[smoorenc]

Hi I don't know if this is the best way to do this, but I thought I'd give it a try. We are having a LS1 installed in our '76 280Z. I wanted to swap out the original gauges with Auto Meter Phantom gauges. I took apart the original gauges and basicly gutted them out. . Here is the outer ring, you will notice that the inside mount is angled.:



I used a dremel at medium speed with a cutter bit to make the inside even.



Then I used a drum sander to clean off the plastic burrs.




Then put the gauge in from the out side and use the included mounts. fron behind. I used a washer and nut to tighten and hold the gauge to the outer ring.




I figured out the place where the posts would come through the back.


Then drilled them out.



I put the back cover on and drew an outline around the power/sensor and light bulb posts.



I used the dremel cutter to cut out the section for those areas.



Pass the light wires through the hole you just made.

Mount the rear cover and screw into place with the original screws.


Use the meter's supplied star washers and thumb nuts to tighten it all down.


re-install the original bracket "thing"


Put the gauge under that dash and screw the mounting bracket on.

[Warren]

Nice work, looks like it belongs there. Sometimes taking the extra step to incorporate old parts into the new parts and vice versa makes the difference. Kudos to you for going the extra mile to do it that way.

Having gone through something similar with my ZX main cluster, incorporating Autometer gauges into the panel and retaining the idiot lights and turn signals in working form, I kinda feel like I've been down the road you're on.

Warren

[smoorenc]

The idiot light/turn signals etc is my next step. I have heard sme brave people have taken apart their new 200.00 Speedo's and put some LED's in. But I am not that brave yet.

[Warren]

Yeah, it was a little easier to do on the ZX because the turn signals are separate from the gauges...however, the High Beam indicator was in the tach. I moved it to where the "Sensor" idiot light was (upper left) and put a digital transmission shift indicator where the more or less useless bulb/fluid "check" assembly was.

Just commenting on your work here, so I don't want to post any pictures of it as it would steal from your thread.

Warren

[Blown77Z]

Nice write up with pics. Will bookmark this for future reference.

[Kbhead]

Smoorenc,

What guages are you putting in? I seem to think that I need more guages than the dash can hold, i.e. in the stock places. I have been looking for guages that have both Oil Pressure/Oil Temp in one guage and then something like Water Temp, Battery Charge in another guage and still be able to get the clock, Tack and Speedo.

Has anyone been able to do this?

[smoorenc]

For the 5" gauges I am using the Autometer Speedo and Tachometer. For the 3 center gauges I am using 2 5/8" Auto Meter gauges: Oil Pressure, Voltage and Water Temp. I am going to pit the Fuel Gauge and Oil Temp down below somewhere. I might have to look at a gauge pod.
I couldn't find 2 5/8" combo gauges that worked anywhere. That would of been perfect.

Also on a side note, I am putting electic tape/rubber grommets around the cut outs. I couldn't edit the original post for some reason.

[smoorenc]

I was asked by Tx1021 to take a night shot. Well the dash is on my work bench connected to a battery. But here you go:




The one is a little crooked be cause they are not tightened all of the way.

[Tx1021]

Thanks, I really appreciate it. They look great.

[smoorenc]

I got the autometer fuel gauge to read correctly with the 280z sending unit:
http://forums.hybrid...ad.php?t=127605

[IdahoZ]

I really like how your Autometer guage swap turned out. I was thinking about doing this very same thing, as both my Speedo and Tach are Autometer Phantom guages. I opted to go a different route and make custom guage faces to match the AutoMeter guages. I also swaped the ammeter for a voltmeter. I may swap to AutoMeter guages in the future but this was a less expensive alternative and I could keep all 7 guages in my dash.

[firm]

I know this is an idle thread, but a big thanks to the op for writing this up. I plan on getting the autometer nexus to replace all the gauges in my 280zx and it's great to see what I'll have to do to mount them instead of going at it blind.

If this forum had rep I would rep you.

[Kash]

IdahoZ,

Where did you get your gauges done and how much did it cost to get them done? Thanks.

Ken

[BillZ260]

firm said:

a big thanks to the op for writing this up.

And another! I thought this was a repost, since I've already done this to my Z with the same guages (which look just perfect in the dash I might add)
based upone another thread. But smoorenc's approach is a bit different and it gave me a little inpiration to make my install a little better than it was before.

I also have two smaller Volt and Fuel guages that I have been having issues keeping cinched up againt the plate i have in the old AC control location, and the picks of smoorenc's guage brackets inspired me to cut my aluminum bar bracket to a similar shape and it worked perfect!

I love these guages!

I love this site!

KASH: I got mine from Summitt, I'm sure I shopped around, but there are probably better deals to be had, I still cringe at the $$'s I paid for the set, I think it was over 500.
BIG: Electric Speedo and ach
2-1/16: Wtr Temp / Oil Pressure / Vacume-Boost
Smaller: Volt and Fuel

[IdahoZ]

Kash;

Sorry about the late reply, I have not been working on the Z for a while or keeping up to date with this site. The guages are stock. I just painted the housings white and had a local sign shop print new faces on some sign vinyl that had the sticky back. I designed the faces to match the AutoMeter faces and took them the file on a thumb drive. They printed a bunch of faces on 1 sheet of paper and charged me $20 bucks.

http://i219.photobuc.../GuageFaces.jpg

[Six_Shooter]

IdahoZ said:

Kash;

Sorry about the late reply, I have not been working on the Z for a while or keeping up to date with this site. The guages are stock. I just painted the housings white and had a local sign shop print new faces on some sign vinyl that had the sticky back. I designed the faces to match the AutoMeter faces and took them the file on a thumb drive. They printed a bunch of faces on 1 sheet of paper and charged me $20 bucks.

http://i219.photobuc.../GuageFaces.jpg

What program did you use to do that?

Looks good.

*right click, save as...*

[Austin240Z]

SWtwenty said:

Sticky please!

Seconded

[IdahoZ]

I used Adobe Illustrator. It is part of Adobe Creative Suite. If you plan on doing something similar, you will need to talk with your sign company to see what type of files they can use. If I remember right, they asked for an Encapsulated Postscript or pdf file. I can send you the files if you are interested or maybe set it up so HybridZ members can download them?

[IdahoZ]

Here a shot of my speedometer and tach after I installed them in the dash. I also made a fiberglass pod between them to house the brake light, turn signals and headlight high beam light. These indicators will all be lit by LEDs.