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I'm building a James-Bond style self-extending instrument panel for my Beetle. The last time I talked about it, I was at the carboard mock-up stage.
Last week I actually bent metal. Here's the panel piece clamped and ready to bend:
The rotating panel piece:
This is the part that will contain the instruments, and rotate.
Here's the chassis piece after bending. This part will attach to the car, and the panel piece will attach to it.
This weekend I started installing electrical parts. The panel installed in the chassis, with motor installed:
Components installed in the back of the chassis.
The thing in the center is a 7806 6V rectifier (the motor is a 6-volt motor). The two relays connect the terminals of the motor to ground and +6V; one to turn it one way and the other the other.
There are two limit switches near one end of the rotating panel that cut off power to the relay that drives the panel in that direction.
The electrical part isn't quite finished, but here's the panel wired up for testing.
Here's a look down the side; you can see the way the drive shaft couples to the rotating panel.
Yesterday, I got a round panel hole cut for the oil temperature gauge, and I've drilled holes in preparation for cutting the openings for the voltmeter and the charging current meter.
