New Gauges with a Factory Look!!

[blazing816]

Hello everyone, I am new here and have been searching around the site finding and reading all about my Chevy's (reason for finding the site is because the 'jacka$$' before me had the carb completely jacked). Rant aside, I notice some older posts of people asking about putting tachs in their dash but wanted them to look factory and or people wanting new gauges with still a factory look. I know that Dakota Digital sell a replacement that just needs wiring, I think it is awesome however pricey. I have also seen the aluminum plates that the gauges mount right too, but I was not a fan of how the gauges stuck out. So I went my own route, and just wanted to give it up as an option.

Now, to start this off, this was done on my 1986 Chevy K10 Scottsdale that is a beater, it is rusted out and I am using it now until I am finished a ground up restro on my 1987 Heavy Half. So basically because this truck is not award winning I did not want to switch over the speedo gauge or the fuel gauge (just did not want to deal with it, however I am doing that on my complete restro).

So what I did was I found a company that had white stickers for all the stocks gauges (even the heater controls), and I like the white look in my beater truck (you could always leave them black and get black faced aftermarkets). So I bought the stickers not having to high of hopes for them. To my surprise they worked great and even came with all the different spedo version and what not. Stuck the spedo, fuel, and gear selector stickers on and looked good. From the same site they had direct replacement LED dash bulbs. Bought a bunch of blue ones and put them in (let me tell you....alot brighter and still work with dimmer dial). Then I went out and bought the chepo sunpro white faced three gauge under dash cluster from auto parts store (volt, water temp, oil pressure). I also bought a white faced 2" tach to put in inside of the analog clock.

The step that I did for the look I wanted was I drilled out the holes of the factory bezel (when I did it I purposlly cut the holes a little off center so the gauges would actually point more towards the driver then straight out), I only cut the lower part, as there is a lip in the hole and I used the lip is what i rested the gauges on and the used the brackets on the outside of the cup to tighten them down. For the clear plastic overlay that usually goes over the gauges I just cut off the part that normally covers to the four little holes. Thinking ahead I did not want to lose too much of my dash light for the spedo, So I bent I quick piece of thin steel and riveted it to the plastic to stop the stock dash lights from going behind the aftermarket gauges. Also because I kept the stock spedo and fuel I just took the dash lights out from that other side of the cluster and tapped off any exposed metal (piece of mind). I cut a big hole where the clock was (no electric on back of cluster there) for my wiring, hose, and temp probe to go thru. I made a custom harness for the electrical (mostly the volt meter, lights, and tach) because I went cheapo the oil and water are mechanical. My complete restro I am doing everything electrical so I can make a harness and the dash still will come easily out.

I love the look and am doing it again on my complete restro (think I am using black gauges this time and putting 5" tach and little fuel). The pictures do not show it but I also changed the heater controls to white and put blue LEDs behind it also. The only thing that bugs me now and will probably take it apart and fix it. Is the stock gauge needles are orange and the new gauges are red. Lets just say I have a little O.C.D. Probably just tape off under it and use an airbrush gun to paint the three (sped, fuel, gear select) needles red.

The link to the white stickers: http://www.whitegauges.net/categories/Chevrolet/C%252d-and-K%252dSeries-Truck/1980%252d1991/
Same place for LEDs: http://www.whitegauges.net/categories/Dash-Illumination-Parts/LED-Bulb-Lighting/

Let me know if you have questions or if you like the look.

Here is the wiring harness, I just solder it to a standard plug since its not outside did not need to be weather proof.


This is just the stock gauges and you can see how I cut the clear plastic and made the steel "light blocker."


Heres a look of how they fit in the stock dash bezel cups. So they are basically just set in the cups a little bit.


And this is the completed look, again might end up painting the stock needles.

[81_Chevy]

in my truck i dont have anything in the bottom left gauge, i want to put a tach there, does the thin circuit on the back of the guage cluster cover that spot?

edit: nvm i put the tach in today and figured it out.

