Well, after the V8 swap I was left without functional gauges for both my oil pressure and water temp. After 2 months of driving around everyday without that information available to me I decided to do something about it.

Since the stock gauges never worked very well anyways, and because I didn't have the Mazda senders anymore I decided to go with aftermarket gauges. I went with the Defi D-Series because they're amber and the font is pretty close to the stock gagues.

And, since I'd seen Max Cooper's setup with his in dash SPA gauges, that's the route I took.

It turned out OK and reasonably clean. There are some details to it that still bug me a little, but by and large I am happy that I'll have some functional gauges, and I didn;t have to mount them on the A pillar or at the speaker channel. Those areas will be open for boost, EGT, and Fuel pressure when I get around to turboing the car.

Here's some pictures for those that are curious/want to criticize.

 

First step was to get everything apart and then dremel out the area to mount the gauges in. Basically the entire bevel had to go. I just kept grinding away until I could press the new gauge in. It's a really tight fit, so no real need to glue anything or bolt anything into place

 

Hmm... no pics!

*edit*

Beat me to it! Looks great so far!

 

Working on it.

 

Both gauges in place

 

Next I had to cut out holes in the old covering so that the gauges could poke through. Just circled the area I needed to cut out and ground it out using a cutting bit on the dremel

 

Also had to grind out the old mounting posts and light tunnels from the previous gauges

 

Starting to assemble everything. Got the pieces together and ready to fit into the hood.

 

And finally pictures of the results. I had to grind away a bit of the hood to get the bezels to poke through cleanly. I'm not terribly thrilled with the angle the gauges are mounted at (the angle of the camera doesn't help), they're a little crooked for my tastes , but they are in and as soon as I get the block adapters for the sending units they'll be functional. Also, the silver on the bezel doesn't quite match the chrome ring around the other gauges.

 

Here's a night shot. They're MUCH brighter than my other gauges and the color doesn't quite match.

And I realized as I got everything back together that one of my bulbs is burned out. So now I'm going to have to rip everything apart again and put some new bulbs in.


For those that are curious I routed the power and sending unit wires through the old light bulb holes, so I didn't have to cut my trace at all.

All in all though, not too bad. When I put the new bulbs in I'll see what I can do about correcting the little flaws it has now, but I'm not sure what I can do about the gauge angle as they're seated all the way against the back of the cluster. I'm marginally pleased at this point. I'll just be happy to have functional gauges again.

 

Looks pretty good!

 

Very mice work! Could you just paint the bezels black? So they blend in with the hood better? ( Even the way they are it doesn't jump out toooo bad.) I'm glad you posted this as I was wondering about the possibility of doing this. ( Do to the fact that I can't stand the look of A-pillar gauges or the center speaker pods.)
Nice work again!

 

Yeah, I've been debating painting the bezels black since my chrome is so flaked and chipped anyways. With the way the silver stands out it's not a bad idea at all. Just get in there with some model paint or some pinstriping.

 

Thanks Jeff. You'll get to see them in person in a few weeks. Hopefully they'll work by then.

 

I agree, looks prett good! Perhaps you are being too discerning?

 

Also could you grind off/cut-out some of the white backing plate to relieve the pressure on the gauges?( Maybe helping in correcting the angle problem.) Or are the mounting tabs for the assembly back there?

 

Perhaps, but that would totally suit my personality. it didn't turn out as nice as I'd envisioned, so I'm a little disappointed. I'll get over it.

 

I ground as much as I was comfortable with off of the backing plate. The gauges are semi "press fit" in at this point and don't really "mount" to anything in the cluster. The white backing is just giving it a good are for the back of the gauge to press against.

The crookedness/angle is actually being determined by the hood, and grinding that down is nervewracking since it's still visible when your're done.

 

shoot, forget that gauges, i want more pics from the v8 swap

 

Why are you only getting 2psi of Oil Pressure at 900 rpm??

BTW, very nice set-up!

 

No sender yet. The temp reading is the ambient temp under the hood too because neither of them are in the block yet.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wingsfan
but they are in and as soon as I get the block adapters for the sending units they'll be functional.

oops- you beat me to your own answer

 

I have some pictures posted in the other engine conversions forum, some in the racecar tech forum, and chronicled the swap/buildup over at torquecentral. Just go search over there under the username Drewman and you should find most of the pictures.

 

Well that explains that!..., But, what's wrong with your fuel gauge??. It's marking FULL. That HAS to be an error, or is your last name Gates?????

Good luck with your project!

 

V8 = better mpg

Seriously though, notice I have 4 miles on it from the gas station.