10 Years ago I decided to upgrade my (Jewel Green) Supra interior lighting to LEDs. At first I did those poorly using bare LEDs strung across the button rows. They had a tendency to burn out quickly due to vibration, etc. So then I experimented in making my own discrete circuit boards. This took forever to make as I had to lay all the circuit paths and then Etch them.
Then I decided to have them professionally made. But the issue with these were I had to individually cut each item out with hole saws. Again, this took forever. So I asked my son, Marshall, to see if there C&C machine at his work could possibly cut them out. So this was a huge time saver. Like 50% less time.
Here is a video of them being cut out: http://97supraturbo.com/LEDs/20131127_100747.mp4. This video is showing the HVAC round boards and all the Instrument micro needle LED boards being cut.
Here are the pictures of all of the induvial boards. (newer versions in green)
After solving all of the Instrument cluster and HVAC boards I needed to get custom made faces. At first I used a UK company, but I never really liked how they were made. They “punched” them out which left slashes through the “0” “8” “6” etc. So I eventually sourced a new company to make vinyl ones without the slashes. I have over 100 different styles for all LHD, RHD, Series1 and Series2 units.
Next step was coming up with an internal shift light. I didn’t like those huge gauges that get screwed to the dash so I designed an internal shift light underneath the tach face. There are 2 styles, one that flashes red at shift point and another that flashes alternately red/white (only when lights are on)
(With white strobe) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikv19hlKWuU&feature=youtu.be
(W/O white strobe) REV: Shift Light –II https://youtu.be/YEbYSBBk5i4
If a Supra has a standalone, you can have your tach “sweep” at Ign ‘on’ if set up. This is performed as the tach sweeps it will kick in the shift set point and then flash.
So below are many styles I have done over the last 5 years. All can be mixed and matched to your needs.
