Ok so i bought a dual gauge pod with gauges from fellow TGO member StreetLethal. (thanks again!) And well my plan was to replace all my stock gauges since they dont read correct anyways. Well i didnt just want a dual gauge pod so i decided to make a custom 4 gauge pillar pod since they dont make them for t top cars. So i bought the autometer oil pressure,water temp and fuel gauge all 2 1/16" from streetlethal, then went on jegs and bought another dual gauge pod. Once i aquried everything, i got to work. I installed the first pod as far down as possible, and measured the pod. The pod is 11 inches long leaving me just enough room for the 2nd gauge pod with a little bit of modifying of coarse. I had to trim the top of the 2nd gauge pod so that it would curve to the top of the a pillar and be able to fit under the t top. I screwed them down to the a pillar then modifyed some more here and there. It looks great and you can see all the gauges perfect and the t tops still fit perfectly. I got alot of compliments from other racers at the track last night. Ive spent a total of $150 so far only because i had to buy a volt gauge to match since i didnt have one. I am using AutoMeter Designer Black ll Series. The gauges glow white with red needles but i am going to color the bulbs with a red sharpie. Heres some pics of how i have it set up now, am getting them all fiberglassed to the a pillar and wired up tommrow. I will have some more pics after it gets fiberglassed and before i paint it. Let me know what you all think!

Standing outside car:

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Sitting in the driver seat:

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View from passenger seat:
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As you can see there is still plenty of space between the top gauge and the T-Tops. The top gauge which in my case is the Oil Pressure, is eye level with me as im driving so i never have to take my eyes off the road.

Begining stage, with just a single dual pod in:
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More pictures tommmrow! I also plan on doing another dual gauge pod but im going to fiberglass it to the side of my dash board next to the center heater vents by the map pocket. I plan on using a trans temp and exhaust temp gauge in that.

 

thats sweet. i like that alot. i auctually thought about doin somethin similar to my RS

 

I painted my needles with Testors Model paint. It turned out great. Consider this before you try the Sharpie.

 

the needles are red on thses gauges its just the inlays that glow white. So i need to paint the bulbs red with something so that they too will glow red. I was told to try sharpie or nail polish. Anyone have any other reccomendations on what to paint the bulbs with because i already looking into buying colored bulbs and i cant find any.

 

if there just reg bulbs like most aftermarket bulbs a place like pep boys has them just look in the ***** section also they make covers for bulbs so the rice boys can change the color of there side markers.

 

I want this setup now

 

You should be able to find LED's that have the same fitting as the bulbs on your guages. Can get them in the color that you want. I found them in local auto parts store.

-Schultzy

 

well my buddy wasnt able to finish them tonight so tommorow i will be picking the car up. I cant wait. I will check around the parts stores and see what i can find. thanks for all the imput guys!

 

well i got out of work early so i was able to make it down to the shop and see the progress. Pod looks azamzing. cant even tell there was 2 pods on the a pillar. He says my a pillar is warped from being old and whatnot but he says thats nothing he cant fix. Now im going to have to replace my t top seals since they leak and you can see that the water has been running behind the a pillar. I dont want water leaking onto the wires so im going to dish out the cash to fix them. Anyone know anywhere you can get t top seal kits for a good decent price? my phone was dead so i couldnt take pics but i will get some tommrow after i pick the car up. I will be posting pics of me at the track this weekend also. I beat a 67' Charger with a stock 383. my friend who is a huge morpar fan was asamed because my stock TBI 305 beat a stock 383.... Also beat a stock 71' Duster. Will add videos as soon as i can find my cable for the dig. camera.

 

What do those gauges look like with red bulbs? Are they similar to the ES style gauges?

 

dont know yet he had the pod out of the car all fiberglassed up. I will take a pic tommmrow with them all lite up.

 

Gauges look cool!!! Try softseal (Or sofseal, not sure how it's spelled) They sell the t-top kit seperately....
Looks really nice, I want to see the finished product!!!

 

Good job, that looks great! I might do that one day... I agree, there should be colored, replacement bulbs in any autopart stores. Specially red. I bought a regular red 194 bulb for my 5in tach at WalMart!

 

well my bulbs are 161's but i replaced them with 168's in red. they fit the same but really arent that bright. My volt meter is an led white gauge so it doesnt match the others but oh well. I have it about 95% of the way done, just gotta do some touch up sanding and a little more painting. I have pics on my phone but i dont have time to post them, i will get some better ones. Id really like to find some led bulbs to fit in my gauges but ive had no luck so far. Thanks for all the great imput so far guys!

 

Well everything is installed and hooked up cept for water temp, i need a new sensor. Everything looks great, im still looking for led bulbs for my gauges, but still no luck. I still need to do a little bit of touch up here and there on the pod, but other then that its finished. We hooked everything up on Saturday after i got out of work. Had a hell of a time trying to figure out what color wire was for fuel. (ended up being pink, even tho the internet told us purple)
Then had to mess with my spark plug wires cause they got all crisscrossed after installing the new oil sending uint, so i have to mess with that which took us longer. I have some pics on my gf's dig. camera so once we find her cord ill post them up. I have some during the day and at night with all my other gauges. There was a huge difference in the readings between the stock and AutoMeter oil gauge. Stock said i had 60+ psi on cold startup and 50-55psi at crusing. WHEN in fact the AutoMeter gauge says i have 45 psi on cold start up and 35-40 psi when driving. Then around 25-30 at idle. But yeah thats about it for my project. ill be doing it again soon when i get my Trans Temp, and Exhaust Temp gauges. Thanks for all the imput and if anyone has any questions just ask!

 

Althought I'm not crazy about 4 gauges on the pillar I will give you an A+ for ingenuity and craftsmanship. Not crazy about having doubles of everything for the stock gauges. I have two tachs myself, just wish the stock one worked...

I would like to see a night shot with them all lit up. I am using xenon hyperbrights(IIRC) in my autometers...

 

What was the part number of the gauge pods?

 

I was thinking about doing this too....Just wondering, what did you do with the gauges already inside the dash? I mean are they all lying dead?

 

Only the oil psi gauge and the water temp gauge are dead. But i will soon be covering those up with a 7.5" LCD headrest tv screen i had in my Grand Am GT. Then i will run an AV system to it or possibly an on board computer system when i do my engine swap. Its funny to see the big difference in the stock gauges compared to the aftermarket gauges and how they read.

 

Whats the part # of the pillar pod

 

Dont use a sharpie on the bulbs, the ink will burn, and ruin the life of the bulbs.

If you have a spare dash cluster, or can get your hands on one for free, take the covers off that (its what i did). Now all my gauges glow factory colour, they all match.

Otherwise, go to parts store, they should carry them for fairly cheap.

 

I ended up buying some replacement bulbs to fit the sockets that are red in color. Look just like factory gauges now.

 

Heh are you serious about the screen? I mean won't that also cover the RPM's and Tachometer?

 

most gauges come with red and green condoms to put over a std bulb.
high heat paint works GREAT. just tape off the connection prior to painting.
i had a set of clear light ones time and painted the turn signals and taillight bulbs and they didnt loook pink like most of the colored bulbs.
LED's would be nice, but this was way before LED bulbs were thought of, LOL.

 

Cool! Looks Good. I was going to try something like that, but just ended up putting my Boost, EGT, Fuel Pressure and Air/Fuel gauges in the radio pod.