custom low budget guage build

[steel horse]

Ok so ths is my 1st how to thread so please cut me some slack and feel free to throw in any pointers, ideas or criticisms (but please be gentle).

So as someof you may have red Im building a 68 and am trying to do it on a budget(5,000 total all done) and have it look really different and not like a cheap build. As such I got a complete 95 suburban for the motr/tranny and realized that guages are really expensive, especially for something different than everyone else has BUT i left the guage plug in the wiring harness intact so "in theory" since all the sensors are intact in fuel injected motor they should all work except the gas guage (but im working on that).

Just in case in of you wanted to do something like this I figured id post it up as i go along. so here it is:


THE STOCK CLUSTER FROM THE BURB


The cluster with the "face plate" and needles removed (my advice here is patience, the glue is old and will give but dont pry to much or you could damage the plate. i used a really dull butter knife)


back of the cluster


cluster emptied with circuit board removed since itll have to be relocated to fit (dont pry too hard again), and the front next to it for mock up, also the donor original cluster


Back of the original cluster after cutting down the back edges


Inside of the burb cluster


Original cut out (not sure if itll stay this "shape" but we'll see)


Clusters just laid on top of each other for mockup with the top face plate of the burb cluster already cut out (bottom which is the hard part still to come). this gives you a basic idea of what it'll look like tho


And heres the burb guage overlay im gonna use when its done


and i might use this stainless overlay on top of that but id like your opinions on that please cause im not sure (plus its a $100 so thats not really a "budget gauge" then so im not sure)


im planning on using fiberglass resin to fill in the rest of the panel completely and smooth it out then paint (prob gonna be ALOT of sanding). but as it looks now the total cost will be:
overlay - $20
stainless overlay - $100
bondo/resin - $10
total - $130 (less than the cost of one quality gauge)
or if you had to buy the cluster prob add $50 for that from the junk yard

will post updates as they come

please bring the comments

[steel horse]

lol wow sooo i guess either nobody cares about a mod like or nobody likes it and they dont wanna leave bad comments??? lol

[68shortstep]

I like it. I'm following, & wish you good luck.

Hope the sensor / sender thing works out for you.

Pioneers often seem to gather all the arrows though, so there may be some doubters.

[VetteVet]

I applaud your innovation and it does look nice. I was wondering about the shift letters and how you plan to work them. Are you just going to black them out or is there a light indicator in the works.
Also I think the gauges use different senders than the old gauges so you may have to upgrade those.

[steel horse]

Originally Posted by VetteVet

I applaud your innovation and it does look nice. I was wondering about the shift letters and how you plan to work them. Are you just going to black them out or is there a light indicator in the works.
Also I think the gauges use different senders than the old gauges so you may have to upgrade those.

thanks Vette, and yea i was wondering about the senders, my truck had a new stock sender in it before i got it and i looked up the wiring diagram in alldata for the burb and it shows just one wire on a resistor going to the ecu so i was hoping it would work but it didnt show what the resistance is.

as for the shift letters, im just going to black them out i think cause im going with a lokar floor shifter (might see if i can figure out how to actually have them light up right but not sure if i can...or if i have the skill/motivation for it)

but thanks for the comments

[Madtat]

Great way to think outside the box!! keep the pic's comming.
Subscribed.

[MSHax]

Originally Posted by Madtat

Great way to think outside the box!! keep the pic's comming.
Subscribed.

+1! That's definitely a different approach. I'm putting in some classic instruments gauges, and I'm also doing the dash panel in fiberglass. My gauges have been sitting and waiting for my garage to get cleared out, hard to fiberglass with no room to move.

Can't wait to see the pix

[MSHax]

Oh yeah! I did want to say that it's gotten sad that it's way cheaper to buy a whole truck than just the engine/trans. When I was looking for my fuel injection swap parts I found a 350 tbi/4l60 for $1800, but found a running truck with everything in it for $1500. That's a pretty big surcharge to remove an engine/trans.

Good call on the cluster pull too!



