Guys with gauges under their radios....in here

[Mustang5L5]

How's the visibiliy??

I want to ditch my A-pillar setup, but i'm concerned with visibility under the radio.

Can someone take a pic from the driver's seat looking down at their gauges? I want to see what sort of angle I can expect so i can decide if i should stay in the a-pillar or put them under the radio to "hide" them


I do notice my water temp climbs 5-10 degrees at the top end of a 1/4mile pass which is why i kinda want to keep it visible.

But lets see some pics and what kits you guys are using. Ideally i'd like to do 2 gauges and a switch, but i could go 3 gauges if need be.


This is what I have now. I kinda want to be a little more subtle and not have the whole word see them

 

[1991notchbackLX]

sorry mike, this is an old pic but it's the best I can do for now... the visibility is fine but i don't have the really important gauges down there... i like water temp and oil pressure on the a-pillar becase i check those pretty damn often

if you do get this setup i recommend the LEDs to backlight the gauges, it makes seeing them at night MUCH easier

i'll have this gauge holder under my radio for sale in a few days if you want it, i'll let it go for next to nothing... i'm going a different direction with my gauge setup

let me know!

Chris

 

[gwiedner]

I have mine under the radio and visibility is fine from the drivers seat....Ill try to get some pics up tomorrow but I have op and water temp gauges and check them constantly without any problem...I have two gauges and two switches and got my gauge plate from gaugeplates.com and it came out really nice.

 

[DARCA]

Not 2 gauges and a switch and not under the radio... but here is whats in mine right now.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I do like the gauge vents but i really don't want to cut into the ducts of my mint black dash even though I no longer have A/C anyway. I'd rather keep it in a location that's 100% reversible.

Another reason why i want to ditch the pillar gauges is that i have mechanical gauges, and am removing the copper oil pressure line and installing a safer braided stainless line. Problem is with the amount of fittings i need i can't get the gauge to properly fit the pillar pod.

I do have a 3rd gauge. It's a boost/vac gauge i got for dirt cheap. i don't have a blower but the vacuum gauge is nice to have. If i put the gauges under the radio i'd have no prob tossing the boost gauge in because nobody will ever see it (i rarely ride with passengers if ever) but if it's in the pillar pod then people will see it and i don't want to have a boost gauge in an N/A car even if i'm using it for the vacuum portion.


Decisions decisions.

 

[90lxcoupe]

I do like the gauge vents but i really don't want to cut into the ducts of my mint black dash even though I no longer have A/C anyway. I'd rather keep it in a location that's 100% reversible.

The ducts just pop right out, no cutting neccessary with the autometer kit from what i remember. So as long as you dont lose the parts, its no prob to put back to stock

 

[RYC CUKR]

I have a set under my radio. I'll see if I can get some pics later.
Autometer makes some angling bezels that you can use to actually give you a better view of the gauges. That is what I did and I have no problems seeing my gauges.

 

[Mustang5L5]

The ducts just pop right out, no cutting neccessary with the autometer kit from what i remember. So as long as you dont lose the parts, its no prob to put back to stock

WHat about the airflow ducts behind the registers? How do i get the wiring and the oil feed lines into there?

 

[Mustang5L5]

I have a set under my radio. I'll see if I can get some pics later.
Autometer makes some angling bezels that you can use to actually give you a better view of the gauges. That is what I did and I have no problems seeing my gauges.

That i would like to see

 

[66sprint6]

Ive got em down there and have no problem with it. I like to keep em outta sight of others as well, and its a really clean look when you get in the car. Ive seen some people flip those panels and put the radio on the bottom and gauges up top but I kept mine the normal way.
Matt

 

[Mustang5L5]

I'm just worried about hitting the trans tunnel if i put the gauges on the bottom and use the angle bezels to tilt them up slightly.

 

[90lxcoupe]

WHat about the airflow ducts behind the registers? How do i get the wiring and the oil feed lines into there?

Ive had those guages in for so long that i dont remember 100% to tell you the truth, but i'm pretty sure that i didnt cut anything up, the autometer kit is pretty nice in that sense...

have you seen these yet?
Gaugeplates.com, your home for custom gauge and switch plates

you can get any custom pannel you want, so if you wanted the radio under the guages that would get them into your vision a little better

 

[Mustang5L5]

Interesting.

Hmm, gotta think about this now

 

[RYC CUKR]

That i would like to see

Here you go. I had no problems with hitting the trans tunnel. The only thing I had to do was modify the holes in the bezel. Since they are designed to have the gauges going in straight the gauges would not go in at an angle. I had to file the hole so that it wasn't square with the face of the bezel but rather at an angle so the gauge would slide in. Its kinda hard to explain over the internet.

Edit: I have since swapped the N20 and water temp gauges

 

[Mustang5L5]

That looks good. DO you think there would be a problem if the bezels were angled up slightly about 45*? WOuld the backside of the gauges hit the trans tunnel?

Can the radio plate be flipped so the radio is on the bottom and the gauges are on top?

 

[Beasty306GT]

Hey mike i found this one...looks like a keeper Foxbody Radio/HVAC Relocation Panel 1987-1989 at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

 

[RYC CUKR]

I have seen guys flip the plate and put the gauges on the top and the radio on the bottom.

I think that if you put the gauges at a 45* angle pointed up you might have an issue with them hitting the tunnel if they were on the bottom. I do not believe that they make the angle rings with a 45* angle. I cannot find any specs on the angle of the rings but it looks like they are around 20-25*. I did not angle mine straight up. Mine are angled towards the drivers seat headrest.

Here is a link to the rings on Summit

Auto Meter 2234 - Auto Meter Angle Rings

 

[gwiedner]

here is a pic of mine at night from the drivers seat...I have the gaugeplate.com plate with two gauges and two switches I'm also using the autometer angle rings that work good and I have no problems with visability

 

[Mustang5L5]

Hey mike i found this one...looks like a keeper Foxbody Radio/HVAC Relocation Panel 1987-1989 at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

To be honest, never been a fan of that one. Looks too cheap and flimsy to me. I'd rather keep the HVAC controls where they are.

To be honest, part of me wants to put a stock Ford radio back in and not run gauges period...but that's gonna suck. Only reason i'm sticking the gauges under the radio is because i want a radio i can plug my Ipod into and listen to when i drive.

 

[Mustang5L5]

here is a pic of mine at night from the drivers seat...I have the gaugeplate.com plate with two gauges and two switches I'm also using the autometer angle rings that work good and I have no problems with visability

What style gauges are those?


Also, hows the gaugeplate.com bezel look in the daytime? Is it flat black? Do you have an up close shot of it?