Gauge panel ,home made or mass produced?
- Thread starter Turboomni
- Start date
mopar_4life
Well-Known Member
I can't see anything past them seats!
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
I see a lot of those typically with a modern radio above the gauges and speakers on the side. Good place to put an oil gauge.
, oh homemade.
Alan
, oh homemade.
Alan
Not a great angle... but I would guess homemade. If you can build particle board, or better ply wood into a box, you can do this. Once you fit your box (tape and cardboard for a quick mockup/pattern), knock the sharpest edges down, run a layer or 2 of duct tape over them and cover the thing in thin padding glued on. Spray glue and staples will hold the vinyl pretty well, you don't need to stretch it too much because the vinyl will likely shrink a little with time.Wondering if this is home made or mass produced,
It's a lot more work than you would think, but it is the way to get exactly what you want. IMO it really doesn't require any deep skill set... and anyone could do it if they had enough interest.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
live4theking
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I would agree with the others in saying it is homemade. Especially since I'm making one.
Don't let feeling foolish stop you... we all do that... and it helps those of us who can't monitor every single thread.
Carmine
Old Man with a Hat
How many of these cars decked out with aftermarket gauges really need them? Unless you're going racing, none of our engines really have to work that hard. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-information, but even my factory-equipped gauges tell me exactly what I'd expect 99% of the time.
One time I found a temp gauge somewhat useful was while driving my '73 Imperial cross-country around 2007. A corroded freeze plug started leaking in the middle of nowhere and the temp started climbing. For many, many, miles I'd overheat to the point of steam then cut the ignition and coast as far as I could in neutral or down a hill. The temp gauge at least showed I was cooling a bit every time I'd do that, but then I'd just overheat the thing anyway. Finally I stopped in a little town and bought some JB weld (luckily this wasn't one of the super hidden plugs). I ate dinner, let it cool and put on the JB. Refilled and never had another problem with it, probably drove another 1000 miles home. Last I saw it lives in Europe now.
So what was learned? The gauge was useful in that extreme situation, but you can pretty well overheat the piss out of a 440 and not ruin anything. Pre-ignition ping meant more to me than the gauge, that was my real indicator to shut down.
I once had a real hooptie of a '79 Dodge Magnum with a 318 that I'm sure was treated poorly long before I owned it. No doubt the engine was pure sludge. When it was cold, the engine showed decent Oil Pressure on the gauge but after I'd run on the X-way, and stop at an exit ramp the gauge would drop way down and you could hear a very light knock at idle. It lasted that way for a very long time until I bought a better car (and still sold it for for $750).
Lesson leaned? As long as you're not holding 1st gear till 70, or other obnoxious crap, even a very worn out 318 will run and give you a bunch of indicators before it pukes any parts. RBs, LAs & /6s aren't considered exotic, delicate engines.
Do I like having full gauges in cars? Yes. My Imperials, and my old Dodge truck all had them. My RMB has a gas gauge and an ammeter that never moves because they improved the charging system by '76. But would I ever bother to add aftermarket gauges? Not until I'd perfected every other part of the car, which essentially means never. I know there's enough limp-home in the car that I won't die in the wilderness or ruin an imaginary aluminum head.
I'm just saying.
One time I found a temp gauge somewhat useful was while driving my '73 Imperial cross-country around 2007. A corroded freeze plug started leaking in the middle of nowhere and the temp started climbing. For many, many, miles I'd overheat to the point of steam then cut the ignition and coast as far as I could in neutral or down a hill. The temp gauge at least showed I was cooling a bit every time I'd do that, but then I'd just overheat the thing anyway. Finally I stopped in a little town and bought some JB weld (luckily this wasn't one of the super hidden plugs). I ate dinner, let it cool and put on the JB. Refilled and never had another problem with it, probably drove another 1000 miles home. Last I saw it lives in Europe now.
So what was learned? The gauge was useful in that extreme situation, but you can pretty well overheat the piss out of a 440 and not ruin anything. Pre-ignition ping meant more to me than the gauge, that was my real indicator to shut down.
I once had a real hooptie of a '79 Dodge Magnum with a 318 that I'm sure was treated poorly long before I owned it. No doubt the engine was pure sludge. When it was cold, the engine showed decent Oil Pressure on the gauge but after I'd run on the X-way, and stop at an exit ramp the gauge would drop way down and you could hear a very light knock at idle. It lasted that way for a very long time until I bought a better car (and still sold it for for $750).
Lesson leaned? As long as you're not holding 1st gear till 70, or other obnoxious crap, even a very worn out 318 will run and give you a bunch of indicators before it pukes any parts. RBs, LAs & /6s aren't considered exotic, delicate engines.
Do I like having full gauges in cars? Yes. My Imperials, and my old Dodge truck all had them. My RMB has a gas gauge and an ammeter that never moves because they improved the charging system by '76. But would I ever bother to add aftermarket gauges? Not until I'd perfected every other part of the car, which essentially means never. I know there's enough limp-home in the car that I won't die in the wilderness or ruin an imaginary aluminum head.
I'm just saying.
I can't really argue with your logic... cast iron beats aluminum in most respects other than weight. At the same time I like gauges and I really like guys trying to keep an old girl alive. I see the home grown console as a nice way to incorporate cup holders, newer stereo equipment and gauges without hurting the original parts. The additions WILL go out of fashion, so as long as the wires are dropped nicely from behind the dash and the console is snug fitting so no holes are needed... I'm going to vote "go for it" but clarify that it should be done so it can all go away cleanly someday in the future.
BTW, I held first until 60 all the time on a 318... younger and dumber, but they held up to the abuse pretty well. I did get to learn about factory timing sprockets with that car though...
Carmine
Old Man with a Hat
I can't really argue with your logic either, especially following your no-hacking rules. I suppose I just wanted to get it off my chest that I see a lot of these in cars where the effort might have been better used elsewhere. A 318-2 that sees a lot of fair-weather cruise night duty isn't likely to throw a rod on the way to Dairy Queen if I can drive 60 miles everyday on the X-way at 75 mph in a tired version of the same machine.
FWIW, these things designed for pick-em-ups are pretty nice. I have a black one that I re-did with 70s-fabric that I toss in anything with a bench seat.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
To feel like home,
you gotta go Brougham.
you gotta go Brougham.
Well I don't want to go nuts with gauges on my Fury. I would like to make sure my factory gauges are in agreement to the added gauges. In my glhs turbo omni I had to install gauges to monitor of impending Turbo Boomni! In addition to oil and water temp I also added a exhaust temp ,boost and a wide band O2 sensor and readout. Those were necessary because the car is far from stock. Well looking at the pic I posted and the few other pics I am not going that route with the gauges.
Carmine
Old Man with a Hat
Turbos pretty critical, no argument there!
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