stop sign guage cluster...where and how

[oldblue1968chevy]

i was reading this am (i skipped school) that soembody made a aluminum dash cluster outta a stopsign.....i was wondering were that pic went to (i cant find it anywere) and how you cut it to look as good as it did, and how you mounted your guages in it...THANKS!

[Shane]

Stealing road signs is a felony. Just a heads up.

[combustion]

im sure he can make it out of a similar material? lol. get old signs of like parking signs that people throw away. if you lived closer i would give you a giant Wallyworld no parking sign a store manager gave me haha. but ya don't steal signs

[oldblue1968chevy]

lol i know stealing the signs is a felony.....there was some in the barn when we bought the place.....and ive acumulated a few...................

really all i wanna know is how you cut it and made it all....look as good as you did, and what you used to cut it with, or your method of cutting, and how do you put the guages in it, cut the hole, but what keeps it from falling out, this could be for anybody lol thanks

[chevyguy_72]

i want to see a pic of this... Interested

[oldblue1968chevy]

im starting to think im imagining this lol

i was on here this am....and i saw it, they said it was outta a roadsign, i think a stopsign lol

IF YOU CUT UP YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ROAD SIGN FOR A GUAGE CLUSTER READ THIS AND SHOW US A PICTURE, AND ID LIKE TO TALK TO YOU, THANK YOU MUCH!

maybe that helps us fellers lol

[cdowns]

a jig saw and hole saws are good for cutting//you just need to know to proper way to use them

[oldblue1968chevy]

you gotta use a diff. blade for metal though right, or coudl you use wood bits for aluminum...im guessing no still lol pops is a whiz with bandsaws we've got holesaws layin round here too..but proly for wood

[cdowns]

this pressure regulator mount was made out of aluminium from a road sign(bought at surplus sales place)

as far as having the right blade in a jigsaw,it's as easy as going into sears and reading the labels on the packages

will your hole saw cut aluminum no it wont if all you do is look at it "nothing ventured nothing gained"

[oldblue1968chevy]

okie dokie thanks cdowns!

i likey all that shiny under there..

[Rob H.]

I use hole saws to cut metal doors to install locks and also to cut through truck bed floors to install gooseneck ball hitches. They're made to cut metal too. I've even drilled through a diamond tread steel bumper on a utility bed before.

[ace of shades]

Originally Posted by Shane

Stealing road signs is a felony. Just a heads up.

I'm not too sure around the country itself but I know in Oregon stealing a road sign is a felony, BUT and a big ****ter, If you steal a stop sign, someone goes through said intersection and gets into an accident that felony jumped up to involuntary manslaughter

[Longhorn Man]

all that, just to try and look ghetto

[ryan_long_01]

Originally Posted by oldblue1968chevy

really all i wanna know is how you cut it and made it all....look as good as you did, and what you used to cut it with, or your method of cutting, and how do you put the guages in it, cut the hole, but what keeps it from falling out, this could be for anybody lol thanks

If the sign is aluminum, you cut it just like any other sheet metal, aluminum is very easy to cut...for cutting the piece to shape, use a jigsaw or air body saw with a metal cutting blade, or a cutoff wheel, or maybe even a pair of tin snips, or even a metal cutting bandsaw or shear -- there are a million ways to cut metal. Either the jigsaw/body saw or some hole saws can make the round cutouts for the gauges. If you don't have the tools, hit up the hardware store and get what you need. Hole saws are pretty hard to screw up, you'll automatically get a perfectly round hole that's the size you want, but you will probably have to buy the sizes you need unless you happen to have a bunch of them handy.

Most of the aftermarket gauges that you'll find are made to go in sheetmetal custom hot rod dashes, so "keeping them from falling out" isn't an issue -- they are designed to sandwich the sheetmetal between the bezel and gauge face, all you have to do is cut your hole accurately to the exact size specified by the gauge manufacturer and put it together like the instructions say...very easy to assemble and wire up.

[oldblue1968chevy]

so i cant use the stock guages???! how much will aftermarket ones be, i have 3 hole style now, with 3 lil ones under the dash, (aftermarket from autozone i think), can i geta gas guage speedo and tach to match my sunpro guages that i already have?? and will aftermarket guages be easy to install to the stock wirings under dash? or will i be cuting up million wires lol thanks!

[ryan_long_01]

You might be able to DO it with stock gauges, but it certainly won't look better than the stock instrument cluster that they're made to fit into. The price of aftermarket gauges varies widely -- just check out Summit or Jegs (catalog or website) or anywhere else that sells hot rod/custom parts. You can also check eBay, swap meets, etc. for classic gauges, which would look great with this type of setup.

FYI Sunpro definitely makes tachs, and probably the rest that you need. I have a Sunpro tach hose-clamped to my steering column, which kind of fits in with the traditional-rod look that it sounds like you're interested in. It was very cheap at the local auto parts store...under $40, I think.