jmrjames

William Shatner as Buck Murdock

No more levers or buttons. Just switches, lights and *****.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCl6RCGkPuo

hans14914

Rob,

I like those ***** you linked - I may have to try and find some. Anyone know the part number for them and we can see if they are available as a replacement part (and at an affordable price).

Thanks
Hans

Rob Edwards

Hans-

The blower **** with the fanbalde icon on it is 944 653 207 00, and the pointer **** is 944 653 208 00, which superceeds to 944 653 208 00 01C, according to (gasp) Pelicanparts. (Where else does one get 944 parts?)

$12 and $24, respectively. The latter is ~$17 at AutoAtlanta. Must be other places to get 'em.

hans14914

Thanks for the ideas Sterling.

On the window switches, we can offer any flexible option you would want, but as long as you order the panel in leather. Making these switches is VERY expensive (think the tooling setup charges on your cams - pretty similar figure). On top of that, there is an additional artwork charge for every overlay, and a minimum order quantity in each format - so, in short, we will only have one switch panel available, and it will be populated by 8 buttons in the stock configuration plus the the hatch opener. These are low current buttons, but can be used for other functions. If you chose not to use the inner two "rocker" switches for the standard equipment, you could commission Paul to make the cover to show icons for other functions, and tie it in with a trigger on your Motec - say a valet mode button... etc. They operate in the order of milliamps, so woudl need a sensitive relay or relay driver IC in-line, but it would be a simple operation to re-purpose the switches to do something else.

Champagne

I am working on different possibilities. You will be able to have pretty much anything you want on the cover as Hans just described.
I am working on a version with the door lock instead of the rear wiper.

I am also looking into ways of doing the top layer for the standard panel in house. If we can, then you will be able to have anything you want, whether it's covered in leather or not.

Paul

hacker-pschorr

http://www.paragon-products.com/

No reason why Mark Anderson, Roger, and DR cannot source the same new parts too.


Dumb question here - isn't the vent and temp controls controlled by a hard line on the S4's? If so, this is the same as the early cars.

hans14914

It is still too early to estimate prices. We still haven't selected a final vendor for the switch panels, and since I just finalized the frame last night, Paul hasnt had a chance to make the new overlay and estimate his time and material expenses.

I am also going to start working on some other simpler options for the climate for reduced cost and lead time for those looking for a different option, and finally, I plan on trying to make a similar frame to accept all the stock components, so you can still upgrade to the modern look with Paul's shift-boot and modular tray without having to invest in a new climate controller or carputer.

We will start a new thread with pricing when we have everything in production, and start taking pre-orders with deposit.

Thanks,
Hans

hacker-pschorr

Excellent!!!

BC

I wonder if this would work with those low power switches for the window/hatch buttons in the center console:

http://www.isispower.com/

If it had to be separate, that's fine, but integration is always good.

The later HVAC system uses those hot little vacuum operating electric switches - is the plan to keep those? I don't fully understand the HVAC system actually. I know there is an electric motor for the mixer, and most of the other actions are controlled by vacuum right?

Champagne

At one point, it will be helpful for your guys to let us know what would be your finish of choice for the center console top surface.

Our first choice will be to offer a fully stitched leather cover, in matching, or contrasting color.

Metallic finishes are also in the plan, mainly brushed silver etc.

Carbon fiber is another option, as would be a velvet finish black or charcoal, much like the industry standard.

Suggestions are welcomed

Paul

Rob Edwards

Paul-

The boring answer is to have the option to match the grain of the stock dash vinyl perfectly. I think the reason that the reason that I love the work the Keith Widom did on his GTS is that if you hadn't spent a lot of time in 928's you wouldn't know that it didn't come from the factory that way. Or put another way, my favorite comment that I get about the GT is when people are surprised that it's 20 years old. With this new center console done in such a way that it looked factory, it'd be even harder to tell.

The interesting answer is a fully stitched leather cover in Marine Blue, to go along with the eventual seat/door panel/dash/pod re-do.....

jcorenman

Correct, actuated electrically by the row of small solenoid valves behind the ashtray.

Paul, my suggestion would be to offer a textured or velvet black or charcoal finish as standard, with various upgrades from that. Our personal preference is for minimal "bling" but everyone is going to have a different idea.

ALKada

Looks like a nice upgrade for the '00s. Have you considered SSD (Solid State Drive) instead of a hard drive? This would take the constant shock and heat much better, be much faster access time on the computer and give you much longer life for the money. If I were to invest the time and money to rip out a center console and invest in this sweet upgrade, I would not want to have to rip out a shot hard drive due to vibration or heat crash. Just a suggestion (I'm a IT guy by trade..)

I have a suggestion for your next project. How about a digital dash screen insert to replace the gauges in the pod dash with an LED backlit LCD? You could then reconfigure your dash gauges to look either stock when it's on or a templet of gauges and various locations on the dash to choose from for a custom layout. You could use the same computer for the center console to run the dash. Imagine the possibilities...

Best of luck and I can't wait until it's ready for prime time!

hans14914

Actually, the hard drive that is shown in my mockups is considerably more reliable than an SSD - its a military spec Seagate drive. However, when we ship these out, they will be empty, and ready for you to install whatever drive you prefer. The brackets are ready to accept a pair of any type of drive you would like to use in the standard 2.5" format used by both SSD and traditional "spinning disk" drives. I will include a recommended hardware list, and have a deal setup with a PC part supplier for a pre-selected package.

As of now, I am not planning on providing the actual PC components beyond the touchscreen. There is so much volatility in pricing, on PC hardware, that I would likely have to charge more than market rate at least some of the time if I supplied them directly. I will include a good instruction set on how to get things up and running, and provide personal assembly service on a case-by-case basis, but most Rennlisters are computer savvy enough to do their own assembly and windows install, and by making that section DIY, it allows more flexibility and lower price.

Thanks
Hans

RKD in OKC

Won't driving really really fast lower the cabin pressure enough that spinning disk drives won't work Hence the excuse for SSD.