My goal is to have a mostly stock interior with the exception of the stereo, gauges and shift console plate.

Gauges will be stock positioned in a new bezel with an aftermarket single DIN stereo. Have 2 1/16" sunpro water temp, oil pressure (mechanical), volt meter and will replace the stock clock with another 2 1/16" gauge. Stock fuel gauge works, might replace it to match too. Not sure, but I can find one, but I want an O2 sensor gauge either where the clock goes (but none that I found match or come in sets that match other gauges). A 6th gauge can fit in the custom shift console, maybe a vacuum gauge or amp meter? Any thoughts about what might be best? Main speedometer is staying with new bezels, dash pad and lens. Have a new stock tach I'll use as well.

I will likely use a cigarette lighter and usb port/amp meter as well (shown in pics).

O2 gauge probably needs to go in the shift console plate because it won’t match. Other five gauges up above can match that way.

I'm leaning toward Option 3 with the O2 gauge in the console plate.

stock shift boot and shifter stick. Will also get a 5-speed tremec ball. Probably black.

Shift console plate is definitely going to be custom in the stock console (already have a new one). I have vertical vintage air controls and the pics below show some of the options. I bought a 3/16" sheet of aluminum and will cover it with black final dyed with corvette black dye. FAST XFI computer is going under the console plate as I think it will fit a bit lower than the plate and anything I put above it. It's 8 1/2" by 5 1/2". Pics below are the options I'm considering. Any other options or ideas?



Option 1

Option 2

Option 3


Have new gauge bezel and seat belt warning red lenses.

 

I will also put the motor spec plate in the stock spot. Will use a 427 plate

 

Here's a idea for you-



For the idiot lights- there are so many different ones on eBay that there is tons of options- I used a pic of a fan- to tell when the electric fans are on AND used the hole for the clock set as over ride button for the fans.

Another option is go to the junkyard and find an 80's vintage Mercedes- you can pop out the plastic symbols out of the dash and they can be places in the openings-

 

great ideas Richard and thanks! I'll look into those options since I'm not planning to hookup the seat belt buzzers. Was just going to use the lenses and make them disfunctional.

 

Are you using a 6 disc changer with the radio?

 

No just the single cd head unit. Amps are mounted in the back box with the 6x9s and 8” sub. Thoughts?

 

I ordered the gauges from Jegs. Zseries blavk 2 1/16”. 6 gauges. all white numbers with orange hands and black faces. Should match the stock Speedo and Tach gauges pretty well
1. water temp
2. oil pressure, electric. Pricey! $85 with sender. I want to get the mechanical oil line out of the interior after all of this interior work. It’s a copper line but still...
3. Volt meter
4. Combo vacuum/boost gauge. Future upgrade in mind...
5. Fuel gauge
6. AFR gauge. This one will go in the shift console plate.

 

It depends on your preferences in music. I'm 76 and have a decent collection of music from the 50's, 60's 70's and some from the 80's. Being 5' 6" tall i have my seat pretty much as forward as it will go which allowed me to install a 6 disc changer on the wall behind the seats. I make my own cd's using Lightscribe and am very happy with the outcome. Alpine made 3 varieties of 6 disc changer cha- s604, 624 and 634. The main difference is as they went up the food chain their ability to program what would appear on the head unit increased as well as the price of the unit, mechanically they're all the same, at least as far as I can tell.

 

Thanks for the info! Nice install. I love the tan interior. Wish I had gone that route. Most of what I listen to is downloaded ITunes music at this point. I could probably live without even a single disc player. I’m actually thinking about putting my seat back another 2-3 “ and relocating the battery to the passenger side box. I’m only 6’1” but have long legs and worse need to sprawl out to get comfortable due to knee and back wear and tear from sports.

 

I’ll put the updates on my “Interior install...” thread going forward. I updated it tonight just to keep it all together. The console plate layout is coming together nicely imo.

 

I have Z series gauges hat size in my 72. They fit right in and look stock.

 

Couple of thoughts:

- To me, AFR is not much use on a daily basis. Plus, you have to add extra bungs to run the extra O2 sensor. XFI should be tuned using a laptop. After it is tuned, computer will control the AFR. If you really want to monitor AFR, use an XFI eDash to monitor all the EFI parameters? https://www.fuelairspark.com/xfitm-edash.html

- Replace the AFR with an Oil Temp gauge. Liked the one in my 308. told me when engine was fully warmed up and ready to romp.

Volunteer Vette has blank data plates. With the help of a label maker and a little trial and error, you can make a nice custom plate. Here is mine:

 

Thanks 550 Vette. Good to get that confirmation.

 

Thanks Steve! I’ll look into the volunteer Vette plates. Would like to do an L82 427 plate of some sort.

regarding the afr gauge. I don’t really like the Edash setup for my goal with the car. I do have a laptop and the monitoring dash options are nice as is the data logging but I don’t like changing settings and NOT being able to see critical things like afr. Too many times I was looking/juggling my laptop while driving the car. I MIGHT have space to add an oil temp gauge and that’s a good idea. I posted these pics on my other thread but here is what I’m thinking to date. I might move the AC controls to the lower right quadrant and could fit two gauges in the upper left.

 

My “last” major upgrade to this car will b likely be a centrifugal blower hence the boost gauge. AFR Gauge here will further assuage my paranoia, lol

 

Steve,
what kind of a label maker did you use?

 

IIRC the font is Helvetica Bold - Thanks to fellow forum member "Ignatz" that did a write up about it- used Clear Window Decal Inkjet Film over a blank plate



I found what I was looking for- the idiot light covers from a Benz-

And as far as the console- I made a new one -but saved the fiberoptics panel and the data plate.

 

Nice work on the console Richard! I thought about that but decided with my long list of things to do I needed to keep it simple. The. Condole plate is complicated enough for me but will solve the biggest problem imo that being the crazy stock setup and controls. It is ridiculous imo. My modification gives me a couple of needed upgrades and should look pretty good and close to a stock look. I also needed a place for the Fast computer. Disassembly should be fast and Easy.

 

Final layout. I’m going to have to settle for 6 gauges. The 7th is too tight and cluttered. Also, the cell phone tray will be somewhat asymmetric because the rectangular shape just doesn’t look right within the trapezoidal shift plate. I moved the AC controls to the lower right to give me a bit more str and so that the shifter doesn’t hide the gauges

 

my gauges came in today. I think they will look very close to matching the stock tach and speedo