First attempt at getting serious about sim

[Niva]

Hey all, new here.

Not new to racing games but only previously had some basic setups, have bitten the bullet and decided to build something Im hoping will bring me many hours of joy

Yesterday I picked up an almost complete BMW e36 interior, the plan is to narrow it down by removing everything after the center console and the whole rear obviously.

To be honest... I have no idea what im doing. still trying to sift through the seemingly endless amounts of info online.
Firstly im trying to find the simplest way of managing the dash itself, lighting etc and possibly also providing the interface for the pc... slowly but surely driving myself insane on this one..

The other problem is as the unit is enclosed this doesnt do much for the outside of the rig. as it stands it will just end up looking like a box so trying to find a cost effective solution to giving the outside appearance a nice finish is an absolute must . .. if i plan on sleeping in the bed again.

Any info or tips or warnings are welcome and encouraged.. totally over my head so far. so good