How-to and pics: second fuel gauge install, stereo install.

[rich weyand]

OK, so I put in two new saddle tanks to replace the one original tank on the passenger side.  My 78 has an 86 box with both fuel doors, so why not?  I also used the motorized Pollak valve instead of the original POS solenoid valve, and I replaced everything from the frame rails on out after I read about someone who did a bombing run with his truck when the original tank brackets failed due to rusting through.

Now if you have a tach, the fuel gauge is over on the left, a little one, and if you have no tach, the fuel gauge is on the right next to the speedometer, a big one.  Well, I have no tach, and no clock in the other fuel gauge location, so I decided to put in a second gauge so I could have one for each tank.  Besides, the blank location looked stupid.

I also wanted a nice stereo -- not a bass pounder thing with all the extra amps and a huge subwoofer and all, just something reasonable that had a CD player and FM/HD, which is really worth it.  The truck already had the Highliner headliner with the speakers in it, though I replaced the speakers with Kicker DS400s.  I got a JVC Arsenal KD-AHD69 from Crutchfield.  It was list, but they included free shipping, a bracket/support for the rear of the stereo and a wire harness to connect to the existing connector for the power connections.  I hooked the left speakers on the Highliner to "Front" and the right speakers to "Rear", so I can fader the volume over to my side when I am alone.

The nice thing about this JVC unit is 1) it is completely black when turned off, so you don't even see it there, which is a subtle anti-theft measure, and 2) you can adjust the color of the dials and the display, so I set the display to match the off-white of the other instruments and the buttons to a light aqua to match the circles and KPH markings on the gauges.

On to the pix:


Note the two fuel gauges.  I had to fab up a boss for the left side of the second fuel gauge (on the left) but that wasn't too bad.  I ran two sender wires up from the back of the truck rather than switch them with the selector valve, and then wired the other two terminals on the new gauge to the same terminals on the old gauge, since I knew those were the right connections.  BTW, I used a Krylon silver leaf marker I got at Hobby Lobby to refresh the silver edgings on the instrument bezel.  It wipes off a bit when it is handled and gets on your fingers and then you leave silver fingerprints, but they clean off easily with Armor-All cleaner wipes, and it's easy to touch up if you need to.


Crutchfield included a stupid mounting plate that is supposed to mount over the dash for holding the stereo.  I looked at it and decided that is so not happening.  To get the stereo to fit, I had to carve the bezel and the one-DIN sleeve back a bit on the lower right corner, which you can see in this picture.  Tight, but I got it in there.  I mounted the one-DIN sleeve to the bezel, not to the steel underneath, so the head unit bezel would fit right.  The fuel tank selector switch is below the stereo, above the accelerator pedal.  The hole was already there.  The other of the two holes under the dash is perfect for the rear support for the stereo unit.  I put a grommet in the hole, then used a 10-24 machine screw about an inch and a half long.  I used a fender washer on each side of the grommet with a nut on the back side to squeeze the grommet a bit, giving me something of  a shock mount.  A second pair of nuts go on either side of the bottom of the support bracket, so I can adjust it up and down.  You can see the head of the machine screw, the outer fender washer and even the grommet in this pic.


The cockpit.  Note how subtle the appearance of the stereo.  It doesn't shout out, HERE I AM, STEAL ME!  You can also see the tank selector switch and the extra floor button for the wiper mist mode.  (I LOVE having a wiper mist button on the floor.  See my post in Technical section for how-tos on that one.  It's super simple.)

[zieg85]

Rich,  I REALLY like the dual tank gauge idea and I would really like if you could give me a wiring diagram to follow.  Not really sure what my uncle did when he installed the RH tank but I've never used it since I've had the truck.  I plan on replacing it with a poly tank like my drivers side when I finish it.  Currently it has a toggle switch approximately where the stock switch is.  I'd really like to put the other fuel gauge and ditch my clock.  I now have a dual tank bed and want to do it up right.  Thanks in advance!

[rich weyand]

Take both sender wires to the dash -- don't connect them to the fuel tank selector valve.  One way to do this is to connect the passenger side sender wire directly to the gauge wire that goes to the dash, and splice a long wire on the driver side tank sender wire and route it up to the dash as the second gauge wire. 

Get a NOS or reproduction gauge for the old clock position.  Any place you check for the gauge, one will be the large one and say "w/o tach" and the other will be the smaller dimension unit and say "w/ tach".

The first gauge wire is already hooked up through the wiring harness.  Connect the second sender wire to the new gauge in the old clock spot.  Use this page for identifying the connections: http://www.chevyclassicsclub.com/the-gm-fuel-gauge-mystery-1965-newer/

Don't forget to put the balance resistor on the new gauge as shown on the above page.  Yes, you need it.  This one works: http://www.classicmuscle.com/p-6237-fuel-gauge-resistor.aspx

Wire the other two terminals from the new gauge to the same terminals on the old gauge so you know you have the correct hot wire and ground connections for a fuel gauge.

That's it.  Really simple.

[blazing816]

I hooked the left speakers on the Highliner to "Front" and the right speakers to "Rear", so I can fader the volume over to my side when I am alone.

Why would you do that, the radio has a balance built into it that does L<>R fading. So the connections should be Front Right +/-, Front Left +/- and Rear Right +/-, Rear Left +/-. That way if you ever want to add (or already have) 6x9s in the cab corners you would have wires for them. And you can use balance L<>R and fading F<>B and send it all to one speaker, two speakers, or all four.

[rich weyand]

The Highliner headliner has four speakers, R+L for the driver, and R+L for the passenger.  I use the fader to turn off the speakers on the passenger side.

[blazing816]

The Highliner headliner has four speakers, R+L for the driver, and R+L for the passenger.  I use the fader to turn off the speakers on the passenger side.

Didn't realize they had four speakers.....now it makes more sense.

[KWKENUF]

Hey Rich,  can you post some pics of the Highliner?

If I drove my truck more and used the dual tanks,  the dual gauges would be very appealing!

[rich weyand]

Here ya go.  Passenger side from passenger door, driver side from passenger door, alternate head unit location from driver seat.

Note that all the stock trim is still in place -- that's what holds the headliner in, no screws into the body work -- and the stock visors are still in place.

You can see in the last photo it is textured to look like leather, but it's a heavy engineering plastic.  I think you could paint it with the same paints used to paint door panels and trim pieces if you wanted it to match the interior.  Black does match my interior, so I lucked out.

[deveny7]

Nice liner

[dvdswan]

slick looking liner.  I wonder what it would look like with a headliner cover on it?

[bobster79]

where do you order one of those liners at? Here comes the next question. What does one of those cost? Thanks

[bake74]

where do you order one of those liners at? Here comes the next question. What does one of those cost? Thanks

     bobster79, here is a link to where you can see the highliner headliner.  Welcome to the site also.
http://www.jcwhitney.com/dashtop-highliner-headliner/p2023838.jcwx

[rich weyand]

The speakers it comes with are garbage.  The Kicker DS400 speakers (shown above) fit, and have great sound for an easy price.