Gauge cluster. Opinions

De-marko

De-marko

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Marcredd's thread on the wideband reminded me of some pics I took this summer with my gauge cluster from my turbo stang on the LS just to see how it looked on the dash. Maybe someone has done this before. The gauge pod is for '94-'04 Mustangs with the Autometer angle rings to point the gauges more towards the driver (which are pointed down here). Autometer boost and AEM wideband 2 1/16 gauges.

I'm not going to do this but what do you think?

gage2.jpg


gage1.jpg
 
If the housing was color matched to the dash and the gauges sat flush it would look ok - Right now they look way too big for the housing and look like those people who can pop their eyeballs out of the socket....
 
Looks a bit cluttered.

Also...i just fixed my message center buttons.

I inserted a metal scraper under the trim and it popped right off easily. I then got some plastic bond and put it on both screws of the message center and held it together for about 5 minutes and let it sit overnight.

Cant even tell it was glued together.
 
not bad.... i like the idea, maybe if they sat back a little further to level out, or if they were a little shorter (recessed) into the dash a bit.... very cool though
 
BlackLS06 said:
Looks a bit cluttered.

Also...i just fixed my message center buttons.

I inserted a metal scraper under the trim and it popped right off easily. I then got some plastic bond and put it on both screws of the message center and held it together for about 5 minutes and let it sit overnight.

Cant even tell it was glued together.
Click to expand...

Does everyone have to do this? I had to. At least the LS is consistent.
 
trickett90 said:
Does everyone have to do this? I had to. At least the LS is consistent.
Click to expand...

Its very common from what ive seen.

I only had one side broken but i decided to be proactive and glue the other side too so if it breaks then it wont push in like the left side did.

And its not like i punched the buttons in. Just weak plastics i guess. Others have had the advancetrac button fall down. As long as the ebrake doesnt go its all good.
 
To me, that a no, looks too cluttered.

Here are my options for gauges and pods.


A pillar pods. They stick out too far to the right and block your view when making left hand tunrs, which I dont like. So if i were to do this, I would just make my own and place them on the a pillar but pointed down, not to the side, so they dont block any more view than what the normal a pillar does.

DSCN0291.jpg




2 pods mounted into the instrument cluster bezel. I'm making my own, half way done, but need my ls to finish it. Loudls gave me the idea because he posted one similar thats available for mustangs.

DSCN0291-1.jpg





Since I have a video interface, I can use this hidden gauges hks camp 2 to display the gauges on my nav screen.

Hidden Gauges HKS Camp 2 Duramax Diesel - YouTube




I have also though of installing some gauges where the center air vents are or making my own air vent with only one on the center with 1 gauge on each side.
Also, even putting one in place of the driver side air vent like some audis have.
 
DSCN0291-1.jpg





I like this to be honest. I did a gauge pod like this for one of my cars. I used a A pillar bezel to make a shape mold, then cut and adjusted it to fit into the bezel corners, glassed it in and after some finish work painted it..
 
myfirstlincoln said:
- Right now they look way too big for the housing and look like those people who can pop their eyeballs out of the socket....
Click to expand...

Well, to be honest the angle rings are no longer in there and the gauges sit more flush. That was kind of an experiment for my Dads car since he did the same gauge set up.
BlackLS06 said:
Also...i just fixed my message center buttons.


Cant even tell it was glued together.
Click to expand...

When I bought my LS those buttons were epoxyed in from a previous owner. They broke out a couple months later and I reglued them back together. They broke again here a couple months ago and haven't even tried to fix them again since it's so messed up behind there. If you look to the right just below the vent you can see that the whole cover is cracked in two. I just need a whole new assembly which I can't find of course LoL. :p


I like the gauge idea Alax!
 
That sucks.

I just hate when they're broken because the change ac filter or change oil message stays on and you can't see the fuel status and it keeps making that annoying chime.
 
De-marko said:
When I bought my LS those buttons were epoxyed in from a previous owner. They broke out a couple months later and I reglued them back together. They broke again here a couple months ago and haven't even tried to fix them again since it's so messed up behind there. If you look to the right just below the vent you can see that the whole cover is cracked in two. I just need a whole new assembly which I can't find of course LoL. :p
Click to expand...

Try here.
 
Gauge mounting

Personal opinion---

It looks too 'stuck on'. The two gauges in the corners of the cluster look fine, but are too small, again in my opinion.

For an alternative approach, see the photos soon after the beginning of 'Land Speed LS' in the HP section. The drawback, of course, is that the panel is hung on the roll cage. (The wiring was considerably neatened-up from the messiness shown in the picture!)

KS
 
cammerfe said:
Personal opinion---

It looks too 'stuck on'. The two gauges in the corners of the cluster look fine, but are too small, again in my opinion.

For an alternative approach, see the photos soon after the beginning of 'Land Speed LS' in the HP section. The drawback, of course, is that the panel is hung on the roll cage. (The wiring was considerably neatened-up from the messiness shown in the picture!)

KS
Click to expand...


attachment.jpg
 
cammerfe said:
Personal opinion---

It looks too 'stuck on'. The two gauges in the corners of the cluster look fine, but are too small, again in my opinion.

For an alternative approach, see the photos soon after the beginning of 'Land Speed LS' in the HP section. The drawback, of course, is that the panel is hung on the roll cage. (The wiring was considerably neatened-up from the messiness shown in the picture!)

KS
Click to expand...

Are you talking about mine? If so, thats just a picture to get an idea, its not the final product. I would be using pods and will be bonding them to the cluster bezel, making it look a lot nicer than the picture I did , I hope. If it doesn't look good once its finished, I'll be looking for a differnt route though.
 
Alex, I was actually talking about the pod on the top center of the dash. The way Jwall has his main pod re-done is much the same as I've done in my '63 F-100 and looks just fine as well, in my opinion. I'm trying to decide if I should make a new panel so that I can incorporate the voltmeter I added a couple of years ago. Right now it's in a separate pod attached to the roll cage above the panel in the picture. I'll probably leave well enough alone until I'm sure I'm done adding gauges!

KS
 
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