Originally Posted by Edgethis

That looks real clean Dylan, just sucks that it doesn't work.

Originally Posted by Raleigh1

Here is my tach, for now. I plan on making a custom gauge set up.

Originally Posted by AbandonedBronco

Since you don't have A/C, you don't have the vents on the left and right side of the instrument cluster. Those big, open spaces are great for gauges if you don't mind cutting holes in your dash.

For what its worth, I've put 40,000 miles on my '81 I6 Bronco since I first got it in 2004.

Aside from a vapor lock issue (which just required waiting), it's only left me on the side of the road one time during all those miles when the alternator died. I have to give it credit though, it was on a 300 mile trip through the windy mountains of central Idaho (middle of nowhere) and it died 10 miles from my destination. Close enough for my brother to come get me.

How's your battery? Alternator? Charging system? Is your gas tank venting correctly? (If not, the heat can cause you problems).

Originally Posted by Edgethis

I have used the SunPro gauges before. Actually have a SunPro tach in my 68 currently. SunPro is owned by Snap-On for what its worth.

Abandoned Bronco has a point, if you don't have factory AC then the dash bezel is a great spot.

Originally Posted by GruesomeJeans

As for the gauge in the dash situation this is how my temp gauge is mounted. I hate it. But mainly cause i have 2 of them now and neither work. I want to mount a tach there instead, i just have to figure out why the stock one isn't working.

Here is mine


Little better view with old bezel



It is where the vent is for that side.

Originally Posted by Captbs32

AB,
Your always there for me man.
Ya one of these days in a far away land I hope to have A/C one day. I am in the process of getting the factory gauges in an operating condition.

So I have Voltage to both gauges and the water temp one kinda works but it takes a while to go past C.
Oil pressure does not work at all neither does the Alternator one. When I ground them out the oil and water ones they peg out. So seems like that end is fine. So my diagnose was the (cheaper) switches themselves.
Or could it be the ICVR? It doesn't seem that way to me from my research. I think they control the oil,water, and fuel, right? And with the temp somewhat working and the fuel fine it is not that. so might just be the oil pressure switch and might just be whatever thermostat I have in there making it that cool?

Ya I think I have a very sound ENGINE it is just the other smaller components. Wow that sounds like an obvious statement.
What if the tank is not vented correctly, what will be the symptoms?
If that is the case, work removing the fuel cap work for the time being?

damn, alternators. One left us stranded on the going down the mountains of NC on the trail. Our buddy had to drive 2 hours to come get it to us. LOL great times changing one on a Jeep on the trail.

So your pretty much made it 10 miles left on a 300 mile trip. YA good enough.

Mine has yet to make a long trip.

Oh the battery IS perfect. $30 BRand new optima red top. Sometimes you get lucky. The alternator is putting out 13.4 Volts at idle.

Originally Posted by AbandonedBronco

Heh, I'd love to have A/C one day, but so far, other things continue to take precedence. Oh well, I'm used to not having it and have dealt without for a long time.
Ya it will be a while before I have it.

Sounds like your gauges work, but they're just not getting a signal. Dunno about the alternator one, but is your oil pressure sender hooked up? It's the metal canister on the rear, driver's side of the engine. (The temperature sender is on the passenger side underneath the rear of the exhaust manifold.) If the wire is unhooked, it's not going to work.

````LOL ya they are hooked up. I think the water temp one is fine I replaced the oil pressure one. Did a little better connection to the switch itself from the wire and did a better ground from the firewall to the side of the block. That one was real old and brittle insulation.

You should have a 195° thermostat in there, not sure how to tell though without a temp gun or something, or just pulling it out and putting in a new one that you know is the right temp.

`````Not sure what thermostat we have in there.

Yeah, we changed the alternator out on the side of the road. Fortunately, on these, they're really easy to get to! Loosen the belt, take out the adjusting nut, take out the hold down bolt, unplug it, and it's in your hands. Reverse to install. I think we had it up and running in 20 minutes once we had a new alternator.

`````NICE

I will say, though, I'd much rather have it go out a few miles from a parts store than way out on a jeep trail. Granted, it was below freezing out, so that didn't help.

`````It is never fun to work in those cold temps but I prefer it over this HOT weather.

On the fuel venting, the earlier trucks had a ribbed hose that vented the air out of the gas tank. They can get kinked and block the air travel. Then, as the fuel lowers, it creates a stronger and stronger vacuum in the tank. Once it surpasses the strength of the fuel pump, the pump can't get fuel to the engine any more and it dies. This kept happening to me (in the worst places, usually about 30 miles out in the middle of nowhere on old jeep trails) and, no, for some reason taking the gas cap off didn't help. I don't know why.

Eventually, I spent $5 at a junk yard and got an '87+ filler hose, which is a much better design, and a direct swap, and it fixed the issue.

You'd probably know if yours was having the issue, since it'd randomly die and not start again. When I pulled the fuel lines, they were always dry after this happened.