Gauge Cluster Upgrade

Going to a KA24DE motor, I needed to upgrade to an electric speedometer so my ECU would function properly. My tachometer had been dead for sometime (power surge blew it out), so I decided to replace it as well. The housing for the gauges was still in tact and I wanted to keep a stock feel. With the Gas Gauge and Temp Gauge still 100% working (temp gauge hooked up a la the510realm), I wanted to keep them functional while integrating the new gauges into the dash.

FOR IMAGES SEE THE POST BELOW

First I completely disassembled the gauge cluster, removing the housing, PCB board, & the gauges.

As my gauges are 3.125" (the 3.375", would have fit better in the existing facia, but the original 510 illumination lights for the gas/temp gauges would have gotten in the way of the larger gauge. I got lucky as I chose blindly.)

For the TACH, I marked a circle around where the new gauges would hit the original gauges housing and slowly cut out anything that would interfere. (Image 2 below). The only things I had to cut out were the Idiot lights and the back end of the tach housing. The black support piece that came with the new gauges sat at a decent height(nearly flush with the outer surround) in the inner tach area, so I notched the PCB board to fit the screws and hooked it up. (image 3)

The speedometer was far simpler. I just tried to center the gauge as best I could. Rough marked the mounting screw holes, and drilled them out (ended up needing to move them a bit, so they became slots). Threw the back plate on, and it was ready.

At this point I realized there were some .25" gaps all around the gauges, and would like to make sure the lights for the Gas/Temp gauges were sealed properly, and the unsightly gaps would be hidden. (image 4)

I found some thin, black, polypropyinsulatelyrubber stuff (some type of foam insulation material that came in a sheet), and cut it to fit the gauges. The speedometer require I spray glue the foam material to the inside of the gauge housing, and slot the fabric for the gauge to slide through.(image 5) The Tach was easier as the outer surround was a separate piece. I cut a circle a bit smaller than the gauge and as wide/tall as would fit in the tach housing.(image 6) Attached the outer surround and we were done. (image 7)

Put the gauges together and ran the wires. (using the old tach light wires & ground was a quick way to get the new gauges illumination wiring connected).(image 8)