So the original goal was to install an aftermarket fuel level gause since my stock gauge absolutely sucks. Then it kind of turned into a full on dash building project after I realized that using the stock gauge cluster wouldn't work.

So here's what I started with:



Then after tracing the dash outline I used the center stock fuel gauge position as my center point. The actual hole is cut closer to the top than stock though because the gauges are 2/16".



Then I cut the fuel gauge hole out and slowly trimmed it to fit the gauge exactly:





Then I did the same for water temp:



voltage:

 

Back side:



Then speedo:



Then Tach:



Then I primered:


And painted:

 

Fully painted and populated:





Then comes the difficult part......wiring. Instead of connecting everything together and making a wire spaghetti mess I decided to make my own voltage busses. One for ignition switched 12V, one for interior lights 12V, one ground, and one for each othe the individual senders (speedo, tach, temp, fuel level, oil press) This way the dash can be easily removed by disconnecting the individual main buss feeds, and is designed with extra ports of each for easy future expansion.



Finished and on the car:



The pics do no justice to what a huge upgrade this is:


Finally....... accurate, well lit gauges!

 

Some details:

The gauges I used are as follows:

Speedo: Autometer part number 5889



Tach: Autometer part number 5898



Water temp: Autometer part number 5737


Fuel level: Autometer part number 5710


Voltage: Autometer part number 5790


Oil Pressure: Autometer part number 5727



A word about my fuel level gauge choice:

My main goal was to have an accurate fuel gauge, but the part number 5714 GM 0-90 ohm gauge is a short sweep gauge and simply didn't appear to have the accuracy and adjust-ability I was after.

Compared to the universal and custom programmable 5710, there was no comparison in my eyes

Your fuel level sender will NEVER be absolutely accurate and read 0 and 90 ohms full and empty. This obviously leads to an inaccurate gauge. A sweep of something like 8-94 ohms is more realistic, and this gauge allows you to program any sender sweep you'd like. Straight out of the box it's set to read GM 0-90 ohm senders, and surprisingly it's FAR more accurate than the stock gauge without doing any calibration at all! I'll obviously be doing the calibration soon, but as-is it's awesome.

The speedo is also universal and programmable. It read my T56's VSS perfectly. After calibration it's dead accurate. Calibration involves driving 2 miles @ 45MPH, that's it. The distance and speed accuracy are directly related to the accuracy of the gauge of course. So I used google maps to plot a 2 mile stretch of highway, and it worked perfectly. Also, anytime you change gears, transmissions, tire size, anything......just recalibrate the gauge and it's perfectly accurate again. Absolutely no complaints.

 

I will give you cash to build me one like this.PM me.

 

I'll try to PM ya sometime soon, but don't be shy because I've a lot to work on currently. So pm ME if I space out

Here's something I forgot to mention: Turn signals. I'd love to find indicator/bulb shaped like an arrow, but I haven't been able to find them ANYWHERE! If you know where I can find such a thing please let me know! Here's some ideas:

5/16" might be a little small. I measured the stock dash turn signal arrow and it's .5" wide. So I'm thinking an indicator that's .5" in diameter just might work.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PRF-80205/


.5" and super cheap:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PCO-5526PT/



3/4" might be too big IMO
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/QCR-61-709/?rtype=10

 

I suppose the larger gauges cover up where the turn signals originally were? Been a while now since I actually had a Camaro gauge cluster in front of me, hard to remember

But, if the original location isn't covered up by the gauges... What do you think about drilling a hole in their location, then actually cutting the arrow out of your cluster & attaching it behind the drilled hole?

So you'd still have an arrow shape for your turn signals, and you could use the stock bulbs too. If you can visualize that. Just an idea, I've never actually tried it Seems like it wouldn't look too out of place in my head, but I've had bad ideas before. Lol

 

that is really cool. That is a cluster Fizuck of wires connected to those gauges lo. Great Work dude!!! How much do you think it cost you in supplies.

 

i made simillar to yours, no tach as i have it differnet way, speedo will come shortly (blan space) and a shiftlight will be also made





best regards

 

I actually really like the idea of running all of the wiring into the busses. My ram has a slew of wiring for all the different guages i run and i have been dreading the wiring on my pro street truck since it will be much like yours all hand fabricated cluster and dash. Where did you get the busses from?

 

Didn't cost me anything in supplies actually. I had everything in my garage and never had to run to the store. I had bought the sheet metal a few weeks before to make a jig I used to cut/replace a rusted strut tower. What I made the cluster out of was just left over.

Had I not had everything on-hand it'd probably be around $100 for wire/connectors.

 

I had them lying around, but the part number is 326 20 13 001 and it's made by Cinch Mfg. Couldn't tell ya where to order them because I'm sure they're discontinued. None of the terminals are connected to each other, so YOU have to do that. I made my own buss wire by braiding individual wires together using a drill. I'll post pics in a minute.

 

 

Here's how I connected them:

 

Awesome job, I got tired of my factory gauges and did something similar but I used Autometer Digital Cobalt gauges.

