Hey guys, I'm trying to decide what kind of gauges I'm gonna use in my 58 Apache. I have been checking out all kinds from different old cars, mainly chevy or olds, but I've come across a lot of really cool ones from Dodges, Fords, Chrysler, Internationals, and others. Will these gauges work properly in my truck? I'm using a EZ wiring 21 fuse harness with a 700r4 tranny. Any ideas?
I need to clarify a little more what I'm talking about. I had to split earlier, so I was in a hurry posting. I want to know if I pick some cool ass not-Chevy gauges, will they work properly with my chevy wiring? Any particular ones that won't work correctly?
leave it stock man. my old bezel is cracked though. dunno if any of my original gauges even work. what gauges exactly were you thinking about? not harping on ya, just wondern. i have a 1958 apache as well. shortbed stepside.
The gas gauges are probably gonna be different because of the ohms and the stuff that is earlier than 55 may be six volt,but im sure you can use different senders in whatever tank you are using and make it work.it would seem to me that most of the speedo heads are very similiar and may take a little work to calibrate.if you end up with a set that use electric senders just get ones for that make of vehic.oil pressure is oil pressure and water temp is water temp rgardless of make.
Well, if the new Classic Instruments gauges weren't $800 I would just go with those. But, otherwise, I plan to remove the V from the dash and do something else. I'm really thinking of putting the double round 49-53 AD gauges in it, but I don't know yet.
The AD truck gauges would look nice, and will work fine with your harness. They are mechanical oil and temp, not electric.
I hate to hear that, I love the Chevy gauges for 58-59, they're dead sexy.. but if you want different, find a 58-59 GMC dash...
yeah, the 55-59 chevy truck gages are in a very nice looking cluster, I think it's even nicer than the 55-56 cars. It's about the last thing I'd change on one of these trucks. THe sender in the stock gas tank is 0-30 ohm like all GMs up to the mid-late 60s. You can find a temp or oil sender to match whatever gages you use, that should not be a problem, just order the sender to match the donor vehicle. You can use whatever ammeter or voltmeter you want, or just an alternator idiot light, but make sure whatever you do to wire it correctly and safely (especially if it's an ammeter). Speedometer is easy, there are cables to make most speedos work with most gear driven transmissions, you may need to find some gears for your 700 if it's a later model electronic speedo version
I really like the original gauges too, but I need them to be white. The truck will be dark blue suede with some sort of white inside, and the black gauges just don't go with it. Aurora makes a badass set I dig, but then again, they are about $500, and I'm trying to see what I can get away with for as cheap as possible and still look good. Hell, everything I've bought for the truck so far has come from Craigslist or eBay for no more than $300 each I'm running a fuel cell that has a universal GM 90ohm sender on it, and I know Ford gas gauges tend to be backwards from that (at least that is what I've seen before). Just seeing if anything else did that too. The tranny has a mechanical speedo, but I know how to make that work. Here's a pic of the Aurora gauges: (WARNING: not HAMB friendly )
If you take the stock cluster apart, you can take out the big black metal part inside and paint it white. The gagues themselves would still be black, and the speedo numbers might be hard to read, but it would overcome your major objection...and fit your budget.
Actually, I did think about that, but I wasn't sure if I could repaint it white and still make the numbers look right. I know where a unit is....I may experiment with it.
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