Customs 51-52 CHEVY car after market gauges!

Im in the market for a set of gauges and i was wondering what you traditionalist have used In you 51 52 chevies??? Obviously, NO DIGI stuff!!

HANELINE MAKES SOME PRETTY COOL GAUGES , But i wanna see what's out there that i might have missed!!

I have the stock ones right now and i dont wanna have them restored. Im looking for an off white face to match my dash!!

Thank you and Happy New Year!!!!

 

This is a pic of mine kinda hard to see...they match my interior perfect and fit great NO CUTTING......

 

What are they John? Did you have to purchase a bezel with them or?? Tell me more!

They do look great!

And also where did you get that little extinguisher? I think it's cool and good to have!!

 

Rod & Custom this month has a feature on Auto Meter and how you can send them your gauges to be reworked and the faces cleaned up. You can even have them color match them to your car.

 

Classic Insturments - we kind of wish we would have used a black face gauge in here....

 

The problem with that JJ is that i need this done asap for the GNRS.

I SAW THE ARTICLE IT'S COOL STUFF!!!

All you need is the original bezel and they fit perfect??? I like these gauges, but with a different color needle for my car.

 

What size are the holes?
Most of our stuff is 4-3/8, 3-3/8, and 2-1/16"
We have some that have the same genre as those Beedes. We do carry haneline as well, so if you need those let me know and I can see if Jake has wat you need over there.
Mark
something liket this:

 

Nothing fit perfectly due to the slight radius of the dash. This fit very well and yes the stock bezel - a good one of those can be a challenge too. If you were to paint the "body" of the gauge the color of the dash you cannot tell. We dealt directly with CI and had very good luck. This car has an LT1 in it and we had an issue when they set the package up. They correctly it quickly - overall a great group of people.

 

Right on man!!!I talked to them earlier today and they're very cool!!! The only problem is the fuel gauge issue it seems every company has a hard time matching the meter to the mustang gas tank???

 

I love the gauges, i dont want the digi odometer though. calling you now!!

 

There is a solution to the Gas Gauge, I used a universal one worked great!

 

You mean a universal sending unit from the gas tank to the gauge or opposite?

 

I dig those!

 

With two round holes there are a ton of older car clusters you can adapt too - Chevy squarebody pickup, 71-76 Pontiac full size car, certain years of Camaro... and that's if you don't want to fill the holes and cut a new one for something else. The dash shape on those lends itself to using all kinds of things in there.

 

I wanna keep the holes stock though, i have the stock ones in now with the bezels that usualy adapt to the new gauge to follow the curved dash. cool to know though for future projects.

 

Here's a couple steps to do it yourself:
*Modifications to certain aftermarket 5" gauges...
-remove chrome bezel, glass and inner ring from the gauge

*Using the stock gauge, you remove the trim ring, glass and inner ring, then, place these parts onto the face of the 5" aftermarket gauge and re-crimp. Re-crimping takes a little care, and is what would probably take the most time with this project.

It can be done in a couple hours.

After that, it's a matter of wiring the gauges and sensors. It's also a good idea to test the gauges before taking them apart.

 

Thanx Jake, the glass in my stock gauges is totally blurry and foggy , not cracked though. I thought i only needed the chrome bezel for these modern gauges. The hole is 4 1/2" BTW.

 

i liked the whiteface speedo and 4 n 1 guage setup i had in my 51, it was from Dolphin gauges... also had an ez-wiring setup in it too. no problems and no digital stuff!!! ran a SUN mini-tach in the center of the dash where the clock was supposed to be....

 

For a perfect fit, as Jake says, use the old trim rings or maybe open the holes up a bit and rear mount the gauges through the holes. That would definately be the best value and fit
Mark

 

You should be able to use the glass from the aftermarket gauges, it just won't be the same fit, but close. Most 5" gauges on the market are actually slightly smaller than 5". The housing diameter is something closer to 4 9/16" and the outer diameter of the stock bezels is just under 5".

We've tested this gauge conversion on our 3in1 gauge sets and the Beede 5" speedo/quad sets, and I'm sure it will work with Classic also.

 

Here's the measurements of the bezel i found laying around in the garage.

Outer section is 4 1/2"



The inside lip where the glass lays flat against is 4", the glass is 4 3/8"



Here's what the inside of the bezel looks like, and the glass is 4 3/8"

 

We did an install story in the March 2003 Street Rod Builder (probably not going to find it online). It has pictures and step by step instructions. If you send me your address, I can mail a photocopy to you.

 

pm sent

 

any update on this. Ian, what did you end up doing..

I am in need of either updating the factory stuff with new guts or going with a replacement set up. I see Classic Instrument has a 4 5/8 gage that would be close.. the curve of our dash is what I am not sure how to handle.. or how to mount them from behind if you do not use the factory housing..

 

Will be in the same situation in a few months. I too am running a mustang fuel cell in my 52

 

Hey guys!!! what i ended up doing is a so cal speed shop gauge panel and i have yet to hook up the speedo. there is a place here called north hollywood speedo and they charge 55$ for a cable and labor. pretty cheap, but haven't done it yet!!!!!

 

Hi Guys
We came out with this mounting solution a few months ago, uses the factory eyebrows.
Mark

 

very nice!

 

I wish you did mechanical odometer. I would buy a set. I dont like the look of digital odometer.

 

Mine we took the stock glass and use as template to cut out of stainless. Then took slightly smaller SW gauges and cut holes I. The stainless and used the stock bezels too put it back together. I will try and fi d a pic.