gauge recommendation?

greg75vette

greg75vette

The Traffic Baron
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Messages
704
Location
Lindenhurst, LI, NY
Hey guys, I'm about to pull the trigger on some gauges for the project, but I'm looking to settle my soul or hear something new. I'm looking for all new, electric gauges and I've always had the thought I would go Autometer. However, are they the best choice? They are the big name out there, but that doesn't always mean the best (and a lot of times you pay a premium for the name and little else). I'm looking for some quality responsive gauges with a fresh look (has to be white or Al faced for my project direction). However, Autometers tend to be expensive and if there is a good gauge out there for less, I would like to consider it.
So are Autometers as good as they claim to be?
Is there something cheaper without sacrificing anything critical?
What gauges do you guys run?
 
I bent up some aluminum and cut holes for a cheep set of Equis ?? (sp) gauges from O'Reilly Aparts...about 60 bux for 5....

white face 2 3/8? diameter...the larger ones....

:flash:
 
Check out speedhut, you can design your own gauge faces, I'm thinking about getting some.
 
Wow! $60 for 5? That's pretty cheap! You sure they're ok at that price?

I like those speedhut gauges TT. Through their customization, I was able to find a nice design. Though I'm not a fan of the price. For the 6 gauges I'm looking at it's about $675 total. A big gripe is the biggest guages they sell for tachs and speedos is 4". That may be too small for the guage tunnels in my dash. I'm afraid it will look wrong. Definitely an option though.
 
So I made a move the other day. I really liked those custom gauges, but in the end price won out. I sprung for auto meter phantoms:
1055889.jpg

I bought 5" speedo and tach, and four 2 1/16" guages. It ran me just over $600 with shipping from jegs (about $10 cheaper than summit after shipping). I almost got a 5th 2" gauge to replace my clock, but didn't see one that would make sense with my application. I figure I could always order one at a later date if I decide to use one.

I almost bought everything I needed. I didn't buy an indicator light for a "check engine" signal and should have bought some painless connectors. I also need some other wiring terminals, but figured I could always get those locally.
 
Radioshack has a pretty decent selection of male/female connectors. Ranging from 2 - 12 pin styles. I used a 4 and a 6 pin on mine. Made life alot easier when testing everything out.
 
TT posted a full sized CAD drawing of the adapter ring to fit the 5" gages into the existing pod. I laid it out in a piece of sheet and cut it out. Then I used a Ryobi hole saw from HomeDepot and cut the hole for the gauge. Looks awesome! The hole saw was pricey..
 
vette427sbc said:
Radioshack has a pretty decent selection of male/female connectors. Ranging from 2 - 12 pin styles. I used a 4 and a 6 pin on mine. Made life alot easier when testing everything out.
Click to expand...

Allied electronics has tons of that stuff online.
 
pcf_mark said:
TT posted a full sized CAD drawing of the adapter ring to fit the 5" gages into the existing pod. I laid it out in a piece of sheet and cut it out. Then I used a Ryobi hole saw from HomeDepot and cut the hole for the gauge. Looks awesome! The hole saw was pricey..
Click to expand...

Oh don't you worry I found that back when I joined the forum (I always check archives when joining a forum). I think I have an autocad reader on my laptop (work pc), so I'll see if it can work there. If not, I'll just follow the drawing rather than tracing.
I always planned on using a tin snips, a smaller hole saw and a dremel (for sanding/grinding) to cut it out due to the expense of a hole saw. How close was the hole saw to the size of the hole? If it's really close than it might be worth the expense.
How thick of a piece of metal did you use? I can't seem to find a good supply of sheet metal around (poor selection at Lowes and don't know another place to go) and I can only really find the thin stuff (I think ~.090" but I could be wrong). I'm not sure if this is thick enough, or I should search for a better supplier.
 
greg75vette said:
How thick of a piece of metal did you use? I can't seem to find a good supply of sheet metal around (poor selection at Lowes and don't know another place to go) and I can only really find the thin stuff (I think ~.090" but I could be wrong). I'm not sure if this is thick enough, or I should search for a better supplier.
Click to expand...

I happened to collect various street signs over the years, from Carlisle shows, and some old friends who worked accident scenes...EMT/cops....they would pick them up along with the rest of the flotsam....

