Gauges

[live4theking]

I'm looking to build a console to sit on the hump of my 68 NYer and put a radio and some gauges in it; temp, oil pressure, and volts.

What are your opinions about electric gauges vs mechanical?

I like mechanical ones, but the concern is how to feed into the passenger compartment. I'm not a big on making holes. I haven't investigated this yet, but I noticed that below the wiper motor is an oval shaped "plug". Would this get me through the fire wall and inside or is there another factory hole that I can go through?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[1978 NYB]

I have always used mechanical gauges and figured out a way tosnake them through the firewall on previous projects.

 

[Big_John]

I like electrical gauges myself.

The biggest reason is I don't like routing pressure lines through the interior. If you've ever had one of those lines leak, even just a little, you will know what kind of mess they can make. A failure of a plastic line for an oil pressure gauge can ruin a carpet and your day in a hurry. Water temperature isn't such a big deal. The bourdon tube is filled with alcohol (or something similar). They are a lot harder to break and and no real mess if they do. If the bourdon tube gets kinked, the gauge may not work or be as accurate.

They are also much easier to hook up. Power, ground, light and sender wires is all you need. I've even used the unused terminals in the firewall connector to run sender connections.

 

[live4theking]

They are also much easier to hook up. Power, ground, light and sender wires is all you need. I've even used the unused terminals in the firewall connector to run sender connections.

There's a thought that I hadn't had.

 

[65 500]

That oval shaped "plug" below the wiper motor might be the cowl drain, if so, it won't get you from the engine compartment to the interior of the car.

 

[live4theking]

That oval shaped "plug" below the wiper motor might be the cowl drain, if so, it won't get you from the engine compartment to the interior of the car.

Still not sure what it is, but it doesn't go through the firewall.

 

[live4theking]

I'm looking at some Bosch Gauges. Here's one of them.

http://www.boschperformance.com/products/style-line-2-electrical-oil-pressure-gauge-fst-8202

Does anyone have any experience with Bosch gauges? Good bad or bad.