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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Interior & Equipment => Instrumentation => Topic started by: CruzinHigh on December 30, 2006, 03:23:00 pm

Title: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: CruzinHigh on December 30, 2006, 03:23:00 pm: Got my new gauges in for the gauge install project the other day!

I screwed up and ordered the 3 3/4 ones for the tach and speedo though. I sent em back for the 5" instead.

Looks like this will be a really easy swap, just cutting out the back of the bezel a bit with a trusty air saw.

Good thing Scott has a housing I will be getting from him since I broke the tabs off my old one when removing! DOH!!

I will try to post up some pics when its done.
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: aort07 on January 02, 2007, 09:12:00 am: Here is a pic of mine.

Those are 2 5/8" and 5" gauges. They fit really well with a little cutting and grinding.
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: CruzinHigh on January 02, 2007, 01:09:00 pm: Looks good!

I will be getting the 5's soon and will post up when I finish.
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: Blazin on January 03, 2007, 05:49:00 am: I mounted oil, volt, and temp gauges in the face plate years back, but once in the truck they don't face you. They point downward. I just got done installing the same in my 86 got rid of the idiot lights, but I mounted them in the metal that goes behind the face plate. They look alot better as they are set in like the factory style. Just had to remove some material from the back of the face plateto make room for the hight of the gauge face trim ring.
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: roundedline on January 03, 2007, 01:18:00 pm: Mike Ervin has a detailed writeup for his recessed guage install for the do it yourselfer. It looks the best in my opinion.

73-87.com/7387garage/inte...cessed.htm
Chris Lucas
www.73-87chevytrucks.com
www.captkaoscustoms.com
Project Su
Jimmy 2WD Project
Title: Part 1 : Fuel PSI, Oil Temp
Post by: CruzinHigh on January 21, 2007, 10:48:00 am: Here's the first part of what I will be doing with the cluster.

I had a couple Autometer liquid filled pro comps laying around I aquired long ago that I figured would be perfect to find a home in this bezel. Since I have no A/C in my truck I didn't have a vent in the upper part of the bezel anyway.

Here's the back of the factory Bezel. I had to cut part of the back out to make my aluminum plate fit in there. If you don't have an air saw and you want to do this gauge install, I guess you could try a dremel, but the air saw is a PERFECT tool for this job.

Making the plate.....

The end fit of the plate ended up being so tight that the thing almost would have retained itself just sitting in the bezel. The awesome thing about this little spot in the bezel is that it accomdates (2) 2 5/8 gauges almost like the darn thing was made for it with the right plate. There is a 2nd ridge that reduces the size of the opening below the top of the bezel, perfect for the plate to butt up against.

I used a 2 part epoxy and plus when I put the backers on the gauges, 1 arm will hold behind the bezel.

I decided to use emory cloth to sand and then just clearcoated the aluminum, it ended up matching the brushed aluminum on the bezel almost perfect.

Here's the finished product.

By the way, this is a pretty easy job. With air tools and some patience, anybody could do it. You can even find little sheets of aluminum like this at Home Depot or Menards.

The other half of the job for the pressure gauge requires installation of the isolator, since you don't want to route fuel up to your dashboard.

I made another plate to cover the huge hole I had in the firewall from where the harness used to route through for the old ECM I won't need anymore. The Isolator uses anti-freeze for fluid inside the cab to match pressure seen on the engine side of the system.

Just this part of the gauge install has taken significantly longer then I had wanted, lots of little details I didn't think of when I just decided to "drop these in". I sill have to install the oil temp sender in the pan too. The primary gauges should be pretty easy with all electrical senders.

More to come! When I get the cluster housing I bought, I can start the install for the other 6 primary gauges.
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: Tire Burner on January 23, 2007, 08:47:00 am: I did Jeff Drew's Install From 73-87. Com and it worked well. I really took my time with it and the whole time i was scared of replacing ALL of the Gauges in my dash, but it worked out nicely. The Problem that i had though was that the Turn Signal Lights and High Beam Indicator Lights weren't taken into Consideration in the Write Up. Turned out that was pretty easy to do though. I went to the Local Parts store and they had some 1/2'' aftermarket colored lights. All you have to do is Drill a 1/2" Hole where you want it to go and push it in from the front. It just clips right in by it's self. The Billet Dash from already had Two 1/2" Holes where the Turn Signals go, but i had to Drill another one for the High Beam indicator. I think these Lights were about 2 bucks each and they look REALLY cool. I hope my Link works, but here's a pic of MY install.

