i just found this site and let me tell you its very informative......i downloaded the templates for white gauges for my 91 firebird however i have 2 questions.........how do you get them to be the right size? mike says he uses adobe photoshop 6..that program is 290 dollars..surely this cant be right..hehehehe.........also.....i saw where somone used a 145 gauge when he originally had a 110 (speedo that is)........how can the new gauge read the correct speed when the numbers are in different places? do you manually move the needle? that is to say can you have someone drive in front of you and give you a signal when they are doing say 55 and then you could move the needle with your finger till it is reading 55? ..........or did they replace the whole entire gauge and not just the face? bare with me im a noob lol

 

I would think that the file you downloaded should already be the sized correctly, no? Just pull up the file in Microsoft imaging or something similar and do a test print. As for the 110 to 145 speedo conversion, im not too sure what is involved, but I know you can't just adjust the needle.
By the way, welcome to the board! Im a bit of a newbie also, and this site has already been VERY helpful and informative.

 

no unfortunately they arent .........

 

If you need some help, I have photoshop and would be glad to edit them for you.

 

If I recall correctly...

The proper size for 91-92 gauge is about 4.4" (+/- .1" or so) high from the outside lines of the gauge.

Just download any image editor from somewhere like Tucows and open the original template and do an image/resize...make sure the height/width settings are linked (constrain proportions?) and resize the height to 4.4" give or take .1 or so to get it just right...try a couple of draft prints and lay them over the original gauge until it is just right.

I think you can still get a demo version of Paint Shop Pro and use that for like 30 days on shareware license...

Regarding the gauge numbers, you can take a 110 gauge and just continue the numbers the rest of the way around the dial and hit 150 before getting to the trip reset button. You are not changing the numbers from 0 to 110, just adding on to the end of it, so no your readings will not be innacurate.

 

how could you continue the numbers? with some kind of graphics program? im sure you wouldnt want to draw them on hehehehe and yes i tried the trial version of photo however you cant save or print with it =( ok ill search tucows and see what i can find

 

Glad you asked

This is the one I just finished yesterday. It is a Z28 Speedo. Here you go.

 

And another one for the IROC folks

 

It is only wise to save the best for last.

Here is the immortal Sports Coupe :hail:

 

Well, pick a font and any design features that you may want and I'll be happy to modify mine and send them your way in the correct sizes.

It may take me a day or so to get around to it, but let me know.

here's mine by the way...

 

For those of us in Canada or Mexico or anywhere else that uses kilometers per hour.

With apologies to Un4givin and others for my shameless copying of their original images. The font I used is Lucida Console, a True Type font that everyone has on their Windows-based machines.

Here are a few tips for everyone wanting to use these. Try and have them printed on a colour laser printer. The images will be sharper than on an ink jet. Second, use a heavy paper--preferably something like 50 lb paper. It is like cardboard and is much more robust and resistant to mishandling (hello me). Third, a good heavy, shiny photo paper used with a colour laser or ink jet will produce a more reflective gauge which should help out the folks with dimly lit clusters.

This image, when printed, should measure 5 3/4 inches from one side of the grey circle to the other. That ought to help you size and print it correctly.

 

i have 2 responses first to sitting bull or carl.....i see what you mean about continuing the numbers but it seems to me that when you add numbers the spaces between the numbers decrease and hence they arent in the same spot.for instance.....i have 2 different speedo templates im looking at that i dl from unforgiven...one is 180 and one is 150...if i look at them simultaniously , sure they both start in the same spot but the 55 is in a different spot on the 180 as compared to the 150 because the spacing is different..........perhaps im missing something your saying?..........what im getting at is how could i replace my 150 speedo face with a 180 and get an accurate reading? or can it not be done? (i know ill probly never use above 150 but it sure looks cool eh?) and my second reply is to grdprx id be interested in your offer and i do appreciate it however where could i see what different designs and fonts are available? i dont have much experience with graphics i spen most of my time online playing games lol!

 

oh my bad lol grndprx is carl .........hehehehe.....well carl why dont you send me yours the way they look now i cant really see the detail in the photo.....then i could maybe decide if i like them your way.........my email is wasp9166@yahoo.com........i take it you do have a 91 bird correct? it looks that way in the photo

 

This may help. As far as I know there are two basic early cable-driven Camaro speedos. The first one, which ran through much of 1986, only went up to 80 or 90 mph. GM then replaced that with a 145 mph cluster. The only difference is in the resistance of mechanism in the speedo itself. Thus you can make a straight swap from the 80 mph speedo to the 145 mph, with no other changes--not even the speedo gears in the tranny.

There is also a 120 mph gauge, and I think it fits in just like the others.

Anyone else can step right in and correct me if I am wrong.

 

The piece you are missing in the whole 150 or 180 thing is that the one that goes to 150 is ment for the original 110mph gauge, the one that goes to 180 is ment for the original 145mph gauge...so the spacing is correct for the correct application...

