I saw a picture somewhere where someone had removed the factory boost gauge and message center and had 3 aftermarket gauges installed in their place. As I recall the panel looked really good, like a factory piece. That's been quite awhile ago, and I can't remember where I saw the picture. If anybody remembers the one I'm talking about or has done something similar, would you care to post up some pics and how you went about it.
Thanks,
IIRC he used bondo and a lot of patience to make that. It might have been in a thread that I started over at the other site regarding adding the gauges in my shadow.Originally Posted by tonyz2897
Here is one that I bought. Came out of a Spirit and was going to go into my Daytona, but I haven't had a chance to install it yet. I just bought a pillar pod so I am plaining on using that for now.
-Gary Mazzone-
1986 GLHS #168
Thanks! I'll do a search over there and see if I can track it down. I'm going the same route. I've got a piece cut out for the gauges and epoxied in place. I just need to lay some filler around the edges, sand, and paint.
That looks nice! What size gauges are those? I think the ones I'm using are a bit bigger as I had to put them pretty close together (the bezels almost touch) to get them to fit.Here is one that I bought. Came out of a Spirit and was going to go into my Daytona, but I haven't had a chance to install it yet. I just bought a pillar pod so I am plaining on using that for now.
Any suggestions on a paint to match the factory black on the rest of the interior trim? Hopefully I'll have the filler work done to it this evening and will paint and post pics tomorrow.
Thanks,
Those are the standard 2 1/16" gauges I believe.
-Gary Mazzone-
1986 GLHS #168
Gotcha. The Spirit must be wider across that area then. You'll see what I'm talking about when I post a pic of the finished piece.
I pulled a real dumb@ss and wasn't paying attention to what grit sandpaper I was using when I went to scuff it up for paint. It's currently drying after wet sanding the 4th coat with 400 grit and I still haven't got the 80 grit sanding marks completely out of it. Man, that plastic is soft.
Yeah I think the Daytona and Spirit are wider then the P-body. If I end up using it I would really rather have the gauges angled towards me a bit.
-Gary Mazzone-
1986 GLHS #168
I hear ya. I may end up building a second version of this eventually using some short pieces of pvc cut on an angle to point the gauges toward the driver.
Here's a pic of the end result. Definately not my finest work and a really crappy pic on top of that, but it should do. I'll post a better pic of it once the gauges are in and it's in the car.
Looks pretty good. I think I may try to mold my pillar pod in so that it looks like it's all one piece. It'll be my first attempt at anything like that
Keep us updated
-Gary Mazzone-
1986 GLHS #168
Thanks man!Looks pretty good. I think I may try to mold my pillar pod in so that it looks like it's all one piece. It'll be my first attempt at anything like that
Keep us updated
I didn't go to great lengths with this. All I ended up doing was gluing it flat over the opening, running a bead of epoxy around the edge, and sanding the epoxy a little to try to blend it into the panel. I did the top and sides like that, but didn't bother with the bottom since it overlapped the cutout for the fog light and rear defrost switches.
Here's a pic of it finished and installed. Holy mismatched gauges Batman!
-Gary Mazzone-
1986 GLHS #168
The white blur is a vac/boost gauge. It's a 0-30 psi silver face Ebay cheapie. The egt is from Skysports (rebadged Westach), and the a/f gauge is an old Cyberdyne unit I bought off Squirrel years ago. Definately won't win any awards with that mess, but they should help me keep my engine in one piece and that's all I really care about.
You ought to see 'em illuminated. The boost gauge lights up blue, the egt lights up green, and the a/f gauge... well, you get the idea.
Here is a picture of my Air/Fuel ratio gauge installed in my Shadow. I mounted it in a Auto-meter gauge cup, and put it in the center console, because when i drive at night the disco light can get annoying, and when it bothers me i just close the console,
That's a good idea.Here is a picture of my Air/Fuel ratio gauge installed in my Shadow. I mounted it in a Auto-meter gauge cup, and put it in the center console, because when i drive at night the disco light can get annoying, and when it bothers me i just close the console,
I mounted mine where I did because I don't like to have to drop my eyes too far off the road to see them. The cyberdyne a/f gauge has a tinted lense anyway, so it's not bad at night. I'm seriously thinking about making a switch panel for boost control, manual fan switch, etc and putting it in the console like that though.
heres some sheets of plastic for you diy'ers http://www.rplastics.com/abssheet.html
http://www.rplastics.com/plasticsheet.html
Wish I'd known about them sooner. I'd have ordered a piece to do the gauge panel with.
Oh well, it works.
edit: JDAWG, is tha little drag strip in Hagerstown still open? I went to my first race at that place many years ago. Tried to run, but failed tech.
Good memories...
yes it is, about 3miles from my house, they actually have a chrysler show in the summer too the I attend with my cc membersWish I'd known about them sooner. I'd have ordered a piece to do the gauge panel with.
Oh well, it works.
edit: JDAWG, is tha little drag strip in Hagerstown still open? I went to my first race at that place many years ago. Tried to run, but failed tech.
Good memories...
http://www.masondixondragway.com/
Nice. That sounds like it might make for a fun road trip this summer. I haven't been up that way in years.
2022 Viper runs 9s
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