Super sleeper in the making - gauge mounting solutions???

[IncorpoRatedX]

So thankfully the people in my local area know little about Galant VR4's, my white one had a big reputation and is pretty much one of the few any locals had seen in person. This season i'll be out doing some hustling in my GSX chassis, all mitsu badges removed, jdm fmic painted black behind an unmodified OEM vr4 front fascia, quiet exhaust etc.

Right now im working on gauge placement, the stock gauge cluster has no boost gauge since its from the original gsx chassis. so convincing people my car is just a run of the mill 4 door family sedan shouldnt be hard, especially considering the amount of domestics and imports i hustled with my white one even though it was well know.

the EGT and oil pressure gauges are probably going in the glove box if i cant find a better spot, but i'd really like an easier to get to location. i might go with a inset DIN gauge bezel under the radio and just build a small cover for the gauges. The SAFC 2 is tucked in the 89 under dash pocket. of course the eprom ecu and keydiver style chip isnt visible to anyone.

the boost gauge is my favorite of the ideas
the speaker to the left of the gauge bezel in the dash.. there's a decent amound of room under it with the speaker removed, im going to make that hinged in the rear and spring loaded so i can pop it up and display the 2 1/16 boost gauge, then push it down and have it look like the stock speaker cover.

All of this will not only aid me in having a sleeper car but also aid me in looking like an average civilian and not a street racer / rice boy

Anyone else go incognito on their gauges? please post pics or explainations!

 

[bazeng]

i've seen a cool sleeper gauge placement in the vents.. close the vents and its hidden, open the vents and the driver can see the gauges... (air con/ heater vents)

 

[curtis]

Go to any junkyard in the area and buy a stock mitsubishi radio. Rip it apart and have the face mounted on a panel. When its race time pull it off hing it open etc. The afc can be mounted there plus 4 gauges. Only problem the radio will have to be mounted in the glovebox or under a seat unless you buy a big baller type with the face plate that mounts anywhere and the brains go else where. Alpine sells these. Interior will look bone stock. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devil.gif

 

[464/2K]

maybe make something like this?

 

my a/c controls were removed and gauges put in their place...but mine is also a track car.

 

[gtluke]

Quote:
Go to any junkyard in the area and buy a stock mitsubishi radio. Rip it apart and have the face mounted on a panel. When its race time pull it off hing it open etc. The afc can be mounted there plus 4 gauges. Only problem the radio will have to be mounted in the glovebox or under a seat unless you buy a big baller type with the face plate that mounts anywhere and the brains go else where. Alpine sells these. Interior will look bone stock. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devil.gif

 

[464/2K]

nice one Gtpuke. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif

 

[Gordian79]

Im also thinking of some james bond type gauge pod for speaker cover where i will mount my boost and wb afr gauges.Im also going to be getting this din digital gauge cluster from summit racing.It has water temp,oil pressure and Voltage it even has warning lamps If water temp goes past 210deg it comes on,Oil pressure below 18 and voltage below 11.5 .ranges are water 79deg to 266deg.Oil psi 17psi to 145psi and voltage 8.1 to 25.5v.I like the fact when its off you cant see anything and its pretty cheap compared to getting 3 seperate gauges. Din gauges

 

[rez]

^nice!!

 

[Rausch]

i dunno about you guys, but my oil pressure is usually under 18 at idle. will the warning light bug you?

Quote:
my a/c controls were removed and gauges put in their place...but mine is also a track car.

you could probably cut out your control faces, and put gauges in there, and make a way to reattach the faces when you aren't hunting honduhs....but then you loose heat and A/C.

 

[Gordian79]

^^^^ mine stays a tad above 20 psi at idle.

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

464, something like that but i'd only use the box for the guages, hopefully i'd have more than half the box still useable.


GTluke, very nice! i've got a stock radio that doesnt work, i might have to give that a try.


Anyone know what im talking about with the driverside dash speaker?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[curtis]

Luke

Looks like the mustang is getting some poly engine mounts.

 

[Hertz]

Last night I was examining an old boombox I gutted... I was dreaming about the CD lid that was geared to open smoothly when released. I have been meaning to determine if there is enough depth beneath the tray under the dash clock to house some hide-away gauges.

 

[gtluke]

haha i had to sell those mounts cause they jacked up the motor a bit and i couldn't close my hood (2.5" cowl too)
ended up milling the intake and getting drop solid mounts. heh

my faceplate setup is not as much for a sleeper look, but i lived in the ghetto at the time and went to college in newark and parked my galant on the street often.
i didn't want anyone to see my radio or afc

 

[s_firestone]

Quote:
Last night I was examining an old boombox I gutted... I was dreaming about the CD lid that was geared to open smoothly when released. I have been meaning to determine if there is enough depth beneath the tray under the dash clock to house some hide-away gauges.



Ditto that except I have been working on the idea of using the dash speaker grill with a popup.

 

This is what I did to my GGS

 

[rheckert]

/\
did your hvac still work? I like how you relocated the controls and placed the gaugs up higher. NOICE!

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

Quote:
This is what I did to my GGS







what is that HVAC stuff from??!?

 

Heckert, I removed the stock hvac controls and kept the blower switch, added like a foot of wires to it, and adapted (jb welded)it into the lower hvac controls. The gauges are installed in a flat piece of sheetmetal and angled toward the drivers side.

AlphaMale, the hvac control im using is from a 99-03 Galant, which is the same as 00-05 eclipses and some 02-05 monteros.

Guys if you want more details I can dissassemble the whole thing and take pictures so you can have an "insider" view of it. thanks!!