new gauges!
 

I got my black Dolphin gauges in yesterday, so today I need to find some tubing to fit them in, so I can turn these
http://i6.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/e5/f7/6a00_1.JPG
into something like this
http://autoreview.belproject.com/med...nt-cluster.jpg

Except the gauges will be at the tops of the tubes, not at the bottoms. I'm pretty much gonna build a whole new cluster and relocate the couple knobs I have left to the face of the dash. yes.

Where can I find something can-shaped with a 3.5" diameter? Does exhaust piping get that big?

Re: new gauges!
 

What about aluminum conduit?

The wall thickness should be thick enuff.

Re: new gauges!
 

Does it have to be metal? Could black ABS pipe be used? I'm thinking that it's dimensionally good, plus it's light and can be epoxied to.

Re: new gauges!
 

oh yeah, I didn't think about something like pvc pipe. Yeah, I guess that would work. I've got to rig some way of bolting them in, too, because they're made to mount to a flat piece. It should be pretty easy, though.

So, I'm going to hit up home depot with my gauges!

Re: new gauges!
 

Yeah, I've seen alot of guys use pvc

Re: new gauges!
 

Here's where I got yesterday at work after lunch (I love slow Fridays).

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...s/DSCN1962.jpg

And once all the epoxy dries from sticking the factory aluminum bezel section to the steel bucket and I can smooth it out, I'll arrange the pipe parts in as such. Except, the smaller ones will be diagonal, not stacked. But, yes.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...s/DSCN1961.jpg

What color should all this be? I know the outer lip of the bexel will be polished back out, but should the housing just be flat black? My dash is glossy metal-flaked black and charcoal metallic. And everything will be lit up red. What color do you guys think?

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...s/DSCN1967.jpg

Re: new gauges!
 

That looks SAWEET!!!! I'm impressed, very cool idea!
i think you should paint it to match your dash and do some red LED indirect lighting back in the pocket. Is that pvc? what sizes?

Re: new gauges!
 

yeah, its just gray pvc from Home Depot! The two big ones were cheap- they're 3.5 " connectors, but to get the smaller ones I had to buy a $17 foot long adjustable-length pipe thing, because I needed the inside of it. They apparently don't make a 2.25" pipe, just 2, 2.5, etc. It fits perfectly, though! Thanks!

Re: new gauges!
 

looks great man !

Re: new gauges!
 

Thats cool..........I considered PVC also but couldnt find the correct diameters. I didnt think of the couplers! Mines done so no worries now. Looks very nice.

Re: new gauges!
 

Thats a cool idea...looks good !!

Some LED back-lighting would be a good idea....

Re: new gauges!
 

I'd stick with the colors you have. The black for the flat, and try the charcoal for the tubes. You also might try the tubes with black on the outside and charcoal on the rim.

One more thing. Before you glue anything together. Put the bezel in and experiment with your arrangement. Are any guages blocked by the steering wheel? If not, try moving gauges. Can you get a good read on the dials by just glancing down? That can be helped by putting some tilt in the tubes so the gauge tilts up or in.

Re: new gauges!
 

Wow! great idea man. I can't wait to see the results of this.

Re: new gauges!
 

They're done! I still have to make sure the new speedo works, or if I need a new cable, and I have to figure out the fuel gauge thing with the 30 - 90 ohms, but other than that, there they are. I went with the gray from the center section of the dash. Clearing inside that little box was really really difficult. If I were to do it again, I'd paint everything in pieces and hot glue it all together.

[IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...s/DSCN1977.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...s/DSCN1978.jpg[/IMG]

Re: new gauges!
 

Nice!

Re: new gauges!
 

sweet man, lets see some night shots with them lit up!
there is a guy on here converting 30ohm senders to 90ohms, I will have to look for his user name.

sorry, it is on another board
90ohm sender linky

Re: new gauges!
 

That is nice!! Good job on the fabbing...

Chad