Dashboard and Gauge facia Install

Okay, so I had a bit of birthday money, and I thought I'd do something a bit fun.  After paying for the stripper, I decided to buy some bits for the car!
Just kidding about the stripper.
I was trawling through the AutolinkUK website (the place I got my front wheel bearings from), I came across some custom gauge faces.  I thought they looked cool, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I got two kits; one for the gauges (speedo, revs, oil, fuel, temp), and one for the HVAC.
I sat in the car, last Sunday, a damp and chilly afternoon.  It wasn't too bad, though, as I quickly worked up a sweat tearing the car apart.

Okay, a bit of history:  I've ripped the dashboard apart a few times now.  Don't ask me how many.  I'm getting good at it, but I'm also getting equally proficient at losing the screws down in between the seats.  I took off the center console, pulled out the dash vents, and unscrewed the radio / HVAC panel, revealing the lovely wiring inside!

 I removed the four screws holding down the cover plate for the heating controls, which loosened it up.
Next I tried to pull the little knobs off the slider controls.  I wrapped up my pliers in a cloth to prevent scratching the plastic.

They weren't going anywhere.  I pulled and I pulled and then I pulled some more.  In a moment of frustration, I pulled off all the old facias, ignoring the possibility that I may not get the new ones on - to hell with it, it's going to work!

Okay, lets try putting the dial bit on.  I pulled the cover back a bit, and after removing the back of the double sided tape from the new facia, I gently put it into place.

I pressed it down, and voila - it's in.

Okay, these facias seem quite robust.  I figured maybe I could put the new facia around the sliders, without having to remove the knobs.
That worked!
That looks better!

Okay, on to the gauges.
This kit came complete with instructions, which was brilliant.  I read them over, and promptly discarded them.  Honestly, how hard can it be to put the faces on?  The instructions said something along the lines of letting the car run for twenty minutes or so to 'warm up the gauges'.  What?  That doesn't make any sense!  What a load of bullocks.
I pulled the cover off the gauges, the large plastic hood thingy.  Now because this car is an import, it originally had a km only speedometer facia, so I knew at some point someone had already taken the bits apart.  So, I give it a good yank (after pulling out the two screws from the bottom and also removing the cover from the steering column) and it fell apart in my hands.  The plastic was brittle to begin with, and half of it was left behind, still in the clips.  I noted that there was a fair amount of glue in there - whomever was in there before had broken the cowling and did a quick fix.  It didn't last.  Okay, I'll try glueing it again...  I tried taking a picture, for all you viewers (both of you), but the batteries conked out on my camera.  Sorry guys.
Okay, so out comes the gauge pod.  I had read that some people had difficulty getting the speedo cable off, but mine came off very easily.  There is a little tab you press, and off it comes!
I brought the gauge pod indoors, as I didn't want to lose any little screws, and it was a bit cold.  Okay, I also wanted a drink.
I pried the cover off the gauges, leaving the facias exposed.

I started by removing the needles from all the gauges, and put them all in a row, so they would be placed back on the correct gauge.  The needles are a bit difficult, so the instructions actually came in a bit handy at this stage.  I got a couple of tea spoons, wedged them under both sides of the needle, and very gently pried them off.  The speedo one came off fairly easily - remember it had come off before.

After unscrewing the facias, I pulled them off and placed the new facia in.  I took each needle and gently scraped the white paint off the back of each needle, then coloured them in with a red permanent marker.  This is because a white needle on a white facia isn't going to show up very well.  Plus it was fun colouring in!
So back the needles go on, very gently, not all the way, as I knew I would have to do some adjusting later on.
I stand back and admire how awesome my gauges are, and how awesome I am for doing this work!  Go me!

So back to the car.  It's full dark now, so I know there is no point in trying to put everything back together.  I was able to push the connectors in and pushed in the speedo cable, and lit it up.  Cool.  It looks cool.  To me, anyway.

So i start the car, and no my amazement, the car now idles at 3000 rpm.  Oh, wait, the needle needs adjusting...
Pull it off, make it point at 1,000 rpm - that's better!

Oh, my oil pressure is right off the map - let's turn that down a bit.  The problem is, I don't remember where it sat when it was just idling.  I just took a stab at it, and put it at just under halfway.  Rev the engine, needle goes up.  Perfect.  The temperature is wrong - the car hasn't run all day but it's almost overheating?  At this point, I'm starting to clue in - I betcha the needle needs adjusting!

Fuel gauge?  No idea.  Hope it's close...
Okay, a quick spin around the block to see if the speedo is anywhere near right.  I turned on my GPS and drove at a steady 30mph according to the gauge, and the GPS was reporting a speed of 29mph.  That's acceptable to me, I'd rather it was reading a bit fast - safer around the speed cameras!
That's it for the night; it was too dark to do any more, so I'll finish off the install in the morning.
Back inside, I tried using super glue to rebuild the cowling - it didn't hold, and the vapours coated the black plastic, making it look white.  Ugh, that's horrible, I've got to think of a way around this.  Replacement cowls are about £20, so I could do that, but to be honest, I've never liked the way the plastic reflects off the windscreen - perhaps a bit of suede or something could cover it all up?  With visions of an all new alcantara interior, Off to bed...
~~~~~~Wavy lines indicating the passage of time~~~~~~~
The next morning I get to see what the facias look like in daylight.  I really like the way they look.  Very smart, I think.  So I'm sitting there, admiring my work, fiddling with the steering wheel, and I discover the horn pad comes off.
Oh! Hello!  Why the hell would they cover that up!  That looks so much better.

Anyway, I put it all together, and go for another drive.  The missus and I want a pint, and we decided to do some antique shopping.  Along the way, I discover the speedo is way out.  When I drive 30mph, it's pretty close.  When the speedo says 40mph, I'm actually doing 44mph.  When the speedo says 55mph, the GPS claims I'm doing 60.
When I come to a complete stop, I can see the speedo is claiming a speed of about 8mph.
You know what?  I think there was some truth to that 'warming up the gauges' malarky.  Now I have to tear it all apart again and get it right - after the car has warmed up!
All in all, it was worth the £30 or so to do the job - it wasn't that difficult, but to be honest,  you MUST FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS - they are there for a reason!