For me, the roadster-look is all about wood and chrome in a car. So I found a cheap way of adding some wood to the dash by applying thin burlwood veneer to the gauge cluster. Gauge rings complemented the wood.

This is how it all looked before I started:



I took the cluster out and disassembled it:


This, by the way, is the German cluster I used to get the speedo from and the 'real' oil pressure gauge.

I took the gauge faces off to see how new faces would be installed:


I took this opportunity to install a speedo that reads in km, not in miles. A local speedometer shop set the kilometers to the same value as the mileage of the car (only in km) A 'real' oil pressure gauge from a pre-94 Miata was also installed.

For the burlwood overlay I started with a cheap metal overlay I got off Ebay:



I pre-coated the veneer with varnish so it would be easier to work with:


Then I glued the metal onto the wood:


I taped over the wood before I started cutting it out, just to make sure it wouldn't break or crack:


Then I started cutting...


... until it looked like this:


I took the clear plastic piece off by heating it in almost boiling water and then popping it off:


... and then mounted the rings and the overlay onto the black base.


I still need to take pictures of the installed unit, but I'll get to it eventually