Sorry about the Picture Quality. I need to get a New Digital Camera, but i've been spending all of my Money on my Truck. Can You Blame me?
Edited by: Tire Burner at: 1/23/07 8:56 am
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: Tire Burner on January 24, 2007, 04:56:00 am: Sorry to post again, but i just finnished a similar install and made some mistakes that i feel may help anyone else that wants to do this. When i changed to an aftermarket Speedometer, the connection was no longer held in by a retainer Clip. The New Speedo had a Screw Connector. This means that you will probably have to Replace the OEM Speedo Cable. When i Replaced mine, i wasn't careful enough i guess. Make sure that there is enough space behind the Guage to handle the Cable without Kinking. I just pushed mine all back in and the Cable became Kinked. It went 14 Miles before my Speedo Quit. When i removed the Dash, the Cable had a 90 Degree Bend in it. I didn't think it was that bad when i installed it. MAKE SURE it's not Kinked before you bolt it down. Also remember to Lube the Cable housing with the included Greese. The way i did it was i Squeezed the Greese out of the Package until it filled up the end and then i inserted the cable and moved it in and out in the housing until the Greese went down. then Repeat. It's Time Consuming, but better than replacing your Speedo Cable, Trust me.
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: bigblock73 on January 24, 2007, 09:53:00 pm: tire burner, install looks sweet! I added my signals after the article was written...and I put my high beam where my shifter indicators once sat (floor shift now).

Looks like you got it all figured out just fine though.
Jeff

'73 swb 2wd

73-87.com
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: bigblock73 on January 24, 2007, 09:57:00 pm: cruzinhigh, your install looks great too...you cab might look like a cockpit of an airplane when you are finished!

Keep the updates coming.
Jeff

'73 swb 2wd

73-87.com
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: CruzinHigh on January 26, 2007, 10:04:00 am: Quote:
you cab might look like a cockpit of an airplane when you are finished!

Yeah, its probably overkill for sure, but I figured what the heck while I've got the dash and harness all ripped apart for my re-wire project!

More to come, I am working on the engine harness this weekend.
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: shaved80 on January 28, 2007, 10:19:00 pm: sometimes i wish i had gone this route instead of digital...now is one of those times
Edited by: shaved80 at: 1/28/07 10:20 pm
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: Tire Burner on January 29, 2007, 08:37:00 am: I was toying with the idea of digital before i began. What is it that makes you feel that analog is Better than digital? I was still considering changing to digital at a later date and selling my setup to a friend. I would like to know BEFORE i make the change that i'm not making a Mistake.
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: shaved80 on January 29, 2007, 01:59:00 pm: nothing is wrong with them, they look sweet and get a lot of compliments. it's just i love the way the autometers look in these clusters too. i guess i'll just need to get another truck and put the autometers in that one
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: SUX2BU99 on March 13, 2007, 11:02:00 am: Wow, looking really slick!! I'd love to redo my guages all in AutoMeter but after exchange and all that, it's really expensive! I put an AM Ultra-lite tach on my a-pillar but that's it so far. I really like the idea of putting the two small guages in the unused pocket. Mine has the same, and I was thinking of putting in a tranny temp guage somewhere.
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: CruzinHigh on March 18, 2007, 10:49:00 am: The install continues.

Here's the modification I made on the cluster housing to accept the new gauges. I cut the back out with an air saw.

I also decided to make a new inlay, out of sheet aluminum. I picked this piece of aluminum up at Menards for $15. The measuring and cutting took forever. Don't know if I would do this again, but smaller diameter of the gauge holes now ensure the aluminum goes all the way under the gauge bezels and it didn't before.

I used the old inlay for a template, that was just glued on (and coming off by now anyway)

This is the finished inlay. I know the circles look pretty jagged, but you can't tell once the gauges are installed.

I was able to cover up the spot for the transmission indicator too, since I am running a stick shift.

I made plates for the stereo area, and another with two toggle switches over on the spot by the light switch.

I will be sorting through the last details of the wiring today, and will epoxy the plates and inlay on since the clearcoat is dried on them by now.

More to come!
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: CruzinHigh on March 18, 2007, 10:53:00 am: Whoops! I am glad I looked back through this post, I almost forgot a spot for my high beam indicator!
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: CruzinHigh on March 25, 2007, 11:48:00 am: I finished up with the install finally. I ditched the custom inlay idea because it was too thin a gauge of aluminum, and was a nightmare trying to get that thing to glue up to the bezel properly. I opted for the inlay used in the post earlier here by tireburner. I even chose to use the blue bulb he did in the same location. Thanks TB, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Here's a shot of all the wiring inside behind the dash. I had to create piles of power and grounds for the bulbs, plus power for the gauges themselves, and grounds. Then there's the sender wires of course too.