Oh yeah I can edit! Sorry for the double post, wasn't sure if this forum allowed self editing or not.

[steel horse]

Originally Posted by MSHax

Oh yeah! I did want to say that it's gotten sad that it's way cheaper to buy a whole truck than just the engine/trans. When I was looking for my fuel injection swap parts I found a 350 tbi/4l60 for $1800, but found a running truck with everything in it for $1500. That's a pretty big surcharge to remove an engine/trans.

Good call on the cluster pull too!



Oh yeah I can edit! Sorry for the double post, wasn't sure if this forum allowed self editing or not.

lol yea i thought the same thing, BUT it actually worked out for me cause after i parted out the rest of the suburban, I actually made $50 on the deal. so its like i got PAID $50 to put in my own motor

[steel horse]

well i got the dash kinda mocked up with some black tape to see what itll look like before i started the fiberglass process.

[PanelDeland]

I think it's gonna look good.I have a suggestion though.Why not look for a laminate to cover the bezel with and trim to fit your guages.The laminate will save a lot of filling sanding and should hold up well.It's also available in lots of colors to match or contrast.

[yuccales]

I like it!

[dbstepside]

it's a shame you didn't have one of the 3 hole gauge clusters. anyways good luck with this project.

[dhaymaker]

Looking Good!! I was a little skeptical at first, until l you were a little farther into the process. Now, I'm really starting to like the looks of your guages! Keep after it, looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[Longhorn 70]

have you wired up things yet? If so I'd like to see how it works. I have been thinking of doing JUST the tach from a newer vehicle in the tach hole.

[steel horse]

ok so its raining and im really itchy from sanding fiberglass already but heres just a quick shot of where im at now. i sprayed it with some black just to see how much filling/leveling im going to need to do. also i havent even started adding material to the top yet...

[steel horse]

Originally Posted by PanelDeland

I think it's gonna look good.I have a suggestion though.Why not look for a laminate to cover the bezel with and trim to fit your guages.The laminate will save a lot of filling sanding and should hold up well.It's also available in lots of colors to match or contrast.

man seeing this comment brought right back to when i was a kid and my dad would go tell me to do something, id take the longest hardest way to do and he'd come out halfway thru and tell "you know it would probably be easier if you had done it this way..." and he was always right

but i will def remember that the next time i do something like this, thanks for the idea

[steel horse]

Originally Posted by Longhorn 70

have you wired up things yet? If so I'd like to see how it works. I have been thinking of doing JUST the tach from a newer vehicle in the tach hole.

I hae wired it up, and it works great (except for the gas guage) BUT unfortunatly for you, i have all the factory 95 suburban wiring completely intact so it would work i think you might have some figuring out ahead of you in terms of wiring if you go that route.

But if you ever need any wiring diagrams for whatever you get your gauge from drop me a pm and ill send some to ya from mitchell on demand.

[elf w/capital T]

Rad!!!!

[jondancer]

What was wrong with your factory cluster?
Posted via Mobile Device

[1970 Bowtie]

Looks like a lot of work,but looking forward to see how it turns out.

[Longhorn 70]

I am just guessing here, but I think the finished product will be very functional, look unique and cool.

[steel horse]

Originally Posted by jondancer

What was wrong with your factory cluster?
Posted via Mobile Device

nothing really except mine was missing and since i had a whole suburban (including the cluster) and was using the motor and trans from i, i figured "why not keep costs down"

...plus now regardless of where it was made before, its now "made in usa" for sure

[steel horse]

Originally Posted by 1970 Bowtie

Looks like a lot of work,but looking forward to see how it turns out.

yea thats what i thought but so far its going pretty quick (ive been paying attention to how long this takes to advise anyone else on this in the future).

im using airtools but so far ive only got about 1 1/2-2 hours in it. but we'll see when its done.

[steel horse]

Originally Posted by Longhorn 70

I am just guessing here, but I think the finished product will be very functional, look unique and cool.

thanks alot man, and where did you get the idea to put a olds engine in your truck? i just read your signature line and saw that