Ah.. late model gauges for my f 600.. custom cluster
#1
08-14-2014, 06:23 PM
Ah.. late model gauges for my f 600.. custom cluster
Well... with 40 years on "lil bit" my 1974 F600 resto the gauges were looking pretty tired... so... time for a custom update
The factory gauge cluster housing is stainless.. and I can attest it is very durable.. not like later cheapo steel.. I saved the factory brake vacuum gauge and found an old school sun tach in my "bin of stuff"
I started by looking at gauges.. I went with inexpensive Eqqus aftermarket gauges that are a dime a dozen ...and because I have a commercial account at Oriellys and they treat me golden in price and warranty
I bought oil pressure(mechanical) voltmeter (I have a hi-amp one wire summit alternator) temperature, fuel and a mechanical speedo (the speedometer gear reduction from the f600 mated up perfectly after a piece of square key stock as a drive shaft) Orielly also sells a repair kit that has the key stock in it for $2.50
There is always a little trepidation cutting on a part that is hard to find.. and gauge clusters are hard to find.. Ive even heard some of the light duty guys using them.. I snag them off every truck I can.
The aftermarket gauges were 2"... 2 5/8 would have been too big to fit in the alloted space... even the 2" are pretty tight. The speedo was 3 5/8"... the factory hole is over 4".
My intial plan was to use a 2" hole saw and cut out the (4) smaller gauge openings... then make a flat plate to sandwich the speedo in the 4 plus inch opening... very quickly I realized the smaller gauges would work ok,, but the speedo wasnt going to look sano, even if I used a piece of stainless it would still look like a big washer. There are 4 inch speedos available that would have fit but I wanted to stay with the same brand for matching style. The speedo comes with or without odometer.. I said.. why not..odometer here we come.... everything was under 200.00
Then I decided to just make a custom dash panel to hold the gauges that would bolt into the factory location and holes (which I had already hole saw'd larger...) This too proved to be problematic as I kept opening the holes up more and more to get it all in... the front side of the gauge would fit but the back was really tight where you screw on the back "washer",,,
Finally I just decided to cut the whole area out and use the custom gauge plate (3/16" aluminum) to hold everything.. bolting it to the factory holes that held the original gauge back plate sandwiching the factor gauges together
The gauges came complete with senders and adapters and clear instructions. It will be awhile until I get the truck running but this was a nice project to check off. Ill make up a wire harness that will partially plug into the factory harness and make it field servicable
Round LED lights lower are turn signals (green) ...upper left is highbeam (blue...not installed yet) Upper right will be oil pressure light (red) backing up the gauge
Comments /critique are always welcome... many minds make better quality projects
After I cut out the center.. go slow ... better to have to cut more then to have cut too much
More center cut out.. where it eventually needed to be
Build the gauge panel.. countersink the bolts
Trial fit it... modify drill sand clearcoat
Fit... repaint the flat.... oh yea... modern gauges
The factory gauge cluster housing is stainless.. and I can attest it is very durable.. not like later cheapo steel.. I saved the factory brake vacuum gauge and found an old school sun tach in my "bin of stuff"
I started by looking at gauges.. I went with inexpensive Eqqus aftermarket gauges that are a dime a dozen ...and because I have a commercial account at Oriellys and they treat me golden in price and warranty
I bought oil pressure(mechanical) voltmeter (I have a hi-amp one wire summit alternator) temperature, fuel and a mechanical speedo (the speedometer gear reduction from the f600 mated up perfectly after a piece of square key stock as a drive shaft) Orielly also sells a repair kit that has the key stock in it for $2.50
There is always a little trepidation cutting on a part that is hard to find.. and gauge clusters are hard to find.. Ive even heard some of the light duty guys using them.. I snag them off every truck I can.
The aftermarket gauges were 2"... 2 5/8 would have been too big to fit in the alloted space... even the 2" are pretty tight. The speedo was 3 5/8"... the factory hole is over 4".
My intial plan was to use a 2" hole saw and cut out the (4) smaller gauge openings... then make a flat plate to sandwich the speedo in the 4 plus inch opening... very quickly I realized the smaller gauges would work ok,, but the speedo wasnt going to look sano, even if I used a piece of stainless it would still look like a big washer. There are 4 inch speedos available that would have fit but I wanted to stay with the same brand for matching style. The speedo comes with or without odometer.. I said.. why not..odometer here we come.... everything was under 200.00
Then I decided to just make a custom dash panel to hold the gauges that would bolt into the factory location and holes (which I had already hole saw'd larger...) This too proved to be problematic as I kept opening the holes up more and more to get it all in... the front side of the gauge would fit but the back was really tight where you screw on the back "washer",,,
Finally I just decided to cut the whole area out and use the custom gauge plate (3/16" aluminum) to hold everything.. bolting it to the factory holes that held the original gauge back plate sandwiching the factor gauges together
The gauges came complete with senders and adapters and clear instructions. It will be awhile until I get the truck running but this was a nice project to check off. Ill make up a wire harness that will partially plug into the factory harness and make it field servicable
Round LED lights lower are turn signals (green) ...upper left is highbeam (blue...not installed yet) Upper right will be oil pressure light (red) backing up the gauge
Comments /critique are always welcome... many minds make better quality projects
After I cut out the center.. go slow ... better to have to cut more then to have cut too much
More center cut out.. where it eventually needed to be
Build the gauge panel.. countersink the bolts
Trial fit it... modify drill sand clearcoat
Fit... repaint the flat.... oh yea... modern gauges
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