nopiston_racer

iTrader: (2)

My dash lights our gone....i have no gauge lighting and i really dont like my 85 mph speedo.....so im decided to install all new gauges by Autometer....my question is will it be a bitch to wire the gauges in?....im looking at getting the typical gauges for inside the dash.....voltmeter, oil pressure, fuel gauge, water temp, tach, and speedo....the new speedo will go to 160....and the tach will go to 10k instead of the 8k stock one.......i know that the tach and the speedo will both need to be mechanical correct?...the others are electrical....correct me if im wrong.......if anyone has any advice on additional gauges just tell me......

also does anybody know where i can get a 2 or 3 gauge A-pod pillar for an 82 rx7.....thanks....parker

IanS

iTrader: (4)

You can use an electric tach. Make sure to get the mech speedo that has the... uh special thing... Dammit cant remember right now. ugh. Lack of sleep sucks. Anyways there is the normal mech one and the one that has the extra thing. You need the extra thing from what I have heard. I am sure some other people will chime in. Also, I am considering doing this but the gauges I want (the only series that has all the ones I want) are gonna run me roughly 650 bucks. Might be easier to get a cluster from an 83 and it will go to 125. I can get you one. PM me and I will find out price from junkyard. It is a direct replacement and nothing extra needed. Also your problem could be the dimmer switch if the lights arent working.

nopiston_racer

iTrader: (2)

ya i thought it was the dimmer switch.....i tried to bypass the switch to only melt my wires....and now my bright light illumination is on constantly...i cant get it to shut off...good thing that i dont have my OEM lights attached or my lights would be on 24/7......as for the gauges i want the custom look of them....i dont really like the orange back lighting thats y im goin with the white face's.....so ur saying everything will hook up but the speedo i need the "extra" thing...lol.....also i got a sponsorship so im getting all my gauges for like $300...so i dont mind that price for all Autometer gauges....thanks for the advice....parker

gsl-se addict

iTrader: (3)

I am not sure if this is what you had in mind, but here are some pics from 82streetracer's car:





The hole in the center console is where he put his speedometer. Maybe you could pm him to discuss it. There are also other pics on the forum of his installation. Do a search on his posts to see if it will give you some ideas.

nopiston_racer

iTrader: (2)

wow that dash is exactly what i want...but i wont have the boost gauge...i think ill have enough room to put the speedo and those gauges in there....im putting an aftermarket tach on the left side of the steering wheel....i did search....but i wasnt really looking for ppls installs....more on if the installation is pretty straight forward....or if its a lot of time and work....thanks for the pics tho...parker

gsl-se addict

iTrader: (3)

I think that he (82streetracer) talks a bit about the install difficulty in his posts. Really the install would consist of making a plate to mount the gauges, wiring the individual gauges (sender, ground, power, backlight), and installing the senders (may require drilling and tapping). I think he used 16 ga. sheet metal for the mounting plates. I believe that the blue lights are his turn signal indicator and the green is a high beam indicator. I think as long as you are comfortable wiring and either you or someone else can make the mounting plate, then I would go for it. You should check out his posts, though. He did a great job on the install and maybe reading up on what he did will give you an idea of the difficulty and whether or not you want to go this route.

Also, as far as the speedo goes, you can get mechanical or electrical. If you go electrical, you need a sender that goes on the transmission to send the signal to the speedo. You can get the converter at jegs or summit, but it appears they only have them for GM and Ford cars. They are used a lot on hot rods when guys want to put a modern dash in an old car. So you would probably want to go with a mechanical speedo. The pressure gauge can be electrical or mechanical. There are advantages to both, you will just have to read up on them and decide which ones you want.

Kent

Blake

Not that I think you do, but if you wanted something more subtle and practical, you can upgrade to the 130mph speedo from 1983 and then install an Autometer Ultralite 3 3/8ths 10K tach in the stock, central location. You could even do this with your current cluster if you didn't mind the 85 mph speedo. Personally, I never minded the 85mph speedo...if I'm going over the limit, I'm not using it for any purpose other than vanity ("hey, look! I'm doing 110mph!"). All you really need to know at those speeds is the RPM. Anyway, good luck with your project. I just thought you might like to see a "clean" alternative.

IanS

iTrader: (4)

Also I have talked to 82streetracer about his gauges and he is possibly thinking about making a gauge bezel thing to mount the aftermarket gauges into. He mentioned getting it cut out of brushed aluminum and to be cut with a cnc machine I think. Could be wrong. He would know all the answers for you if you ask him. I asked him multiple questions about it and he had no problem answering my questions. Nice guy.