If you have the 110 original gauge, then you can use the 150 template.

As far as fonts go, you can scroll through the different fonts using something like MS Word...type out some numbers and change the fonts on them to see if you find anything you like...

Also you can go someplace like http://www.fontempire.com and browse through hundreds of fonts there that can be downloaded and used.

By designs I mean logo's or writing or anything special like that in the white space on the gauges...

 

SittingBull: he is looking for the firebird gauges, not the camaro's...two completely different clusters.


And 91 is an electric gauge rather than a cable driven gauge and the standard package came with a 110 while the upgrade had the 145...

 

oh i see ...ok my car is in storage right now .....to tell ya the truth i cant a memba what i have lol if you say stock in 91 was 110 then thats what i have......cool the 145 will read the same then......how did you make sure you put the needles back on in the same spot? that is to say when the gauges started to work how did you know they were working correctly after you removed the needles? or do you just try to get them close?

 

er the 150 i mean =)

 

Thanks Carl. We are dependent on you for the Firebird guages. Just put them in JPEG format and post them for us. I'm anxious to see how nice they look. They sure look good in your photos

 

Here is an Iroc Z tachometer using the Lucida Console font.

 

Duh

It helps to include the image, eh?

The tachometers should be 5 1/2 inches from one side of the black circle to the other. Set it to print like that and you're in business

 

And a Z28 tach.

 

And finally, the glorious Sports Coupe :hail:

 

Umm, they are already the correct size, I have a ripped/bootleg copy of adobe photoshop.

Try some other programs, but changing the size of the actual file won't help any.

 

i test printed them and they sure dont look 5 inches to me.ill do it again and let ya know

 

um maybe im using the wrong program to open them? i use ie to open jpg images.ya the speedo wont even fit on an 8 x 11.it only gets about half of it..........

 

A good program like Adobe Photoshop, Jasc Paint Shop Pro or ACDSee can re-size the gauges to virtually any size you want. The trick is to create your gauges large and then reduce them in size. This will sharpen the edges and look excellent.

Maybe Un4given can post the exact sizes they need to be. When a person just copies the image from their browser window, they are not necessarily getting them sized correctly.

If anybody wants to re-size them all correctly and re-post them, I think everyone will benefit

 

Temperature.

 

Voltage.

 

A different, but more consistent with the other images, fuel.

 

The problem may be that I run my system at 1600x1200 resolution. This gives me incredibly sharp images but doesn't really fit on someone else's 1024x768 screen.

As I said, once you reduce the images I've provided to their actual and proper sizes they will look razor sharp

 

erhaps this will garner a response and save me from making a new thread:

HERES something I didn't find....a Canadian (KM/H) set of gauge templates/images for a 1987 Firebird 2.8 ....................azure@speedline.ca if anyone can help me out, I have a huge account with the college photo-quality print lab I should take advantage of.......

 

They are the correct size, can't say that enough times, I'm an IT professional, not an idiot.

As sitting bull is half right, use any program like adobe, paint shop pro 7 and they will print right. Paint brush and windows image viewer won't print correctly

Those programs have a tendancy to print images larger than there actual resulation.

So if you go and change the pixel size, it still isn't gonne print right, then it will be all messed up.

You can download adobe photoshop trail for free off the adobe website, or spend some tme and get the warez version.

Its the simplest damn thing in the world, but you wouldn't believe how many emails I get from people saying they can't print the damn things.

I can't give you measurements, becuase they vairy from system to application and wouldn't print right anyhow.

Its pre-configured, so just use the prescribed methods.....

 

Some peoples kids

 

un4givin89:

I'm not trying to step on toes here as many appreciate you posting the gauges to begin with....but....

When I first tried to use your templates for the firebird, dowloaded them, opened them in Photoshop 5.0 ONLY and printed them...the image size that they were at was entirely too large for the gauges. They had to be scaled down to the correct size which was almost 50% smaller than they are originally.

Here is the potential problem...by default the programs open your .jpg up at a resolution of 1060x961 at 96 pixels per inch...or 11"x10" actual size...so when everyone email's you that they are too large, they are in fact correct...

Somewhere along the line when you saved your .jpg, the resolution became much larger than you believe it to be. Please take a look at what pixel/inch resolution size you are using when you create and save the image...

Now your camaro gauges may be correct as I have no way or desire to verify them, but I am being honest when I say that the firebird ones are too large....go open them on a computer other than your own and try to print them...you will see what I am refering to.

 

Chevrolet called them "Sport Coupe" not Sports Coupe, other than that your gauges look good.

