Radio + (3) 2 1/16" Gauge Bezel Installation - Dial Up warning!

[srothfuss]

OK guys / gals....

I installed the radio bezel that allows for three 2 1/16" guages underneath the radio. (Or flip it upside down and put the gauges on top.) I chose this bezel / setup over an A-pillar pod because I thought the installation would look a lot more clean and "stockish."

Things I needed for the project

• 1 radio bezel - purchased online from custom performance engineering $30.00
• 3 gauges - Oil Pressure, Oil Temperature and Water temperature $150.00
• Misc electrical connectors - purchased from radio shack $5.00
• 1 eight way terminal block - purchased from radio shack $5.00
• 1 mini fuse block - purchased from radio shack $4.00
• 3 colors 18 gauge wire - purchased from radio shack $7.00
• Wire Cutters
• Wire Crimper
• Electrical tape
• Needle nose pliers
• 7mm deep well socket
• Wire hook tool
• small flat blade screw driver
• electrical tape
• zip ties
• Multimeter - to check continuity of connections

First step is to spread out your stuff in the basement:

Next step is wiring everything up on the back of the gauges.
I wired the lighting in the terminal blocks so I would only have to make 1 wire hook ups later.
I also bridged the ground wires using the terminal blocks for a simplier installation. The ignition wires on the gauges were also wired for 1 wire hook ups. The sender wires were setup with quick disconnect connections.
The back of the bezel ends up looking like this:

Here are a few pictures of the original radio bezel:

To install the bezel simply remove the four screws holding in your current aftermarket bezel / radio and unhook your radio. Remove the cage / radio and set them aside. Discard the old bezel.

Hooking up the connections:
Having 1 wire connections really makes installation a breeze. If you have a aftermarket radio [wire] harness all of your connections will be clearly labeled. I tapped into the 12V IGN, GND and POWER DIMMER in the harness. So all of the gauges are now controlled by the OEM dimmer and the igntion switch like they should be.

Picture of installing the gauges in the car:

And as promised a ton of pictures of the bezel from the drivers seat
1st gear:

2nd gear:

3rd gear

4th gear:

5th gear:

Overview from the drivers seat:

No Dimmer:

High Dimmer:

Low Dimmer:

And for fun.... From the back window:

Overall, it was a very easy installation. I took about 2 hours to wire up the gauges and then about 30 minutes to install the bezel into the car. I am sure time will vary bewteen people based on skill level and tools on hand. Currently, I don't have the senders hooked up to the engine (I'll do that later this week.) I just wanted to show people what this setup actually looks like.

 

[timewarped1972]

nice......custom performance engineering huh?? i like that, looks nice

 

[srothfuss]

nice......custom performance engineering huh??

Here is the link to their site: http://www.cp-e.com/

 

[HISSIN50]

That is a very nice install. I helped a guy on another board with his and both of yours turned out very nice.

I have considered this myself (I have a custom panel on the side of the console with two gauges now) but I am too lazy to undo and rerun the mech temp sender. ).

Seeing how nice yours turned out does make me want to do something though.

Cool stuff!

 

[srothfuss]

I have considered this myself...

Cool stuff!

Yeah, As soon as I signed up on here and learned about the stock insturments, I wanted to add some more accurate gauges. But didn't want them just sitting on the dash or A pillar. I like both of those options but I wanted something cleaner and less attention grabing to the untrained eye.

This bezel has been around for a while but it didn't seem like anyone on STANGNET was using it. Everytime it came up as a topic, people said that you couldn't see the gauges. I wanted to try it and show the community what it looked like installed (hence all of the photos.) The last gauge is obstructed but a simple glance around the shifter allows you to see it again.

Thanks guys!

 

[mrswivlepants]

Cool, I was wondering about the line of sight. The green backlight matches the stock gauges pretty well. Who makes them?

 

[srothfuss]

Who makes them?

They are Autometer Ultra-lite's. They come with a incendecent bulb and a green sock to go over the bulb. I was worried about the color match, but like you said they turned out good.

 

[4G-KDMP]

that is really a nice setup and write up!

 

[Grn92LX]

That looks really cool! I would have put the gauges on top though I think. What is that fuse block and terminal block thing you bought?

 

[PRO50SC]

Looks like a nice job but doesn't seem all the viewable at just a glance. JMO though.

