Recessed Autometer Gauge build

[bigsj]

I am very interested in how this turns out i like the idea.

[HarleyHauler]

Originally Posted by bigsj

I am very interested in how this turns out i like the idea.

X2 - I'll be watching this thread for updates.
Posted via Mobile Device

[texastruckjunky]

I like this one , i'm in. I'll be watching for sure.

[bigblock73]

OK, cluster is DONE!

However, I don't have final pics yet as I need to take it all apart, document, clean and re-assemble. I will have pics up tomorrow evening.

Until then, here are some in-progress pics. Sorry for the quality, bought a new DSLR and am trying to learn how to use it.

[bigblock73]

Some more

[bigblock73]

Lastof the pics

[bigblock73]

Bill, I'll get this packaged up and out by the end of the week. Thanks, hope you like!

[Corts60]

Amazing work! Just beautiful.

There is one thing I'm just not ready to embrace yet though. . . Why do so many people want 160 MPH speedos and 10k tachs when these trucks will rarely go faster than 120 and most of these small blocks will never rev higher than 6k? Just a thought.

[bigblock73]

Originally Posted by Corts60

Amazing work! Just beautiful.

There is one thing I'm just not ready to embrace yet though. . . Why do so many people want 160 MPH speedos and 10k tachs when these trucks will rarely go faster than 120 and most of these small blocks will never rev higher than 6k? Just a thought.

You won't find many aftermarket gauges out there that only have 120 MPH speedos and 6K tachs. I upgraded mine because I like the look of the Autometer gauges and accuracy they provide over the factory ones. Boils down to personal preference I guess.

[CSGAS]

Originally Posted by Corts60

Amazing work! Just beautiful.

There is one thing I'm just not ready to embrace yet though. . . Why do so many people want 160 MPH speedos and 10k tachs when these trucks will rarely go faster than 120 and most of these small blocks will never rev higher than 6k? Just a thought.

Straight Up!!!

That is, one methodology dictates that you want to position the gauges so that, when everything is working right, all the needles are pointing straight upwards. In many race applications you'll see gauges rotated in their positions so that the shift point or redline on the tach is straight up, or the temp gauge is set for 180/195/220 is straight up or whatever the driver needs to see because they can't actually take the time to read the actual numbers. Aftermarket gauges were originally made to satisfy this need (Although the same companies also made gauges for military and commercial markets) and then they modified items for the street rod and similar customers. Check out your water temp or fuel gauge. They are not necessarily marked in a manner accurate to their function at the ends, but usually more accurate at the middle of their sweeps.

[mud.man.rj]

A very nice clean setup, nice update over stock. The price of the gauges are not bad either.

[bigblock73]

Small update.

Cluster housing modified...cut so that the new gauges would fit, yet provide the necessary upper/middle mounting points, lower gear shift provision, and factory turn signal usage. I am not sure that the lower left section can be retained due to small gauge size...if not, the owner will have to cut off the piece to the left of the gear selector and attach it to the metal dash with a support bracket. While this piece will never be seen once the gauges are in, I made the cuts as straight as possible, and sanded everything smooth. It is still dirty in the pics, but it has been cleaned and ready for installation.

[bigblock73]

Here you can see a spare lens I had laying around that I cut the gear shft indicator portion off of that will be epoxied to the backside of the dash bezel itself. It too has been sanded smooth, even though it will never be seen.

Bottom pic is of a 5" ring that was removed from the speedometer. I simply cut a slit in it, which gave me enough room to pry the rest of it off carefully with a pliers. I did have an accident on one of the smaller gauges, which required me to make a phone call to Autometer for a replacement lens.