:D that aluminum is tough as nails, but makes great instrument panels...

:yahoo:
 
mrvette said:
greg75vette said:
How thick of a piece of metal did you use? I can't seem to find a good supply of sheet metal around (poor selection at Lowes and don't know another place to go) and I can only really find the thin stuff (I think ~.090" but I could be wrong). I'm not sure if this is thick enough, or I should search for a better supplier.
Click to expand...

I happened to collect various street signs over the years, from Carlisle shows, and some old friends who worked accident scenes...EMT/cops....they would pick them up along with the rest of the flotsam....

:D that aluminum is tough as nails, but makes great instrument panels...

:yahoo:
Click to expand...

Why am I not surprised you have used street signs? :D But you're right, I have a few signs that have been...borrowed...in the shed and the Al is quite stiff. I don't think I'll cut into them though. I would like a more legit store, if possible haha.
 
greg75vette said:
mrvette said:
greg75vette said:
How thick of a piece of metal did you use? I can't seem to find a good supply of sheet metal around (poor selection at Lowes and don't know another place to go) and I can only really find the thin stuff (I think ~.090" but I could be wrong). I'm not sure if this is thick enough, or I should search for a better supplier.
Click to expand...

I happened to collect various street signs over the years, from Carlisle shows, and some old friends who worked accident scenes...EMT/cops....they would pick them up along with the rest of the flotsam....

:D that aluminum is tough as nails, but makes great instrument panels...

:yahoo:
Click to expand...

Why am I not surprised you have used street signs? :D But you're right, I have a few signs that have been...borrowed...in the shed and the Al is quite stiff. I don't think I'll cut into them though. I would like a more legit store, if possible haha.
Click to expand...

I"m thinking of using them to patch holes in the aluminum siding on my Camper restification project....have a stop sign going down the road, a 5 mph sign on the rear, etc...:lol::lol::2nd:
 
update

So I got the gauges mounted up. I think it came out pretty good. The adapter rings came out pretty well. Thanks again to TT for uploading them. I used 4.5" hole saw like pcf_mark suggested for the center hole and tin snips to rough out the outer edge. 22g steel I think should be strong enough:

DSC01834.jpg

Mock up:

DSC01842.jpg
DSC01847.jpg

As you guys can see I still have the original clock in place. I was planning in leaving it, but it looks awkward. What gauge should I put in its place? Keep in mind I'm keeping my LS1 stock.
 
greg75vette said:
As you guys can see I still have the original clock in place. I was planning in leaving it, but it looks awkward. What gauge should I put in its place? Keep in mind I'm keeping my LS1 stock.
Click to expand...

Got any use for a vacuum gauge? I'm leaning toward that route for my '73 but also thought about an oil temp gauge.

DC
 
Those are the 2 I'm leaning towards. I'm not crazy about the oil temp and also not sure where else to hook up to the gauge. I think a vac/boost gauge might be good because I may turbo it in later years, but now it might be stupid. I feel knowing vacuum might be good to know as well.
 
A wideband air/fuel gauge would be good if you plan on doing some custom tuning, or if you plan on going for forced induction down the road too.
AutoMeter makes a clock-gauge too FYI...

Gauges look great in there too BTW :drink:
 
Last edited:
greg75vette said:
So I got the gauges mounted up. I think it came out pretty good. The adapter rings came out pretty well. Thanks again to TT for uploading them. I used 4.5" hole saw like pcf_mark suggested for the center hole and tin snips to rough out the outer edge. 22g steel I think should be strong enough:

DSC01834.jpg

Mock up:

DSC01842.jpg
DSC01847.jpg

As you guys can see I still have the original clock in place. I was planning in leaving it, but it looks awkward. What gauge should I put in its place? Keep in mind I'm keeping my LS1 stock.
Click to expand...

Check around and I bet you can find someone to repaint the clock face to match appearance of the autometer gauges.

Rich:drink:
 
greg75vette said:
As you guys can see I still have the original clock in place. I was planning in leaving it, but it looks awkward. What gauge should I put in its place? Keep in mind I'm keeping my LS1 stock.
Click to expand...

outside temperature or a clock :bounce:


ok... seriously.... oil temp .....
 
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