Blake

You should also factor in the safety of running hot oil and coolant or raw fuel into your instrument cluster, inside the cabin. In a wreck, do you really want to take a bath in hot oil or be doused in gasoline? This is why mechanical fuel, oil and coolant temp/pressure gauges are traditionally mounted outside the cockpit, in front of the windshield. There are "isolator" kits to allow you to mount mechanical gauges inside, but at that point, you might as well just use electric to keep it simple. Unlike in the past, there are now "full sweep" electric gauges that are a huge improvement and pretty much wipe out the biggest advantage that mechanical gauges had over them.

Metallic_rock

Wut he said.

gsl-se addict

iTrader: (3)

Blake: I totally agree with what you are saying. In some cases, such as boost/vac, there is an advantage to run mechanical gauges. I definitely would never run a mechanical fuel pressure gauge into the cockpit, especially without an isolator. For oil pressure, I would probably go electric, but many people still use mechanical. I just said that he needs to do a bit of research to determine what he really wants and what will work best for his application (cost, performance, etc.).

Tom

I do recall a thread where someone installed aftermarket gauges in the stock cluster. IIRC, he used a number of 2" gauges for the volt, oil pressure, boost and water temp, and larger ones for the speedo and tach. I remember the whole thing was wired with all the proper backlighting and such, using the stock looking cluster background (no fabbed metal). It was pretty damn nice.

I've tried searching for it a few times in vain. It was like 1.5 years ago.. Maybe someone else would remember it or be able to find it.

gsl-se addict

iTrader: (3)

Here is one I found by rotor vs. piston:



This was from a thread that is 1.5 years old, so I am not sure if he still has this setup. It looks pretty nice, though. I have also seen alot of stock looking FD clusters on here with aftermarket gauges, but I don't really recall seeing many of these installs in SA/FBs.

Tom

That's not the one I recall.
This guy set it up where the thing looks absolutely stock. Even the stock plastic was reinstalled back over the cluster housing. He basically took the stock gauges out, laid out the aftermarkets in such a way that they were all readable through or around the wheel, and reinstalled everything. It was awesome. Even had a fuel gauge.

Damn I wish I could find it. Major drool factor..

rotor vs. piston

Yeap, it's still set up like that--funny I was just thinking today about changing it up.

cosmicbang

The only one I have seen like that was Gordon Monsen's (gmonsen). It was a FD, but FB should be easier right?

nopiston_racer

iTrader: (2)

wow....thanks for all the advice....price isnt a thing for me so if i have to get it machined i guess ill do that.....also im really liking all the pics....i did search's for it online..and a another rx7club forum member has it done to his 82 rx7....he's goin to help me a bit on how to go about installing....but i really want to go with this look....i think it looks so much better then stock...ya its pricey and itll take some work....but doesnt everything...lol...especially with a 1st gen.....thanks a lot for all the info guys....parker

82streetracer

iTrader: (1)

hey guys, appreciate the comments on my work.

I am currently working on a Brushed alluminum guage bezel. It will fit over and mount to the existing guage face. some plastic will need to be trimmed.

I was commisioned by a forum member to duplicate what I had done, but I am going much farther and having the bezel lazer cut from brushed alluminum for a much cleaner look and easier installation.

I am waiting for his Gauge cluster to arrive so that I can start designing the final product, but here is my example that I made.

This is designed for just a tach in the dash, but I could make a few that run a speedo also, if there is some demand for it.

not really sure on what price will be on this, but it shouldnt be more than about $50 to $75 shipped. and it will most likely come with the LED indicator lights

setup would be as follows.

3-3/8 tach, (2) 2-5/8 guages and (2) 2 1/16th
or
(2) 3-3/8 tach and speedo, and (4) 2-1/16 guages

im happy to answer any questions you have.

preinstalled.

Directfreak

iTrader: (2)

He means this:



Unfortunately, it's not to scale, and all those gauges would not really fit there. The Dash of Rotor Vs Piston seems to be the most realistic way
to make it happen.

Unsupa

iTrader: (2)

that'd be an awesome setup though..

Tom

Yup- that's it! That's what I'd consider doing if I built up a second 1st gen (I ain't touching my current car)..

So that layout is just a photoshop or something?

Gregs

i really like blakes concept, it would look better if the rest of the gauges were white, but it still looks nice