Adding color HUD to older cars

[DWALEX]

Ok let's try it!

[Sick Rick]

I will find a way, in a 2010, to get this done.

I find, its always a question of money.


yeah, it's been a minute.
I'm BACK.

Run and HIDE.

[Yippee38]

I just finished the install of my color HUD. I told my wife to file this under, "WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!"

It was a challenging project. I spent about two, 12-hour days on it. It took me about 5 or 6 hours to get the dash out. It took me several more hours to make the cut. That was nerve-wracking as hell. I got the car together again this evening. However, not all the time was one spent on the HUD. I installed a backup camera a few days ago and several hours were spent this afternoon and evening on running the wiring for that, and hooking up my aftermarket stereo. Still, I'd plan for two, full days.

Gen5DIY provided fantastic support throughout the project. There were several things in the instructions about which I was unsure. They answered my questions completely. They also helped me make sure I was prepared to cut in the correct place. I cannot say enough good about the support they gave me. Thanks guys!

The two things that took the longest on this project were, 1) Cutting the hole, and 2) re-installing the dash. For some reason, there was something stopping the dash form seating all the way in the area just to the right of the steering column, toward the bottom of the dash. I played with it for well over an hour, then suddenly it popped into place. I still have no idea what was not lined up right. I definitely recommend get some help removing and installing the dash. I impressed upon my wife the care which had to be taken with the airbags, and thankfully, I have no airbag errors! YAY!

Cutting the hole took the longest time, by far. I was anxious as hell the whole time. The result is awesome though. From the top, it looks absolutely factory.

I do have some advice though for making the cuts. The template supplied by Gen5DIY is a bit smaller than the hole needs to be. They did this on purpose to give you some wiggle room. I positioned the template to where I thought it should be. I cut out the "hole" part of the template, and taped it to the dash using masking tape, then removed the template. I then masked around the template. I recommend using plain, old, yellow masking tape rather than blue, painter's tape. As you adjust your cuts, you can use a pencil and mark your cut lines on the masking tape and it is very visible. It would be harder to see on the blue tape.

After I taped around the borders of the hole template, I made my first cuts. I cut a hole about 3/8" - 1/2" inside the tape. As I said, the template is small, but I still cut inside it to be safe. I'm very glad that I did, because I was too far toward the center of dash, and I had the template angled slightly off. In fact, that first cut was very close to being too far over. If I push the trim to the driver's side, you can just see the end of that cut. :o I was able to figure this error out by, after making the first hole, positioning the HUD unit under the dash and noting its position and orientation through the hole. Look at the sides to make sure they are lined up. The front and back of the trim piece are angled, so using them is very difficult. Besides, there is an easier way to get the front and back lined up. After every cut, I held the HUD in position again to check my alignment and positioning.

I would recommend that you finalize the side cuts first before working on the front and back cuts. Just get the side cuts wide enough that you can fit the part of the trim that extends down to the HUD into the hole. This will help you mark your front and back lines. After you get close with your side cuts, work on your front (hood-side) cut. As Gen5DIY told me, you want the part of the trim that extends down toward the HUD unit (hood side) to be up against the bracket for the HUD on the underside of the dash. If you get that cut right, the trim will be properly aligned. Once that part is just touching the bracket all along its length, you can work on your top cut. When you get that one close, then you can work on widening your opening just enough for the trim mounting tabs to hold without the sides of the trim bulging. If you got the trim touching the bracket along the front, you shouldn't need to do anything more with that cut. You will only, at this point, be adjusting the side and back cuts.

When lining up your template, you want the rear edge of the hole to be roughly in line with the ridge running side-to-side along the top of the dashboard. That should at least get you close to the correct angle. The HUD is NOT centered between your gauges, so don't try to make it so. It is slightly closer to the center.

I finally powered up the car tonight, and it looks great, though I am disappointed with the results. On my car (a 2011), I have a very noticeable double image. It makes the HUD look really out of focus. I will definitely be replacing my windshield with a HUD specific windshield eventually. For now, I ordered a piece of reflective film made by Garmin that is for their units. Hopefully, this will improve the image a bit. I'll report on it when I get it installed. However, that spinning, full-color, Chevy logo looks awesome, even though it's slightly out of focus.

BTW, cutting the hole for the control panel is pretty easy. Cut small and work your way larger, test fitting as you go.

One more thing. I used a standard Dremel tool with a "reinforced cutting disc". Those discs are slightly larger and much more robust than the bulk cutting discs. They are also about 3x the price. However, I was able to make all cuts with one disc, and because the disc is larger, it gave me more clearance for the Dremel itself. Be careful with the chuck of the Dremel, especially when doing the control panel. You don't want it to bump your dash, or it could marr it.

[SSeniorMoment]

What a great thread, I like the idea of having a color HUD, especially with the g-force guage. If I understand correctly, if I want a back up camera on a 2010, the image displays on the rear view mirror?

[whiteknight012]

Originally Posted by Yippee38

I just finished the install of my color HUD. I told my wife to file this under, "WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!"

Wow, thanks for the great write-up. There's absolutely no way I would attempt a job like this on my own, so complete props to you.

You say the image is blurry...I also have a 2011 and have been considering this mod. Do you have any pics of it in action?