And here's the final product:

Thanks goes out to you guys that have done this already, and make available to the rest of us the info needed to approach the project. I had to switch gears a few times during the project, and there was always something that came up I had not planned for but such is life!

The one thing I would point out about this job if anybody wants to try it, is that you must remember about all those little indicator and idiot lights if you want to keep them. Heck, half of mine were long since non-functioning and I just don't care about an "e brake" indicator for instance anyway. I'd like to have kept the 4wd indicator, its kinda cool, but that was just adding even more work I wasn't interested in at this time. Lots of the indicators show up in the lower portion of the big 5" stock gauges, so if you put the 5" auto meters back in place, you will have to find a new home for those little lights. Indeed, this can prove a bit tricky!

Edited by: CruzinHigh at: 3/25/07 10:54 am
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: edcole on March 27, 2007, 09:53:00 am: CruzinHigh, can you go over the removal of your ECM and what it controls. I am in process of installing a 350 in my 87 truck that had a 4.3 in it. I like the clean look of your truck without that big ugly wiring harness that goes to ECM. Do not have alot of vehicle wiring experience so any help you can give will be appreciated.
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: roundedline on March 27, 2007, 01:19:00 pm: Unless I am mistaken CruisinHighs ECM was really an ESC. If you have the TBI 4.3, you would have to convert to a carb to remove the ECM and that would be going backward in my opinion, especially if you are wanting good drivability/reliability.
Chris Lucas
www.73-87chevytrucks.com
www.captkaoscustoms.com
Project Su
Jimmy 2WD Project
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: edcole on March 27, 2007, 06:02:00 pm: Backwards I am heading. I got a real good deal on a early (70's)rebuilt 350 with low miles that was built by a friend of a friend for drag racing fun on the weekends. Turned out that the motor was not built enough for him so he built a blown big block. It is approx. 350 hp with a holley 650 cfm carb on it. Carbs is what I am used to from back in my day of working on hot rods. Do not have a lot of knowledge on fuel injection or have the correct tools needed for diagnosing problems anyways. So a carb is a better choice for me for what I am building.
The truck I am building is a 1987 v10 that used to be an old wardens truck up here in Maine and spent most of its life on dirt roads so the body is in good shape for the year for a Maine truck. I am building mainly for a summertime truck to have fun with and tow my 24 foot travel trailer to a campground that is about 45 miles from my house a couple of times in the summertime.
Going to pick up the sm465 that has been freshened up with new bearings and a new paint job to match up to a nicely painted motor.
I just got the wiring diagram for the truck and the ecm does not look too bad to take out and I really like the looks of CruisinHighs with that harness out of there.
This is a great forum and thanks for the help that I have gotten so far from everyone.
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: CruzinHigh on April 14, 2007, 09:30:06 am: I agree with you Chris, adding a carbed motor is indeed a bit backwards. I bought my truck that way though, somebody had done quite the hack job installation of a junkyard motor, dropped in a 350 and got rid of the 4.3 6 cyl tbi. But it's o.k, my wiring has turned out super simple and I have an MSD tucked under the dash inside feeding 1 simple wire to the brand new points distributor I got for free from a buddy.

To remove that EST module, there's really nothing to it.
Here's an old photo of what I unearthed when going through my re-wire project.

(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y135/Highpsi/MysteryECM.jpg)

Just yank all the entire harness basically. I simply ran a new wire from my MSD to the single feed for my points distributor.

If you're running an HEI setup and no MSD, I guess that will be a bit different. Not sure exactly how you'd wire that up, but I had mine going that way before with a conglomeration of crazy wiring like I said from the botch job somebody had done on the truck before I bought it. I suspect it's really simple but I never really dug back through the old wires and dissected it.

If you want any other tips, we should start a new post. I will check in to see how you're coming. Good luck!
Title: Re: Auto Meter gauge install
Post by: 79SHORTWIDE on October 28, 2007, 01:06:12 am: I have the same plan for Auto Meter's as well and wanted to add a tranny temp gauge. BUT, I'm assuming you're not going to have heat and a/c or you're just going to use the floor vent???? Thought about putting my tranny gauge near the shifter since I will probably have to build a floor console. What floor shifter are you using? just curious.