It is possible to use some washer for the three holes at the top I'd guess. But there are two tabs on the factory backing plate, one at the bottom of each large gauge where the plastic bezel is bypassed, there seems to be no provision for that on the photo. Maybe they are early "engineering" pics and the final ones will have the tabs, wouldn;t bee too hard to add the material to the die cutter and have them bent about 40 degrees towards the back. The 6th screw goes therough the front of the bezel on the bottom left, this one probably does not need a metal backing, as long as the other 5 have them.
'67 Deluxe/Autometer Phantom clusters -- should I produce these?
- Thread starter reenmachine
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mdjay
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There are 5 mounting holes in a stock cluster, 3 along the top and one under each large gauge (see pics on p.1 of this thread). That's the whole point -- those holes aren't there anymore with this backing plate, so you can't just reuse them. There is also a screw hole through the bezel above the heater controls and a stud on the other end, but these aren't enough to hold the whole weight of the cluster. They just tie the ends of the bezel down. The metal housing is what fastens to the dash, and the bezel fastens to the metal housing.mdjay said:
Looking forward to seeing them.mdjay said:
mdjay
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The four holes that are molded into the bezel is what I was refering to. Not the center ones since they are eliminated by the removal of the metal frame. I'm sure if more support is needed, it would be easily remedied with some adjustable stereo brackets or similar. You could attach them right to the large center gauges in the back!
My quest goes on. What did you use for the fuel level guage that is compatable w/the stock (twist lock) sender? Stock guage is 5 volt and after market guages are 12 volt, which will either fry the variable resistor at the sender, or at the very least mess up the readings (ohms law). Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
The stock gauge is powered by 5 volts, yes, but this has nothing to do with the sending unit. As you noted, the sending unit is a variable resistor. The gauge looks at this resistance value relative to ground. The Auto Meter gauge is a 12V fuel gauge, and I use the one configured for a 76-6 ohm sending unit such as the stock one in your Mustang. Any significant current draw is done by the gauge, not he sending unit. This is a perfectly safe and reliable setup that has been used for years and years.randysusanne said:
Your quest is over, I guess.
Just to chime in on this...the Autometer fuel gauges list two different parts for Fords, the vintage one IS different from the newer ones. I don't know the cut-off year which determine's which one you should order, but if you have a 65-73 Stang you use the old one.
I finally took a pic of the gauges illuminated. It's hard to get a good pic in the dark but you get the idea. This is with the standard incandescent bulbs -- there's an LED upgrade I'm going to try out soon that's supposedly brighter and more even lighting. We'll see.
4MuscleMachines
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Thats boss work Reen, makes me want to buy a 67-68 just to have those babies staring back at me!
68rustang
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fastlane65 said:
My method of getting large-autometers into a 67/68 bezel was brutish in approach and nowhere near as professional as what Reen has here. But that being said mine attaches exactly as the originals did since I retained the factory backing plate.
In case anyone hasn't seen the article, it is pretty old now. Here ya go!
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mdjay
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fastlane65 said:
You can run a small adjustable bracket from the back of the large gauges to the bottom holes.
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