 

[BaXTeR3221]

Yea after putting gauges in my vents, i wish i had put them in a more visible location. I have to purposely look over there, they wont catch my attention. Those are even lower. They do look really cool tho. I would leave you stock gauges hooked up tho, just because if something spikes badly, it will catch you eye much more quickly than the other ones which are more accurate.

 

[srothfuss]

What is that fuse block and terminal block thing you bought?

The terminal block is a plastic strip of 8 connections simpler to use than custom connectors. I cut the block into two 3 terminal sections (with a two terminal junction left over) Instead of using butt connectors / soldering or just twisting the wires together. You can put the three wires in each of the terminals and just turn a screw to tighten (reason for the flatblade screwdriver.) Then cut some short jumpers and tie them in on the other side to have 1 output. They work very well for sending three wires in to the block and one wire out. If you look at the picture of the back of gauges, the terminal blocks are the white plastic (white wires and black wires.)

The fuse block is just an inline mini blade fuse holder. Don't want to be frying anything in there if there is a power spike.

I can post up the part numbers if anyone is intersted

 

[SmockDoiley]

Actually, all autometer and autogage gauges come with different colored bulb socks, red and green. The red matches my gauges perfectly in my 85. As for the gauge bezel from that company, why not just make your own? Thats what I need. Its what, piece of sheetmetal, drill bit, jigsaw, and circular saw bits and some spray paint? Why pay $40 and shipping when all you get is the part? You can buy what you need to make it for a little more and still have all those tools for another project later.

 

[srothfuss]

why not just make your own? Thats what I need. Its what, piece of sheetmetal, drill bit, jigsaw, and circular saw bits and some spray paint? Why pay $40 and shipping when all you get is the part? You can buy what you need to make it for a little more and still have all those tools for another project later.

you have a point, but I don't have all of the proper tools to do that. In the future I will probably get into fabrication, but right now I like to purchase all my parts and just install them.

 

[onefstsnake]

great install!

Cant wait to get gauges for my panel...

Definately going the same route you went with the 1 wire hookups.

No need for 3 wires...

 

[N8Miller]

thats a real nice install job. but like Mike said,i would have put the gauges and the radio in opposite positions.... but very nice job!

 

[srothfuss]

i would have put the gauges and the radio in opposite positions.... but very nice job!

That is the thing I like most about this piece. Later on, if I decide I don't like those gauges so low I can flip it upside down. It'll only take a few minutes to unscrew the bezel and flip everything around.

Also, here are the two part numbers for the key Radio Shack items:

8-position terminal strip = 274-678
Mini-Blade fuse holder = 270-1237

Also, 1 more picture of what the terminal block looks like:

The stip originally had 8 junctions. As stated before, I cut out two 3-way ones to make the installation simplier on myself.

Thanks everyone!

 

[HISSIN50]

You have given guys ideas on how to cleanly do the installs - good stuff.

If you dont have a remote for the stereo, I think having it high is better. (Im sure you have a remote Srothfuss, but for those that dont, I prefer having the deck high). So that could be a reason to do it the way you did.

FWIW, I have gauges mounted out of peripheral vision on both the fox and SN95 and you get used to glancing at them w/o thinking about it (IMHO).

 

[srothfuss]

You have given guys ideas on how to cleanly do the installs - good stuff.

If you dont have a remote for the stereo, I think having it high is better. (Im sure you have a remote Srothfuss, but for those that dont, I prefer having the deck high). So that could be a reason to do it the way you did.

FWIW, I have gauges mounted out of peripheral vision on both the fox and SN95 and you get used to glancing at them w/o thinking about it (IMHO).

At one time, I had a little remote for the radio.... until one day on the highway with the top down and now I can't find it. However, it's hard to listen to the radio with the top down so it doesn't bother me too much.

I don't for see getting information out of the gauges as being a problem. There will be some training of the eye, but it won't be impossible. Both the Oil PSI and Water Temp are in plain sight. Oil Temp is just a quick glance and view around the shifter. Another possibility would be using red marker on the gauge lens to clearly label the normal needle postion. So you could glance to see that the two lines match up and you are back to driving... Either way, I hope this comes in handy for someone.

 

[RYC CUKR]

I have the same set up as srothfuss in my 93 vert. Same gauges, same plate and everything. I really like it and it was pretty easy to install. Only thing that is different is my trans temp instead of oil temp.

Didn't take me long to get it all installed and working. The only thing that that I would like is to somehow angle the guages towards the driver seat a little. Other than that it is a pretty nice upgrade.