It is complete. What was supposed to be a fairly cheap project turned out to be a little more . . . not cheap. Note: Some of this might be repetitous of Pete's write-up (which helped me a lot . . . thanks man).
The hardest part of this whole project was getting through the firewall. I was unable to locate a grommet to go through. I needed at least a 3/4" hole to get the coolant temp sensor w/ mount through. Biggest bit I have is 1/2", so the rest was done with the Dremel. I put the hole above and to the right of the gas pedal cable. I used 18ga. wire for all of my gauges.
Two red wires are for the tach and oil sending unit. Silver line is for the temp.
I also pulled the insulation off of the under-side of the hood. Looks much better now since the insulation was pretty chewed up.
Oil pressure sending unit. Talk about a tight squeeze. Used 2 1/2" extension, 1/4" NPT thread and 45 deg. elbow. It brought the sensor up just enough to squeeze it between the power steering pump and block. And, of course, I used teflon tape on the threads. The problem that I rant into with this was that the original sending unit for the idiot light required a special socket. Once I got the right socket it came out without any trouble.
Tach hookup. The fuse taps that I had originally bought that used two fuses were to tall and wouldn't clear the dash panel. I went with those small fuse taps that just plug in with the fuse. Tapped the fuse for the radio Key On power and the fuse for the dash lights. And, yes, the tach dims with the dash this way.
Coolant temp sensor. Just used a regular socket to get this one out and turned the new sensor in.
Gauges are mounted to the bottom of the ash tray. I am still able to open the ash tray, the gauges just move with it. I pulled the actual tray out since the screws needed the room. No worries, I don't smoke anyway.
The gauge styles are mis-matched, but that doesn't really bother me at this point. I started out with three gauges and the bracket as freebies. The temp gauge was the only one I used. Didn't like what I heard about the ammeter so I went with a volt meter. Didn't want a mechanical oil pressure gauge so I went with electric. The wires are a bit of a mess right behind the gauges, but you don't see them from the drivers' seat all that much.
Power source for the oil pressure gauge and volt meter come from the yellow accessory line behind the radio.
Note: My oil pressure holds between 25 at idle and 50 while on the gas. Temp holds around 180-200. Volts are where they belong. Pretty good for 170,000+ miles.
For gauge illumination, I tapped into the (+) and (-) of the ash tray light (per Pete's suggestion). This allowed the dimming of the guages. Only problem I ran into here is that the coolant temp gauge light does not work. Have not figured out why, yet.
Since I was running wire, I figured I might as well install that trunk light that I've been wanting for so long. Used 14ga. wire with an inline fuse. Power came straight from up front and grounded it on the trunk lid. No issues so far. This light is really bright. I plan to put one under the hood if I can find a decent place to mount it (running into clearance issues).
Here's how things tallied up. I'm not complaining about costs, I'm just stating it so the next guy doesn't have to spend so damn much like I did. Note: prices are rounded up to the nearest dollar.
--Super Pro tach ($65)
--Wire/connectors/trunk light/extra items ($48)
--Brass fitting for oil pressure sending unit ($10)
--Elec. oil pressure gauge w/ sending unit ($57)
--Volt meter ($25)
--Oil pressure sender (factory unit) socket ($10)
--Craftsman Bolt-out 5-piece socket set ($20) --- This was to get the stripped manifold bolt out.
Rough estimate of cost: $235. Ouch. I just figured that . . . . . damn. That doesn't include fuel for five total trips to the store in two days, either.
The hardest part of this whole project was getting through the firewall. I was unable to locate a grommet to go through. I needed at least a 3/4" hole to get the coolant temp sensor w/ mount through. Biggest bit I have is 1/2", so the rest was done with the Dremel. I put the hole above and to the right of the gas pedal cable. I used 18ga. wire for all of my gauges.
Two red wires are for the tach and oil sending unit. Silver line is for the temp.
I also pulled the insulation off of the under-side of the hood. Looks much better now since the insulation was pretty chewed up.
Oil pressure sending unit. Talk about a tight squeeze. Used 2 1/2" extension, 1/4" NPT thread and 45 deg. elbow. It brought the sensor up just enough to squeeze it between the power steering pump and block. And, of course, I used teflon tape on the threads. The problem that I rant into with this was that the original sending unit for the idiot light required a special socket. Once I got the right socket it came out without any trouble.
Tach hookup. The fuse taps that I had originally bought that used two fuses were to tall and wouldn't clear the dash panel. I went with those small fuse taps that just plug in with the fuse. Tapped the fuse for the radio Key On power and the fuse for the dash lights. And, yes, the tach dims with the dash this way.
Coolant temp sensor. Just used a regular socket to get this one out and turned the new sensor in.
Gauges are mounted to the bottom of the ash tray. I am still able to open the ash tray, the gauges just move with it. I pulled the actual tray out since the screws needed the room. No worries, I don't smoke anyway.
The gauge styles are mis-matched, but that doesn't really bother me at this point. I started out with three gauges and the bracket as freebies. The temp gauge was the only one I used. Didn't like what I heard about the ammeter so I went with a volt meter. Didn't want a mechanical oil pressure gauge so I went with electric. The wires are a bit of a mess right behind the gauges, but you don't see them from the drivers' seat all that much.
Power source for the oil pressure gauge and volt meter come from the yellow accessory line behind the radio.
Note: My oil pressure holds between 25 at idle and 50 while on the gas. Temp holds around 180-200. Volts are where they belong. Pretty good for 170,000+ miles.
For gauge illumination, I tapped into the (+) and (-) of the ash tray light (per Pete's suggestion). This allowed the dimming of the guages. Only problem I ran into here is that the coolant temp gauge light does not work. Have not figured out why, yet.
Since I was running wire, I figured I might as well install that trunk light that I've been wanting for so long. Used 14ga. wire with an inline fuse. Power came straight from up front and grounded it on the trunk lid. No issues so far. This light is really bright. I plan to put one under the hood if I can find a decent place to mount it (running into clearance issues).
Here's how things tallied up. I'm not complaining about costs, I'm just stating it so the next guy doesn't have to spend so damn much like I did. Note: prices are rounded up to the nearest dollar.
--Super Pro tach ($65)
--Wire/connectors/trunk light/extra items ($48)
--Brass fitting for oil pressure sending unit ($10)
--Elec. oil pressure gauge w/ sending unit ($57)
--Volt meter ($25)
--Oil pressure sender (factory unit) socket ($10)
--Craftsman Bolt-out 5-piece socket set ($20) --- This was to get the stripped manifold bolt out.
Rough estimate of cost: $235. Ouch. I just figured that . . . . . damn. That doesn't include fuel for five total trips to the store in two days, either.
By the way yesterday I saw a boxie box Crown Vic that had the Plymouth/Dodge style tach installed on the hood, looked nice but kinda out of place...
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