 

I think mine look good, as Un4givin89 aka Mike had them all over his site. then again. I have "the" GM/Chevrolet font. I can't find a difference between mine and theirs. So the numbers are super crisp.

this is a pic of all the gauges resized down to fit on the screen.

mine can be found @ http://www.nconnect.net/~briones/slowcamaro88scWFG.zip

I've gotten lots of compliments, and I think mine are the closest to the factory ones, but without any loss of image quality due to the fact that they are scanned.:hail: :hail:

 

I redid all the guages in Illustrator/fireworks. The quality was soo poor when itried to print them of. If you want I can send those bad boys over. The wont pring out as good if you dont have a Vector (illustrator) proggie, but better then whut was there.

 

Wow, Papa! I'd love to see them. Can you post a few on the thread here so we can look them over?

 

Argh! I've been exposed

The first step in my secret plan to take over the Chevrolet division has been laid bare

Well, a fly must alight in every ointment, eh?

At least it's an easy fix for anyone with a rudementary graphics program. In fact, it can be corrected in MS Paint, that el cheapo "freebie" Bill Gates gives to everyone who buys Windows. It will be a good little learning session of cut, copy and paste for the newbies

 

mmmmm i see mike has a chip of some kind........look dude i didnt call you an idiot i said your gauges didnt print out right........and if your going to take the time to this sort of thing expect emails from people on how to use and modify what you have done to fit their tastes and applications......if its the simplest thing then maybe we all would have done it and yours wouldnt be used by anyone right? i think ill stick with carl on this one he seems to have a better attitude...thanks any way bud =)

 

alright--this is for un4given89--i lurk alot, and this kinda stuff just annoys me-- the fact is that your gauges are the wrong size --plain and simple-there is absolutely no need to go around being a dick because the facts are simply that--facts, no need to try to prove your supposed "superiority", and as for your comment about being an IT "guru" and not an idiot---well the facts are there too, and the facts are that you are simply just a snot nosed kid-not to mention a no talent hack who plagiarizes and steals things off the net and claims them for his own-no professional of any kind would do that

 

they worked fine for me. the resolution is high, so the quality can be high... don't give mike flak, did you make anything for the rest of us to use and apply?

 

Sittin bull. I can post them but like I said before, if you dont print them in a vector program they will be pixalated, and same with viewing them. As Unforgiven said you can go to the ADOBE and DL the Illustrator Program. The problem with a Vector program (Illustrator/ fireworks) is it is line/point based image. No matter how close you get on the zoom it will never ever ever ever be jagged or pixalated. Photoshop shop and other programs are just that, PHOTO. When you zoom in they will be pixalatedand they will never print clean,and crisp. So like I said get yourself Illustrator then hit me up more then happy to give them to you. Heck i will even give them to you in layers so you can play around with it. The only problem is If you dont have the fonts I used on my computer the program will put in whut it wants. So if that is the case let me know and I can send you them too. I still have all that jaz on my computer. Unforgiven, I have to agree, your images are to big, plain n simple. Dont be soooo stuck up and just say Ok. No one is here to put ya down or anything they are just askin ya or tellin ya cuz they either A) dont know what they are doing or B) they are lettin ya know. So just take it and say Thanks.

p.s. Oh yeah guys dont use 3M spray mount, that crap just peals right off, Trust me I am a Design major and we stay clear of that crap if possible, after a few weeks and some heat starts to peal like a stripper. Bes thing to do is apply rubber cement to the gauge and to the back of the overlay and let dry for a few mins, then put those bad boys together. Takes alot to seperate those two. Just a warning though, if you do it that way, make sure you have it lined up RIGHT, once the two surfaces touch...they never let go......HAPPY GLUING

p.p.s. I guess I am now offering up mine to everyone but only for 110 camaros, I didnt do anything else

 

Popapork,

Yeah, those jaggies are a real problem. To get around it I had to use the "Blur" function in ACDSee. You can really only go so far with photo retouch programs, like you said. I just went far enough to try and get the fonts to look anti-aliased and worked at a high magnification. I'm gonna get a real charge out of seeing your images!

 

summed it up below

 

Let me re-phrase that comment, The Camaro guages I orginally did are the correct size, read post below.

The firebird gauges are not mine, nor do I own one. Alot of the templates I "HOST" are sent in by other board members. I dont' print them out, I just zip them and stick them on my website.

Figure it out for yourself, no need to tell me I'm some kinda ******* cuase I can't solve your problem. Works fine for me.

 

Camaro tach & speedo open at 752x760 pixels or 4.98x5.033 inches and 151pixels per inch. If you can configure them to those measurements, those are the correct settings, fairly simple.

 

Oh this little homo is back again I see, didn't like the bashing I gave you the first time around. Well read my above posts smart ***. They are in fact the correct size, MY GAUGES ARE, the ones sent in by the other users I don't correct.

And whats this about me plagirizing? If I am not correct your the punk *** who put my *** damn webpage on his site, copyed everything and said he made it??

And everyone on this site busted you on that.....

First off here is your award for being

Removed by RCR...

with that out of the way, sorry for the confusion to wasp. I have a Camaro, so when someone sent me the firebird gauges, I never checked or printed them out, I assumed they where fine and posted them.

 

.