 

Wasyl. What do you got on there. Looks like and airplane cockpit

 

these are autometer gauges + some european ones

AM - volt,fuel lvl, water temp, oil press and speedo (like i said not yet mounted), cyl head temp (used as trans temp)
Auto Gauge - fuel pressure and oil temp
free slot will be AFR gauge form Innovate

best regards

 

pwdbychevy..... Can you post more pics of this panel?
What size gauges are they?
Does the factory trim parts still fit?
What the orange and red lights represent?
I have a 91 rs and I an looking at options to build something.

I will post pics of what I come up with guys...

 

http://www.rodworx.com/product.php?item=413

These lights look cool...

So do these..
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LED-I...-/350420484681

 

Awesome thanks for the links.

 

I go to several car shows and always looking at the dash/gauges to see what hot rodders are doing. If you go to some, look at the old street rods. the are using the small led lights kinda like on the links but have a cleaner look.. i will try and find some pics I have taken of some.

I am trying to fit a 5" speedo, 5" tach, 2 1/16 oil pressure, temp, amp and fuel in that small area. I want to get some small led bulbs for turn signals and hoping to rig up something for a shift light. These LED bulbs are bright so souldn't be a problem unless running the car during daylight.. I have a start on what I am doing. I will take some pics and post. I am using a acrylic plastic and hoping to fit all the factory trim back on.

 

Here is a link I found that may be option to some of you depending on budget... No offence you all that are building these. I am building my own as well. Just passing info to any that need to buy one instead of build.

http://www.camarocentral.com/categor...show=30&page=3



82-89 part numbers (different options)
DAS-431C
DAS-431S
DAS-431P
DAS-431U
DAS-431 (Just panel, no gauges)

90-92 part numbers
DAS-242
DAS-393
DAS-394
DAS-395
DAS-396

Hope this helps..

This my first day on this site.. I love the info and reading about what you all are doing to your Camaro's.

 

subscribed

 

Gauges are 3 5/8" and factory trim still fits. As you can see below, I extensively modified an old instrument panel that I had to retain the factory trim. Orange light is the SES light and the red is the brake warning light. The panel is 1/4 plexiglass. Sorry for the hijack.

 

Thanks for the pics. that looks good. I am still trying to fit the 5" but not sure how yet.. I have cut out some thin cardboard circles the size of the guages I have and trying to move them around to see what looks best. I like to smaller gauges on each side like you have them.

 

they look great!! bvy chance do you know if they make these for the firebirds

 

i spent about 2 months searching and searching for an arrow shaped turn signal with no luck...

 

5" tack and speedo

 

you are the god of awesome....

 

You could just carefully paint the outside of the blinker black, leaving the inside in the shape of an arrow.

 

that would take way too much work. ive thought about finding someone that can just punch an arrow shape in the cluster and mount the light behind it.

 

one word "stencil"...LOLZ

 

Any chance you can get a similar pic from your actual seated position? I've been planning a very similar gauge upgrade that utilizes the stock-like locations with 5" speedo & tach, but my primary concern in doing so is that the steering wheel is going to wind up obscuring a lot of the gauges, and the 40-60mph range and the 6-7k range are both the most critical ranges for me to see, which are also likely to be the most obscured.

 

I was able to use my factory signal and high beam indicators on my Trans AM... But if I couldnt, I was going to use this solution, not too far off from how I did my SES and BRAKE indicators.

I was going to take some black textured laminate. And some green filters. Cut out the arrows in the laminate (yes it would take a few minutes but its not a complicated shape). Then lay the green filter in behind the laminate.

To illuminate, use the reflector bowl from a small flashlight, and fix a bulb socket to it. This is how I did my custome SES and Brake lights... using the factory thirdgen indicator cards. I put window tint under the laminate so that the indicators were dark/invisible when off.

Off


On


Reflector/Bulb contraption


Thats a soda cap with a hole to accept a 194 bulb push in socket. Use LEDs or make sure you have something for heat venting...or else you will melt stuff.

Just an idea!

OP...That wiring looks VERY clean!! I might have to steal some of those ideas when I clean up my wiring. Right now I have all my wires coming out and going into a fuse block under the dash. I tried to clean it up as best as possible, but its still kinda shady. Thanks for the pics!

J.

 

thats pretty much what i was thinking for the turn signals, but getting a small arrow shapped hole in the cluster would be the hard part.

 

Well, if you were ok with textured laminate as your covering, it would be super easy. If you are using metal for your panel, just drill a hole that is slightly larger than your arrow design. Layout, and cut out, your arrow in the laminate. Lay some green filter material down across your holes, then stick down the laminate. At this point you have two translucent green arrows with holes behind them. Attach your light set up behind it and viola.

The laminate is really easy to work with. It has a graph layout on the back, its easy to cut, and it sticks perfectly. I use it all the time. You have to get a big roll...but its cheap.

If you are looking for something other than textured black laminate...well then you'd have to change your method.

J.

 

do you have any picks of it completed?

 

actually i made my panel out of fiberglass, so im thinking of just getting the trim peice that has the arrows cut in and cuting the arrow portion out and grafting that into the cluster. that way the turn signals and the high beam indicator would look exactly like stock.

 

Yes, look at post #15

 

Awesome awesome work. Hot rodding at it's best; when it isn't available, do it yourself. Instead of painting I would have suggested powder coating the panel to give a clean smooth look. Otherwise outstanding.

.

 

That whiteness you see is just the clear coat I used reflecting from the sun because it was 100*+ degrees out. It dried clear.