Hey all,

I really miss not having vacuum and fuel pressure guages and am interested in possibly also mounting either a wide band A/F meter or a small tach with a recall features and incorporated shift light. I don't want to replace my existing stock gauges as they work well and are useful, I just need more.

The only reasonable compromise I see where I can view them easily without hacking things up or sticking them on the hood is on the driverside windshield pillar. I have seen guage pods for sale for this specific purpose but all appear built to fit in trucks. Has anyone ever found one of these that will fit a 69 vette and or found one that could be reasonably modified it to fit neatly over the stock trim?

Thanks much
-Andre

 

 

OK, so if nobody has done this there must be a better solution. Tell me then please where you have mounted any additional guages?

I'll probably end up buying set and see if I can adapt them to fit. Just a little problematic as the pillars on different cars tend to be somewhat unique shapes and obviously the closer the fit the neater and easier the mod. Guess I just need to find a selection somewhere I can actually inspect to see what would be the closest fit.

Thanks

 

I don't know of anybody that has done this before in an early vette. This tends to be a more modern thing. I have a few suggestions though. I doubt there are any on the market for any C3, so try making your own. Get a re-pop A pillar trim piece, a generic gauge pod and glass them together. Also, does your clock work? You could put a gauge in there. As far as tachs go, I've seen guy mount them to the column either blocking the stock tach or in the center.

 

This looks like the owner took a universal pod and attached it to the stock pillar, but I could be wrong. You will probably have to do something like this. If you figure something out let me know because I too would like to mount some pillar gauges.

 

Great Pic! Thank you!! That is exactly what I was looking for. Clearly not space for 3 but it appears 2 can be added neatly. Just need find the pod now and get to work :-)
Hopefully I will be able to post an equally elegant installation. Kinda interesting the way this person spaced the top out from the pillar. Wonder what the reasoning was.

Cheers
-Andre

 

Fuel Pressure and Vacuum/boost added. Just made my own panel and redid a little wiring. Six instead of 5 in the center console.

 

Gorgeous! What did you make the dash out of? How did you secure it?
Any close up pics?

 

Is it even legal to have a direct reading fuel pressure gage in the cockpit?

 

If you are talking about a mechanical guage like the old Vette oil pressure guages, it's probably illegal but definitely insane. Most aftermarket fuel pressure guages use a sender mounted in the engine compartment with an electric guage inside the car.



Rick B.

 

It would be illegal if you ever ran a pressurized fuel line into the cockpit not to mention just a horrible thought. I used a mechanical guage before (bought seperately) which had an isolater that remained on the engine side of the firewall. Essentially it is just a diaphragm. Fuel pressure goes to the engine side and oil on the other to the guage itself. Makes for a very responsive and accurate reading. I have a fuel pressure guage already in the engine bay but it does little good as you can't tell what pressure is doing when under load at speed. I've had a lot of pressure problems and all the regulators I have tried just seem to be garbage and as such I don't trust them. Being an occasional driver, something that sits for prolonged periods and is then driven hard I consider these two guages necessary to understand things are working as they should.

Cheers
-Andre

 

It's just a piece of aluminum we machined on a CNC machine then powdercoated. I cut a big whole in the original where the gauges would be and left enough of a lip around the edge to epoxy the aluminum to the original. The Speedo/Tach use the original screw holes.

Before powdercoating:






As already responded, yes, bigtime and rightfully so. I run a separate line off the fuel rail to a sending unit which then sends the electric signal to the gauge.