I'm looking to add water temp and oil pressure gauges, I'm thinking of doing a hinged panel under the dash so I can hide them...what have others done?
also, any recommendations on using mechanical vs electrical gauges? thanks
i perfer electrical gages over mechanical, i don't like the surprise of leaking oil on my carpets,
Amen to the oil leak, my are electrical below dash on left side of steering colume, SMURFEE :icon_bigsmurf: :unitedstates:
i'm no expert on mechanical or electric gages, but i wanted a modern radio, so i put it in the glove box with the gages , oil and temp
When my son got his 57 there was a amp and oil pressure gauge installed. Someone had drilled the 2 1/16" holes between the cigar lighter and ash tray in the dash it ain"t that bad
TOM :unitedstates:
Meteor:
When I bought my 57, in 1998, the gauges (Oil Pressure & Voltage) were mounted below the dash pretty much in line with the gas pedal. I never did like looking down (taking my eyes off the road) to see what my oil pressure is. So, I looked around to see where I could place the gauges an not destroy the looks of the dash and keep my eyes near where they should be. I finally decided to put them where my control switch for my heater was in the dash beside the radio. Note: my 57 had the cheapie two speed heater/defroster added on by the dealer, not the nicer looking climate control setup on many 57's. I moved the heater control switch to replace the lighter in the lower part of the dash next to the right air inlet and windshield wiper switch. I had a local machine shop make me a metal piece that looks almost identical to the metal/plastic background that the clock and radio is mounted in. I've had numerous compliments at car shows on how this looks. (photos attached) Of course if you have the nice climate control center it wouldn't work there, but it might look good on the left side of the steering wheel in the same general area of the dash. (this is where I mounted my remote Doug's header electrical control switch)
Bob
57 AGIN
We fabricated a fiberglass insert that would fit a set of gauges.
Under dash Tissue box holder accesorry as a cover up with a front panel that hinges donw when needed.