[blazing816]

It shouldn't, even the clock is ran by a seperate two wire plug. So there should be a hole in the wiring, so all you have to do cut a hole in the white plastic. If I take it a part again to paint the needles I'll take a picture of the back of mine (I didn't have a picture of it).

[bake315]

Those really came out looking nice.

[blazing816]

Thanks....it will look even better in my other truck because I am goign to change them all over so they will all look the same.

[DustyRusty]

Those white-gauge stickers look great. And the price is quite affordable.  You don't really need to use an airbrush to paint your needles.  Testor's flat red enamel model paint thinned down will work fine with a very small brush.  Just take your time and do several light coats.  It will provide a nice contrast to the white.

I have the same floor mats as you!  lol

Rusty

[bake315]

You don't really need to use an airbrush to paint your needles.  Testor's flat red enamel model paint thinned down will work fine with a very small brush.  Just take your time and do several light coats.  It will provide a nice contrast to the white.

I noticed too that the site that sells the white face stickers also sells the paint for the needles.

[Mike85Silverado]

I wanna get the gauges and led's. how many LEDs do you need for the dash? And which ones do you get?

[blazing816]

If you are just changing the lights that light up the gauges I believe there is 6 not including the one for the heater controls. I am at work right now, but I can look and give you a for sure answer later tonight. And as for what LEDs you need, for the dash lights it is the 194 style (pretty darn sure, if not call the company and they can tell you for sure) and you basically twist the old light and housing out, then the bulb pull straight out of the housing and then you push the new one in and re-twist it in the back. Here is a link to the blue ones of what you would need. http://www.whitegauges.net/products/BLUE-4-point-194-style-LED-replacement-bulb.html. Hope this helps.

[Mike85Silverado]

Ok great, thanks a lot! I think I found my Christmas present for myself haha

[sonicbluezx3]

I want to do the same but I want to make it so they aren't attached to the dash bezel and I want them to be mechanical.

[blazing816]

Mine are all mechincal also....the wiring hareness I made was for the volt meter (pos and neg) and the gauge lights (pos and neg).

I also thought that it would be a pain to have the gauges attached to the bezel, but I mean other then to change the heater controls you really never have to pull that bezel and it will take alot more work to have them not attached. Also, I have enough extra on my oil and water temp that I can pull it up some and turn it up so I can still get to everything. I was going to make a metal peice that went behind the bezel and attache to the factory cluster (with factory gauges removed) but then the aftermarket gauge were sunk in more which made them a little hard to see. But to each is own.

Also if you do make them are elecric instead you could make an easy wiring harness plug so if you had to take the bezel off you just unplug it. That is what I am doing in my current build.

[sonicbluezx3]

Yeah that's what I was thinking about doing. The way I have things set up I would have to probably take the bezel off in order to get to the radio so I was thinking I didn't really want to go with the way you went, although I have to say it does look pretty good.

What size are all 4 of those gauges? 2"?

And this is going to sound like a dumb question, but with the mechanical gauges... does it have chemicals come up to the gauge? Or is it just a long probe?

And last... mind if I ask about how much you paid for those 4 and where you got them from?

[blazing816]

Yeah they are all 2" except the two factory that left obviously. The mechanical  water temp is just a temp prob.....the oil is a plastic tube that oil does go up to detect the pressure. Because it is in my beater truck I bought cheap sunpro 3 pod gauges that are meant to mount under dash....I just took them off the bezel. They were I believe $30 it $40 for the volt, oil and temp gauge. And I got the 2" tach for $20 online....I will have to get you the link.

[sonicbluezx3]

That's cool, that's what i was thinking of doing as well. I just need them to be functional, and right now my electric factory gauges are screwed up and i have tried everything and can't get them to work. I'd rather have mechanical anyway. I'm just going to get the three pod and then later down the road add a pyrometer. My truck is diesel and I have no factory tach nor do I know how to hook one up. Can't find anyone who does either. Ha.