Hey folks, anybody bought a new set of aftermarket guages , went thru the trouble of mounting them and then wished you would have kept your old ones and just re-did em like new? I know "hind sight is 20/20" but other than the speed ometer only going to 80 or 90 the speed limit is what it is, so are the original guages ok for up-dated drivelines? V8s A/T? Watcha think? Thanx, Mike
Gauges Not everyone likes the look of the original gauges . If you don't , change them out . I think modern gauges in an old truck look silly but taste is your desicison , you're paying for it , right ? . The original gauges work just fine for any V-8 but you'll have to work out the 6 volt fuel gauge if you change to 12 volts .
.... and replacing the 0-30 PSI Chevy oil pressure gauge with a GMC 0-60 PSI gauge will make it more fun to watch.
I like the look of the original gauges and came up with this. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=655201&highlight=tech+vintage+tach
I bought the new ones and then took them out and returned them, then took two sets I picked up at Pomona and swap meets and a new temp gauge and reinstalled a redo set that works better than the new ones. I try not to buy the china clipper parts when ever possible. If you have room for a parts truck buy it and save yourself some pain.
Thanx Charles! Just picked up a set and will take Bills idea about the GMC oil guage and start to roll with it.
I have used both. I have rebuilt my original guages in my truck, replaced the temp and oil and refaced the others. I have a repro speedo after repeatedly fixing mine and it finally croaking. I refaced the speedo in the 53 and used a new quad, having problems only with the temp guage. I had problems with 12v fuel guage in my truck, went back with the factory 6v running on 12v. I prefer old school or original appearance in mine, but there are some pretty cool aftermarket options.
I have pretty much replaced all the stock gauges in my original cluster with repop ones in the name of looking original ish. The temp gauge, even tho it said it was "for" a V8 tends to point a bit too close to 220 for my comfort. I hit a backup tempgauge behind the dash grill and if the original gauge gets to bothering me, I check the backup, and its usually pointing right at 195.
Little backup plan never hert no one! :^) The contingency plan Always have a back-up plan: A man in rural Minnesota wakes up one morning to find a bear on his roof. So he looks in the yellow pages, and sure enough, there's an ad for "Up North Bear Removers." He calls the number, and the bear remover says he'll be over in 30 minutes. The bear remover arrives, and gets out of his van. He's got a ladder, a baseball bat, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a mean old pit bulldog. "What are you going to do?" the homeowner asks. "I'm going to put this ladder up against the roof, then I'm going to go up there, and knock the bear off The roof with this baseball bat. When the bear falls off the roof, the pit bull is trained to grab his testicles, And not let go. The bear will then be subdued enough for me to put him in the cage in the back of the van." He then hands the shotgun to the homeowner. "What's the shotgun for?" asks the homeowner. "If the bear knocks me off the roof, shoot the dog."
If changing to a V8 you don't have to buy the high dollar longer temp gauge capillary tube either. Just grind a flat spot on the drivers side rear coolant runner on the intake and drill and tap for a temp bulb sender unit fitting. Your six cylinder unit will reach with room to spare.
