install some gauges

johvis gave a good account. Let me add: I got autometer gauges IMO they are not worth the money. second, If you have hot/cold temp lights, use one for your temp gauge leaving the other free for something like a tach. Forget mechanical gauges, you will have plenty of trouble enough with electrical! If you get a gas gauge you need to be sure it will work with your Ford sender. also the new gauge will most likely let you bypass the the CV module. The attachment on the oil sender is NPT, so you can get the T or the right-angle you need from a plumbing shop, not auto zone. And finally... well, that's probably enough. Good luck!

Autometer?
Mechanical vs Electrical?

I am confused, I saw some gauges @ O'reileys and Azone. Are those mechanical? I just want to make sure my car does not overheat of run low on oil that is why I would like to get some gauges installed. I have never installed gauges, so I have no clue on what to look for.

Autometer is the brand name of a gauge out there. There are many makers of gauges - Autometer, VDO, Stuart Warner, Sun, etc. Some are better than others and there are a bunch of looks you can choose from.

Mechanical vs electrical refers to how the gauge measures the reading to the gauge. Take an oil pressure gauge for example. An electrical based oil gauge uses a sending unit (on the engine-something you have to install that is matched up with the gauge - make sure you ask if the gauge you are interested in comes with a sending unit - I had to buy mine separately) that senses the oil pressure, converts it to an electrical signal and sends that signal through a wire to the gauge. So what comes to the gauge inside the car is a small wire.

A mechanical based oil gauge needs to have a small tube of oil piped to the gauge itself so it can read the pressure. You actually have to plumb tubing carrying oil to the gauge so it can read the pressure of the oil in the engine.

You can tell the difference by looking at the packaging of the gauge. If there is tubing in the package it is likely a mechanical gauge. Just ask the person at the store and they should be able to help you find the right gauge. Also, remember that volt meters are always electrical.

Here's a pretty simple description of both types of gauges.
Toucan Industries, Inc.

I choose electrical because it thought it would be easier to run a wire to the gauge than trying to plumb oil into the passenger compartment. And, the idea of having oil leak (something that I have never seen with other mechanical gauges I've installed way back when) on my newly done interior isn't something I wanted to anticipate.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for clearing things up JH.

I plan to replace all the gauges in my '67. I can't stand dummy lights, not a big fan of the "long throw" speedometer. The project will involve a bit of fabrication in the dashboard, hopefully the end result will be nice and clean.


John

I know they call them idiot lights and I like gauges too but put in the Tee and use a light too. After you get used to gauges you can put quite a few miles on before you glance at, gauge will just drop but a light will catch your attention.

I just got moon 3 gauges + chrome bezel.

Mechanical Oil pressure & Water temp, + Volt meter.
NIce set , not so expensive.

Jhovis,

What size gauges did you use? I was going to use the MOONEYES underdash set but your install looks very cool and since I won't be using the stock AM radio and was wondering what I could do with that area, you provided a nice solution!

Did yours originally have the radio and how did you manage the hole that was left behind?

Originally Posted by 5851a

I know they call them idiot lights and I like gauges too but put in the Tee and use a light too. After you get used to gauges you can put quite a few miles on before you glance at, gauge will just drop but a light will catch your attention.

That's a great idea - I can separately install an LED below each gauge, or maybe within the gauge, as an extra level of protection.


John

rsscoggins, I used 2/16 inch gauges - pretty standard for individual gauges.

The modification to the dash area where the radio went was a lot easier than I thought. The first thing I did was to remove the plexiglass that has the holes in it for the radio. The plexiglass just snapped in using some push type retainers. Next, there was a bunch of hex heads screws that holds on the aluminum plate to expose the speedo, etc.

I took some sheet metal from an old fender or door I have and cut a rectangle the size needed to mount it where the old radio went. Obviously I made it bigger - big enough to meet the 4 holes I found to screw the plate down when I was ready to mount it. This plate was what I was going to mount the gauges to. Next I cut three holes the size of the gauges in this plate. This was the hardest part of the process since I needed the holes to be just the right size and to be lined up just right. It took me two tries to get it right.

With these holes cut I mounted the plate to the speedo assy. I then temporarily mounted the gauges to the plate and laid the aluminum cover back on the speedo assy. This let me see how much trimming I was going to have to do to the aluminum to turn the rectangular hole for the radio into three round holes for the gauges. With a little trimming at a time I was able to round off places to make the rectangular hole in the aluminum look like it was made for the gauges.

When I was satisfied with the look I painted all the pieces.

Finally I went to the hardware store and got a piece of plexiglass or lexan and used the original plexiglass as a template to cut out a new one without the holes for the radio. Again it took me a couple of tries to get it the way I wanted it, but a pretty simple process. Once all the mounting holes were drilled I put it together.

Good luck with your modification.