Center Console Gauges

[Austin Vert]

At this point I'm just going to order the parts and see what I can do with them without the pod. My goal is to make it look as good as the Austin Vert! I'll post pictures (good or bad).

John

Sounds good John. PM me if you have any specific questions as you move through the project.

Regards,

Greg.

 

[jhawk635]

Well...I said I would post pictures once I completed my gauge installation project. It was a little tougher than I thought but I was determined to make these gauges look factory installed. After reading all the threads I knew it was going to be a challenge.

In case anyone is interested I'm going to walk you through how I did it. If not you can just skip to the last picture to see the end result.

First I decided you to use some 1/8" thick paneling. I drilled three 2" diameter holes with a hole saw and then reamed it out to about 2 1/16". I had to make the holes oversized so the gauges could be pivoted into place.



I then took a 2" o-ring and glued it to the face of the gauge so that it would sit up tight against it, preventing vibration noise and help cover up any gaps due to the odd shape of the bezel.



I laid the piece over the bezel and pivoted the gauges into place. This made it easy to locate the mounting holes. I drill those and put in the screws to secure it in place. I then turned it over to check my work. Surprisingly, it looked just right. I then confirmed the gauges were rotated correctly, and glued them into place. I let it dry overnight and turned it over and glued the backside.



I then cut a second piece and did the same basic things drilling and reaming the holes and getting the mounting holes correct. I made a couple of spacers from a little pipe I found in the garage.



I added the second piece and screwed it down. I then glued it in place.





I'm quite pleased with the outcome and think it should last just fine. I guess time will tell.



Let me know if you have any questions...

John

 

[Austin Vert]

Hey John,

That's a pretty good way to go there.Looks like you've ended up with a nice fitting firm job.

What i like in particular, is your idea lets you choose between guage models with slightly larger bezel face diameters, and you don't need to chase down an original Ford pod as you do with my application.

Full marks on coming up with an altrenate working, practical design.

Greg.

 

[luxstang]

Nice job. You guys are putting me to shame. My installation looks like a jack job now.

I also checked Greg's thread. Wow!

To my defense, I could as that I did not have an original pod bezel but I used my old standard one and had to work from there.

Good jobs guys!

 

[Austin Vert]

Thanks Mike,

That's much appreciated.

Greg.

 

[jhawk635]

Thanks for the compliments! I can't wait to get my car ready for paint... in a couple of weeks - I hope! so I can put these in.

 

[droptop73]

Very nice work!