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NOOB 66 restomod gauges question

8K views 37 replies 18 participants last post by  wicked93gs 
#1 ·
Hello all..

My hardtop is a restomod, and has the simple muscle car vibe which I love. I have a big SunPro tach on the column with a 3 gauge pod under the heater controls with oil/temp/AFR in it. It has a new speedo but the rest of the gauges in the dash are original... fairly dim, dingy and the oil and temp aren't hooked up. I like the pods, tho I need to move them a few inches so they aren't behind the steering wheel, but hate having dead gauges in the dash.. not sure what I should do..

I could:

Update the gauges in the dash to newer and remove the pod, however my oil gauge will be behind my tach..

Replace the 4 factory gauges with new, but leave the two dead.. or is it possible to have both the factory and sunpro's hooked up?

Do nothing with the factory gauges and that would really keep the old school shade tree mod feel...lol

Not really interested in the 6 gauge package, and Speedo/tach combo looks busy and hard to read at speed..(I'm old)...LOL!

What do most do here to keep tabs on whats going on under the hood? Pics are always welcome! :grin2:

Thanks, Forrest

 
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#4 ·
Maybe find an original style rally pack to put your gauges on the column and still be able to see the dash?


You could probably find an AFR gauge that would fit in place of that clock and then with the original dash gauges working you should have everything.

If you like the under dash gauges you should be able to run those and the ones in the cluster at the same time. They just need separate wiring and sending units. You'll just need to find a spot for extra oil pressure and temperature sensors.

There are extensions that let you put two oil senders in the same hole on the block, so that'd be easy for the oil gauges. Then you'll just need to find an extra port into the water passages for a second temperature sending unit. That's all gonna depend on your engine and intake or they do make thermostat housings with a port in them that you could use too.

So is that a Falcon dash or did you just take the eyebrow supports off and smooth it out? Looks nice whatever it is.
 
#11 ·
I hadn't thought of the rally pack.. hmm

Thanks for confirming I could use both sets of gauges, I just hate seeing those two factory ones just sitting there dead..

Its the mustang dash, just smoothed out and painted to match the exterior. This is how I bought the car, the PO did all the hard work, LOL, but once I saw it I liked the dash pad deleted.
 
#5 ·
I would get the stock gauges working and then add a Rally-Pac for the tach. Unless you’re planning to race and then the larger tach is preferable. I just don’t like the look of the giant tach on the column, but that’s my personal preference. You could also get a Shelby style gauge pod that goes on the dash.

Let’s see some more pictures of your car.

https://www.cjponyparts.com/scott-drake-rally-pac-6000rpm-v8-1966/p/RP5-V/
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the suggestion! I do like the old school feel of the large tach, tho it does block the factory gauges.

I was lucky to find the the '66 99% done by a 30 year body man for himself who unfortunately needed to sell. Seriously a nut and bolt restomod with everything new. I've done a few minor things, and plan a few more as I can, but it pretty much exactly how I would have built it.








Its a '92 306 roller, .30 over 302, balanced, GT40p all built.

 
#6 ·
I like the 5 gauge and Rally Pac set-up, could hook up your stock gauges or add whatever you like in their place, and you COULD add a Shelby Gauge pod...
 

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#15 ·
Lots of good options discussed here. To the original poster I like the looks of your interior and the no dash pad although I wouldn't want to bounce my head off it.
Definitely some great ideas to think about.. I've waited 40 years to finally get my early mustang, and am having a blast with it.

HAHA!! No, I wouldn't either! :grin2:
 
#16 ·
I personally can't stand huge aftermarket tachs...they look terrible and always have. If you want a gauge solution in a restomod 66, the cleanest way is to buy a 6 GAUGE cluster like this:



Along with MODERN gauges...Sunpro is pretty terrible these days...there are much better choices..plenty that look old school while retaining the more modern full sweep, LED, stepper motor technology, such as Autometer's CS series...most of Speedhut's offerings, or less well known gauges like Marshall...even some Ebay specials work fine and look good.
 
#19 ·
I went with the 6 gauge cluster. I used speedhut gauges but kept them plain to better match the previous gauges. I had a terrible time with speedometer gears so I also have their GPS speedo...it's pretty nice so far.

Here's a pic of the layout. Gauges are: fuel, oil pressure, speed, tach, water, volts. The dash pod has AF (i really dont like the speedhut AF gauge...the needle is annoying and it's not very reliable. I intend to swap this with an AEM wideband), fuel pressure (i have EFI), oil temp (for now)


 
#20 · (Edited)
I suggest dumping the AFR gauge myself...AEM in particular is a distracting lightshow(ask me how I know). If you do feel the need to have AFR display constantly on your dash, I suggest using an Innovate LC1 controller and one of their analog gauges...far less distracting(AFR jumps around all over the place during normal driving, even if its just from 13.7-14.7, that last digit is always changing). AFR is great, but on my cars, I just use a controller that is NOT also a gauge and just plug it into the laptop while tuning or for diagnostic to display...its like a clock...not something I would put in a gauge.

Those speedhut gauges looks good...question though...is there really a read ring around them, or is that a reflection of the red needle on the chrome bezel?
 
#21 ·
I had toyed with removing the AFR gauge as well since I have EFI. I would want one on the convertible which is still carbureted until i get it ironed out. That would leave me some room for nitrous pressure or boost when the supercharger is added to the hard top (this car) in a few years.

No red ring. That's the reflection from the tail lights.
 
#27 ·
I went with the 6 gauge bezel and dash pod along with dual AFR, one for each bank, below the dash. I never seem to have enough gauges.
 

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#28 ·
Gauges are good!! :smile2: What do you have in the upper dash pod?

Thats a really good looking set up! All you guys with the 6 pod are making this a hard decision..

Thanks for the pics.. I couldn't find a lot of actual installed 6 gauge pictures..
 
#29 ·
I've got oil pressure, fuel pressure and vacuum for the exhaust evac system in the dash pod.
 
#30 ·
#33 ·
I never have liked the dash mounted gauge pods myself....but then I also dont like the rally pac...both look out of place and like they were tacked on as an afterthought in a classic mustang(not to mention dash pod absolutely destroys the lines of the dash visually). I am a fan of the 6 gauge cluster precisely because Speedometer, Tachometer, Voltage, Water Temp, and Fuel level are the only things you need to be able to see on a regular basis. I am a big fan of gauges, but any information beyond that can be checked from time to time with something else...say a digital gauge that displays different parameters you can scroll through...or for more modern systems, a laptop/tablet you can plug in that gathers the info directly from sensors. Even on turbocharged cars...the only time a Boost and AFR gauge are actually needed is when diagnosing problems.

That being said...there are alternative clean ways to display information beyond the classic 6 if you feel you must, such as this:



A digital gauge installed in a rearview mirror. I have seen Boost, AFR, as well as several others installed this way

Or this:



A universal heads up display...most of these are useless to vintage mustang owners since they use an OBDII port to pull the data from...but there are a number of gauges makes like Greddy that pull the information directly from sensors and have heads up display systems to display it
 
#37 ·
Definitely some nice options, tho far more advanced than I need.. my needs are more simple, I like the old school feel of my 66, just need some gauge that work and I can read...lol! I’m warming up to the 6 pod bezel, certainly would be a nice clean look. I’m really digging the Marshall gauge from Hyepo. Clean and classic.
 
#34 ·
I did something totally different. Instead of putting the gauges behind the bezel, I mounted then through the front so they are easier to see. All it took was a dremel tool to do some grinding on the opening, and they slide right in. My original Rally Pac not sits on the tilt column and you can see all the gauges just fine.

Just another idea.
 

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