Diesel Conversion Gauge Options

[brimc]

I have been searching for some time on the interweb for great info and advice on my Cummins Swap. Recently, I have been back and forth on Gauges. I do not want to keep any of the stock Chev gauges. I do want to have all the needed info when running down the road ie; Boost, fuel, EGT, oil, water, volts, fuel level, etc. and believe that will all be a no brainer. Now I have come across GPS Speedo's. This makes perfect sense to me because no speed senders on swapped in trannys or axles and axle ratio and tire size will not affect it. I also need a tach and have read several different ways of running all sorts of different setups. I found a GPS Speedo and tach combo setup from speedhut. Is there any reason why this type of setup would not be good? There are pricey, like close to $400, but they look good and they will be accurate. Guess I an looking for pro-cons from other that have tried this or just different opinions?

[Dieselwrencher]

After getting my diesel tach off the truck board I was kind of dissappointed when Dakota Digital came out with their gauge kit for these trucks. They are kind of pricey but you can add a lot of inputs and toggle through the cluster to see the ones that don't normally display. On the GPS speedo, I'm actually thinking of getting an autometer one for my 40 ford. I think they're a great idea and would ease calibration and setup headaches like you mentioned.

[84chevyguyid]

I dont think there is an economical way to come up with a full set of gauges to monitor everything. 400 might sound like alot but you would have almost that much into buying a new speedometer and tach with the fuel gauge integrated into it and or having existing gauges refurbished so they would work good. Trying to solve the same dilemma for my cummins conversion. I am going for the factory look with a twist. My 12 valve came from a bus and has the air compressor/power steering setup on it. I am retaining the air compressor for the air ride system the truck will have, also want to be able to blow tires on the toys when we are out riding in the mountains. My gauge requirements are: speedo, tach w/fuel, oil, water, volts, air, boost, and pyro. I rounded up several clusters and cut the upper double gauge section out of one, then cut the right side a/c vent out of another and grafted the gauge section in its spot. Boost and pyro will go there. Then I cut the radio opening out and grafted the vent back in down there, hoping I can route a hose down to it for the a/c. For tunes, I am thinking of putting in an amp and plugging an Ipod/Iphone or my xm radio into it. I have the grafting operation done and went through all my gauges to make sure they work then sent them off to White Face Gauges in Utah and had them recovered. They even matched the boost and pyro gauges to the rest of the cluster. I went to a sign company and got a piece of brushed aluminum that closely resembles the factory overlay and am going to try cutting it out to fit the new bezel so it has a "factory" look to it. I will have probably have 800 bucks plus a ton of time into it by the time I get it done. Will be watching your project to see what you come up with.

Mike

[COS399]

Originally Posted by 84chevyguyid

I dont think there is an economical way to come up with a full set of gauges to monitor everything. 400 might sound like alot but you would have almost that much into buying a new speedometer and tach with the fuel gauge integrated into it and or having existing gauges refurbished so they would work good. Trying to solve the same dilemma for my cummins conversion. I am going for the factory look with a twist. My 12 valve came from a bus and has the air compressor/power steering setup on it. My gauge requirements are: speedo, tach w/fuel, oil, water, volts, air, boost, and pyro. I rounded up several clusters and cut the upper double gauge section out of one, then cut the right side a/c vent out of another and grafted the gauge section in its spot. Boost and pyro will go there. Then I cut the radio opening out and grafted the vent back in down there, hoping I can route a hose down to it for the a/c. I went to a sign company and got a piece of brushed aluminum that closely resembles the factory overlay and am going to try cutting it out to fit the new bezel so it has a "factory" look to it. I will have probably have 800 bucks plus a ton of time into it by the time I get it done. Will be watching your project to see what you come up with.

Mike

Mike - You don't happen to have any pictures of this setup do you? I was thinking of doing something similar but would love to see your set up.

[84chevyguyid]

I will post some this weekend

[C20scott]

$40 for a nice piece of walnut. Layed out gauges and switches to my liking, routered, sanded, stained. my turn signal indicators are .357 shells with little green LED lights inset into the primer holes.

Looks way better in natural lighting...

LEDs were 10$ for a 5 pack on ebay
Switches are made by HELLA 3$ a piece
gauges cost 500+, but there are few ways around this..

[Dieselwrencher]

I'll be the first to say that you get what you pay for and I don't skimp out on gauges. They're too expensive to be buying twice.

[brimc]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

I'll be the first to say that you get what you pay for and I don't skimp out on gauges. They're too expensive to be buying twice.

That's what I'm thinking also. Gotta have a complete set that match also. Spend a little more up front but only do it once.

[brimc]

Originally Posted by C20scott

$40 for a nice piece of walnut. Layed out gauges and switches to my liking, routered, sanded, stained. my turn signal indicators are .357 shells with little green LED lights inset into the primer holes.

Looks way better in natural lighting...

LEDs were 10$ for a 5 pack on ebay
Switches are made by HELLA 3$ a piece
gauges cost 500+, but there are few ways around this..

I do like the real wood that's a great idea and looks good. For my situation I think aluminum would suit better. Gunna look into LEDs for sure also.

[84chevyguyid]

I finally got some pics of my dash project. I will post a couple of pics of my bezel and add a link to my thread on it so I dont junk up your thread with my stuff.

Mike

[84chevyguyid]

Oops forgot the link

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=533776

[84chevyguyid]

If you are wondering why I went with a 150 mph speedometer, I have 3.54 gears with 33 inch tall tires and with the allison 6 speed here are the approx speeds at different rpm's. Beside that it just looks cool!

Road speed at given RPM in miles per hour
Gear RPM RPM RPM
1700 2800 3200
1 15 25 29
2 26 43 49
3 33 55 63
4 47 78 89
5 66 109 125
6 76 125 143

[Dieselwrencher]

Hopefully no one pulls out in front of you at 3800rpm in 6th gear. Lol

[84chevyguyid]

yeah that would suck huh