stock rally pack gauges sizes

[CuttyKid442]

Hey fellas I was wondering if anybody have ever measured the size of all the rally pack gauges from the RPM tachometer to the volt gauge? I'm asking because I got my car that I'm trying to put back together and I want to put some afterma arket gauges in but I was it to have a stock look so I want all the gauges to fit in the area where the stock gauges were located.
Can anybody help me out? Because I want to know will I be able to do this and still have room for the turn signal lights and the hi-beam light......

 

[CuttyKid442]

I don't know if I uploaded the pic right but I want it to look something like this even though it's in a Regal.

 

[FE3X CLONE]

You'll have to make a custom setup. The size of the openings in the metal gauge cover are only around 1.5" in diameter for the small gauges (fuel level, volts, oil and temp).

Not sure what the speedo and tach are but either way, they are oddball sizes that you'll never find gauges to fit.

So your only options are A) make a custom dash layout using readily available aftermarket gauge sizes or B) send your stock gauge cluster to a company like www.classicinstruments.com and have them restore it and change it up however you like.

 

[CuttyKid442]

You'll have to make a custom setup. The size of the openings in the metal gauge cover are only around 1.5" in diameter for the small gauges (fuel level, volts, oil and temp).

Not sure what the speedo and tach are but either way, they are oddball sizes that you'll never find gauges to fit.

So your only options are A) make a custom dash layout using readily available aftermarket gauge sizes or B) send your stock gauge cluster to a company like http://www.classicinstruments.com and have them restore it and change it up however you like.

Thanks Andrew, I never heard of classinstruments.com but I sure will check them out and leave them open as a option. I also got intouch with Dj Red Barron who's car that is in the picture. You're right about custom making the gauge cover also. If I do go the route of buying a aftermarket set from speedhut.com then I will have to find a way to custom make me a cover. Thanks again for the help Andrew.

 

[FE3X CLONE]

The way I've made the covers in the past is to take a stock metal faceplate and cut off the face leaving about an 1/8" flange around the edge.

Then I make a new faceplate out of sheet metal that I drill my new holes in and you can either pop rivet it to the original faceplate or tack weld it.

This was the first faceplate I had done back almost 10 years ago:

And what you have to do with the stock "bucket" piece in back:

I also trim the stock clear plastic cover to remove the face and then paint it black. Keeping this in place finishes off the sides of the gauge panel so that you can't see behind the dash:

My latest setup is this:

I like the quad gauge on the far right since it incorporates the oil, water, fuel and volts into one gauge. Much easier to fit, although it is admittedly a bit harder to read. They look more like stock gauges in that you basically have a low, medium and high point tick. Which is fine for me since if I really need to monitor the vitals of the engine I can plug the laptop in and get direct readings.

In my first design above I used LED signals from Painless Wiring and they worked great. However I will warn you that they are very bright. Not a huge deal with the turn signals but that blue LED for the high beams could blind you at night. It really could have used some sort of a resistor or something wired into it to cut the light output.

On my second design I wanted some LED's that looked a little coolers and found the ones pictured at an electrical supply house online. To dress them up a bit I bought some chrome plated washers at the hardware store that I put under them before bolting them down. Gives a little more dimension to them.

Something else that I did on my second design was make the cluster easier to remove. The first time around I just used some 1/4" insulated male and female spade connectors for each connection. But they are really hard to pull apart.
This time around I used a couple of Deutsch connectors and made the wiring harness long enough so that I can unbolt the cluster, pull it out and then disconnect the wiring harness. This is the back of that gauge cluster:

Pretty simple to make these. I wish I had the time and resources to be able to make these and sell something similar to people but unfortunately it just takes too much time to make them. Maybe one of these days when I have my own home CNC router or laser cutter I can. 🙂

 

[CuttyKid442]

The way I've made the covers in the past is to take a stock metal faceplate and cut off the face leaving about an 1/8" flange around the edge.

Then I make a new faceplate out of sheet metal that I drill my new holes in and you can either pop rivet it to the original faceplate or tack weld it.

This was the first faceplate I had done back almost 10 years ago:

And what you have to do with the stock "bucket" piece in back:

I also trim the stock clear plastic cover to remove the face and then paint it black. Keeping this in place finishes off the sides of the gauge panel so that you can't see behind the dash:

My latest setup is this:

I like the quad gauge on the far right since it incorporates the oil, water, fuel and volts into one gauge. Much easier to fit, although it is admittedly a bit harder to read. They look more like stock gauges in that you basically have a low, medium and high point tick. Which is fine for me since if I really need to monitor the vitals of the engine I can plug the laptop in and get direct readings.

In my first design above I used LED signals from Painless Wiring and they worked great. However I will warn you that they are very bright. Not a huge deal with the turn signals but that blue LED for the high beams could blind you at night. It really could have used some sort of a resistor or something wired into it to cut the light output.

On my second design I wanted some LED's that looked a little coolers and found the ones pictured at an electrical supply house online. To dress them up a bit I bought some chrome plated washers at the hardware store that I put under them before bolting them down. Gives a little more dimension to them.

Something else that I did on my second design was make the cluster easier to remove. The first time around I just used some 1/4" insulated male and female spade connectors for each connection. But they are really hard to pull apart.
This time around I used a couple of Deutsch connectors and made the wiring harness long enough so that I can unbolt the cluster, pull it out and then disconnect the wiring harness. This is the back of that gauge cluster:

Pretty simple to make these. I wish I had the time and resources to be able to make these and sell something similar to people but unfortunately it just takes too much time to make them. Maybe one of these days when I have my own home CNC router or laser cutter I can. 🙂

Gzzzz Andrew that is awsome!!!! Did you ever do a write up on this? If not you really need to because stuff like this could really benefit us Gbody Cutlass guys. Heck I wish you could make those also because it would make life for guys like me a lot easier.