80LS1T Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Well from what I have read so far I have come to the conclusion that electric gauges are easier to install but mechanical are more accurate. I have chosen to use electric because I am using a 93 LT1 and T56. I have also chosen to use Autometers Phantom Series guages. Now heres the questions.... What size are my tach and speedo, What size are my fuel and water temp, And what size are my volt, oil press., and clock? Also will the fuel guage work in my car? and if so how does it hook up to my old units wiring? I think that's it but for some reason I feel like I had another question! Thanks, Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 24, 2003 Author Share Posted January 24, 2003 *bump* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 I think you will find that most of us ZX guys have retained the original gauges, and therefore have no experience with the change to aftermarket. You may be on your own with this. I can guess that a new fuel gauge that is probably compatible with a Chevy style sender will require replacing the Datsun sender in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 Go into pparaska's homepage ( you can find on his bio information ) and I believe he has the detail on installing Autometer guages. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 Not sure about a ZX, but with a 240,280Z speedo/tack is 5" all others 2 5/8". A ford gas gauge comes closest with the stock Datsun sender, but it's not perfect. I tried that route, but was not happy with the accuracy. I modified an '85 LTD sender to fit the Datsun tank, and now my gauge is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 24, 2003 Author Share Posted January 24, 2003 Well I measured them last night while they were in the dash and heres what I found... The 3 center pod gauges are 2 5/8" and the speedo and tach are something like 4 9/16" if I remember correctly? So my question is will the 5" gauges work? Where do they measure from? I think I will just skip on replacing the fuel gauge and the water temp gauge for now since those are not 2 1/16" or 2 5/8". Thanks, Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 I've really considered doing this but, ofcourse never have. I would think that you would need to take the gagues apart to make them fit right and look like they are factory but, with a cool modern touch. The 3 center gauges shoudn't be to hard but, the speedo and tach look the most difficult. As for the water and gas I would think that a 2" gauge should work I looked at it once along time ago and thought that was the right size. Later this summer I've thought about repacing my center gauges with oil temp, oil pressure, and EGT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Hey Cody. Since the main dash gauge panel comes out as a unit, why not remove the interior panel and gauges and fabricate a new panel to fit behind the plexiglass cover and trim? I'm sure it isn't as easy as it sounds but it would give you the flexibility to install almost anything (maybe even digital if you wanted). Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 I agree that would be cool to do and not all that hard I guess. I do reemeber that when I looked at it the gague besle(sp) would be in the way if you placed the gauges in the same place as they are in the factory setup. Ofcourse who says you have to do it the same as Datsun did. Anyway I think a polished aluminum panel would be sweet right there. Carbon fiber anyone??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 26, 2003 Author Share Posted January 26, 2003 Well I've already order them so I guess I'm on my own! I will update you guys when I start! Right now I am in between puttin my engine bay back together(just finished painting it, see my pics on my website) and putting my R200/CV set up in. I am a very busy person to say the least! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 29, 2003 Author Share Posted January 29, 2003 Here's a pic of Dan H.'s Autometer gauges! I posted it in the Chevy Forum too under "Autometer Gauges for my 280ZX SBC project" What do you guys think?! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 31, 2003 Author Share Posted January 31, 2003 Ok well heres an update on my gauge instalation situation... I started tonight with the Tach. First I had to take out the dash and remove the main console with the speedo and tach. Then I proceded to take apart the main console and take out the speedo and tach. Then I had to "shave" some "extra" plastic off around the edge of the hole that the old tach was in. Then once I got the new tach to fit I had to trim the white plastic center piece that goes between the face plate and the printed circuit board. I had to to a lot of trimming there!!!! Now the printed circuit board will not go over the back because the tach sticks out too far! Since I am not replacing my gas gauge (right now anyways) I am going to have to cut the circuit board down so the tach fits and then wire up the gas gauge individually so it works! I am not to happy with that one! If only the tach housing was like 3/4" shorter!!!!! Then It would have fit like a dream. I am going to finish that tommorow. So I will update you guys then and have some pics too! After that I will probably start on the 3 center gauges since I had to order a new speedo cause I order a mechanical and not the electronic one I needed. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted February 2, 2003 Author Share Posted February 2, 2003 Ok I would have finished tonight but I broke one of those trim pieces on the 3 center gauge pods. So if anyone has one of those in blue or 3 in black let me know!!!! I am also waiting for my new speedometer to arrive. It should be here Monday for sure. Then I will finsih that atleast. I know this isn't a pretty pic but "you gotta do what ya gotta do!" I had to cut that circuit board in half because I am still using my fuel gauge for now so I need the piece that was connected to the fule gauge for mounting purposes. I rewired the fuel gauge and it actually works! Infact it worked on the first try! Some times I really amaze myself. Now here is one of the front. I had to also trim the hole for the tach because the tach was just a little too big for the hole. I must say that I think these gauge will really make the ZX dash look quite nice! Here is some pics of the center pods. They were very easy to install. I just had to take out the old gauges, remove the plastic lens on the front of them and trim the fronts of the gauge holes on the old mount. Then put these in the holes. They even fit in the actual old pod! Now I just need to locate either 1 blue trim piece or 3 black ones! Since I broke one Heres a pic of those... What do you guys think so far? Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 Looks great so far. Ever since this post I've really been thinking and looking at this. Now that I see your pictures it really makes me want to. Can you give me a guesstimate of the cost of it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted February 2, 2003 Author Share Posted February 2, 2003 Well if you go electronic gauges in the Autometer Phantom Gauges... 5" 160 MPH Speedometer $200 5" 10,000 RPM Tachometer $126 2 5/8" Water Temp. 100-250Deg. $50 2 5/8" Oil Pressure 0-100PSI $55 2 5/8" Voltmeter 8-18 Volts $38 Total..........................$468 You will also need a dremel if you want to do it my way. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted February 6, 2003 Author Share Posted February 6, 2003 Well I would have been done by now but I have a couple of questions! Ok here's the deal... I have all the gauges in and the lights and ground wires hooked up. Just need for trim pieces to get here so I can put dash back in! My question is where should I hook up my +12V Ignition voltage to? I need to put about 4 or 5 wires to this? How can I tell what wires are +12V ignition wires? I would image hook up a volt meter and turn the ignition off and on and if it reads on and not off then I can hook it up there!? I do not want to overload any wires in the process though so is there some place in the engine bay that I can run these to? Also for my electronic speedometer I have to hook it up to my vss. Now for my LT1 I have a VSS signal wire and a VSS ground wire. Should I ground the VSS ground wire and just run the VSS Sig wire to the speedo or something else. Here's the pic of the directions... The pic was here but it was just too big so I took it down! Sorry the pic is so big! Thanks, Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 For the 12 volt connections, I would use the Green wire (pin 14) in that round white connector. It is the wire that normally supplies the gauges and is traced back to a 10A fuse. Since you are removing some OEM gauges and replacing them with other gauges, the circuit should not be overloaded. For your VSS, the part of the diagram labeled "Most OEM or Factory installed" should spell it out. The VSS signal comes out of the transmission, and to the speedometer. The OUT connection on the speedometer goes to the computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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