nice, but there's no comparison to the blue IMO. I'm sure Steve will send you samples of both to compare.

Steve did my Formula in Silver.