I want to get one and I read that they have a direct plug in to the factory wiring harness. I'm pretty sure my wire harness is useless after replacing the motor and all as it's carbed. Also, I'm pretty sure the only electronics on my car nowadays are the lights and CTS.

Could someone help me by clarifying? Would it be a simply plug and go or would there need to be some heavy soldering and custom wiring.

 

Bueller? Bueller?

 

do your stock gauges still power up and all the lighting come on and what not?? if so then the onl;y things you will most likely need to do it run the sender wires for the approiate gauges. the gauges themselves are very simple to install. you just need an igntion, ground, illumination, and the sender wires for the gauges. if you have the stock cluster and the gauges turn on and light up then you can get all of your wiring right from back there. The main problems people run into with motor swaps is getting rid of the factory sender wires which the plug in harnesses would utilize. so if that''s your case then you can plug the harness in for your power, grounds, and lighting and run new signal wires and install the approiate senders. or you can trace the wires under hood that would have went to the stock senders and use them. HTH

 

Thanks. Have you actually done this gauge swap before?

 

I've dont the swap before adn it is not a tough one and it is a good look once installed and to make your life easier invest the time running down factory wiring to run to the sensors. the factory manual has very clear and detailed diagrams to take a lot of the headache out of the process

 

I haven't done the swap for those gauges themselves. But I do auto electronics for a living and havd installed countless amounts of aftermarket gauge installs as well as fabricated my own gauges panels. I'm actually working on my own aftermarket gauge panel that will fit the 91-92 camaros. But like as said before tracing down the factory wiring is a lot better to use. saves time and effors having to run the wires to the senders and drilling through your firewall. The only time I recommend running your own wires is if you are doing custom wiring. I have all my wiring ran in my fenders and hidden, as well as a full custom harness from the firewall out.

 

I'll chime in on this. I have done a Covan's Classic gauge swap.

First, its is not as plug in play as they claim. They do not provide you with mating ends for the factory instrument panel connectors. Instead they provide you with connectors to fit the pre-fabbed wiring harness that fits the gauges. What you must do is cut off your factory connectors and install the provided ends.


Before you go Oh %$#* they do provide you with and excellent wiring diagram that tells you what each wire is.

The only other thing they don't tell you is your check engine, e-brake, signal, and high beam indicators are all LEDs and the fun part is you get to drill and mount them in the panel.

I would reccommend dropping the steering column and possibly taking off the steering wheel to maximise working space when doing the install.

Oh one last thing be sure to mount the hi-beam indicator led under the seat, because that thing is brighter than the sun.

See my install here

 

tom camaro are you happy with the conan's panel still??? been thinking about going this way. but been have a hard time picking which gauges i want. whould like white faced but the 3 3/8" opening doesn't give me as much choices as the 5".

 

REDTAIL

For the most part I am happy with Covan's Swap. My only real complaint is the layout of the panel. I wish they would have moved the lower two gauges to the out side. I have trouble seeing the fuel guage b/c of the tilt arm and the voltage gauge is about impossible to see b/c of my keys. You can see the gauges but you have to lean your head. Some people might say I'm being a cry baby but for the price (about $800) I expect prefection.

I do have a MAJOR Complaint with Autometer and the electronic speedometer that came with the kit. Its easy to calibrate, but making it work all the time I'm really thinking about sending my speedo back, I may have gotten the lemon in the group.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/elec...-problems.html

 

Do you still have the Covan's wiring diagram they sent to you in the kit? If so I would like to get a copy if possible. I just bought the empty dash from Covan and the gauges from Summit. I wanted full sweep gauges and in the C2 series of gauges that is almost a 100.00 more a gauge @ Summit then the semi sweep guys. Covan wanted a lot more then Summit did for the full sweep guys.

Did your Autometer gauges have different sensors/connectors then the factory units such as water temp & oil pressure gauges? I am thinking Autometer must have their own connectors and may be different then the factory pieces. TIA.

 

Look at you for digging one up from the past.

Yeah, I think I have that diagram laying around. I don't know if you will get the needed pigtails for the gauges, allthough I don't see why autometer would not provide them.

I remember making a tee for the oil fitting so I would say Yes to the autometer using different oil/water sending units. (I think LT1 engines used 2 anyway one for the guage and the other for the ecm). What I don't remember is how I wired them, maybe I got lucky and used the exsiting oil and temp wire and tied them to the new guages.

 

Always like to do a search on old posts, no telling what you might turn up. I see you have a 84 model Camaro Tom, mine will be a T-56 85 guy with a 2 piece rear main seal motor. The stock idiot lights have to go, so I will be using the Covan dash and Autometer C2 gauges. As you allready know the 3rd generation cars have a little more zip with a T-56 installed. If you happen to run across the diagram just let me know and we can figure out a way for me to get a copy. Autometer does have the pins for sale. Thanks for your help Tom in this project.