nick205
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| posted on 8/8/05 at 04:46 PM |
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Dashboard design + gauges
Just made myself a plywood dash and still fighting (mentally) over the pain of having to use the Sierra instrument pod.
The best value range of gauges I have found is the Racetech ones. A set of Speedo, Tach, Fuel and Temp + all senders is going to set me back about
£270, which I don't have. Plus I would need to buy something like the Bright6 shown in the photos to give the warning lights I need.
The Sierra pod is ugly and means messing about with a pain in the arse speedo cable as well. However it works, has all the lights and I know the
speedo will be accurate for SVA.
Somebody help me sort this out PLEASE!
Are there any other solutions???
I've even considered not having a tacho to reduce the cost, but am worried it will look
pants..JPG)
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nick205
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| posted on 8/8/05 at 04:47 PM |
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bright 6
 
Rescued attachment img20.jpg
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nick205
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| posted on 8/8/05 at 04:48 PM |
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bright 6
 
Rescued attachment img21.jpg
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nick205
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| posted on 8/8/05 at 04:48 PM |
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bright 6
 
Rescued attachment img22.jpg
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rayward
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| posted on 8/8/05 at 05:25 PM |
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my mates got some gauges made by sunpro in his car, they were cheap and look pretty good.
link to sunpro home page
can find out where he got his from if you interested
Ray
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piddy
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| posted on 8/8/05 at 05:42 PM |
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Dashboard design + gauges
A cheap alternative that looks a lot better than the Sierra dials are Capri ones.
 
Rescued attachment 165 to post.jpg
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bob
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| posted on 8/8/05 at 06:21 PM |
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Have a look at the sunpro and VDO stuff that lowtension.com sell.
They also sell on ebay under the ID of lowtension as well.
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nick205
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| posted on 8/8/05 at 07:40 PM |
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I'm looking!
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RazMan
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| posted on 8/8/05 at 08:22 PM |
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Probably a bit more money than you want to spend right now ..... but it has all the lights and instruments that you will need and it looks really
bling too!
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
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VinceGledhill
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| posted on 8/8/05 at 10:03 PM |
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How much and from where?
Regards
Vince Gledhill
Time Served Auto Electrician
Lucas Leeds 1979-1983
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RazMan
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| posted on 8/8/05 at 10:10 PM |
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Can be had for less than £400 on Ebay if you are patient 
or you can buy direct from http://www.evodash.com
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
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nick205
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| posted on 9/8/05 at 06:29 AM |
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Razman - very smart unit and would look great on my new dash, but don't tempt me into something even more expensive - now I've got to
think about that as well
Cheers
Nick
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bob
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| posted on 9/8/05 at 08:50 AM |
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Best prices i can find for racetech instruments is http://www.rallydesign.co.uk
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Mix
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| posted on 9/8/05 at 09:29 AM |
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Why not go with what you've got and plan to replace it later.
Just make two blanks now to ensure they are the same size.
Mick
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donut
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| posted on 9/8/05 at 10:23 AM |
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...or go for one of these....
Image deleted by owner
 
Description
Only 189.99 for the basic car set up. You will still need a fuel guage and oil pressure/ water temp and the bright 6
http://www.veypor.co.uk/xcart/home.php
If i get one i'll set it back in the dash and mount it so it faces me.
[Edited on 9/8/05 by donut]
Andy
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andywest1/
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donut
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| posted on 9/8/05 at 10:37 AM |
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quote:
and I know the speedo will be accurate for SVA.
Make sure that you either use the original wheels/tyres (with plastic hub caps) or do what i did and let some air out the tyres!
Andy
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andywest1/
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nick205
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| posted on 9/8/05 at 10:43 AM |
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Bob - good prices at Rally Designs!
I'm toying with the idea of just buying a speedometer+sender and then cutting the mechanical speedo section off of the Sierra pod. A bit untidy
I know, but it gets around the speedo cable routing problem. I can the add the other dials when funds allow.
Nick
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donut
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| posted on 9/8/05 at 05:03 PM |
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how about these for ideas. I done these in photoshop.
Image deleted by owner
Image deleted by owner
Image deleted by owner
[img][/img]
Andy
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andywest1/
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nick205
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| posted on 10/8/05 at 04:28 PM |
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good work Donut!
No. 2 is the look I'm aiming for
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donut
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| posted on 10/8/05 at 05:19 PM |
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Well they are the VDO clock set from ETB Instruments and cost £299, all you will need then is a bright 6.
Andy
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andywest1/
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Jed
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| posted on 13/8/05 at 03:55 PM |
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Before buying the Racetech speedo and tacho you need to be aware of a couple of points:
The tacho doesn't have a 4/6/8 cyl selector switch as you'd expect from the leaflet. Instead it's a pot and you'll need to
calibrate the tacho against some other RPM counter - in my case the runtime display in the Megajolt software.
The speedo uses a magnetic pickup (there's a magnet in the pickup and it senses metal zipping past it) and needs a metal disk of some sort to
run against. They are configured for 833Hz signal giving 100mph. You'll need to find a suitable place for a disk that has the required number of
vanes. Although the speedo is adjustable via a pot on the back if you set it to say use a 400Hz signal for 100mph then your mileage will only increase
at half the expected rate.
Personally, I'd never use these tow guages again and instead would spend the extra on a proven setup.
Their 52mm range work ok though but don't match the rev and speedo.
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nick205
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| posted on 14/8/05 at 08:36 PM |
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Jed,
Very useful info, which backs up what someone else has been telling me this weekend. I'm looking into other options now!
Cheers
Nick
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Ronin
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| posted on 16/8/05 at 08:28 PM |
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Why not do as I did and buy a set of Smiths clocks from an old MG. Plenty come up on ebay. Just make sure the speedo is a 1000 turns per mile (its the
4 digit number on the guage) and that the rev counter is -ve earth. I bought fuel gauge and sender, oil pressure gauge and water temp gauge from ebay
. My rev counter and speedo came from Andy Jennings at MG Spares , a really nice and helpful chap.
He can probably help you out with the other gauges and senders as well.
I payed £90 for the lot and only had to give them a light clean to make them look like new.
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jonbeedle
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| posted on 16/8/05 at 11:50 PM |
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I have the same but I don't know what I'm doing!
You have U2U.
Cheers
Jon
quote:
Originally posted by Ronin
Why not do as I did and buy a set of Smiths clocks from an old MG. Plenty come up on ebay. Just make sure the speedo is a 1000 turns per mile (its the
4 digit number on the guage) and that the rev counter is -ve earth. I bought fuel gauge and sender, oil pressure gauge and water temp gauge from ebay
. My rev counter and speedo came from Andy Jennings at MG Spares , a really nice and helpful chap.
He can probably help you out with the other gauges and senders as well.
I payed £90 for the lot and only had to give them a light clean to make them look like new.
"Everyone is entitled to an opinion however stupid!"
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britishtrident
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| posted on 17/8/05 at 08:09 AM |
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Triumph speedos are also 1000 tpm - I got a brand new old stock Smiths one for less han a tenner at an autojumble. The Tacho is also Smiths but a
bit rougher so I will get a better one at next auto jumble,
The simple way to get an oil presure and water temperature gauge is to use a Smiths combined oil & water gauge as used in the MG Midget -- no
electrics connects by capilary pipe only thing to watch is the engine end fitting is much bigger than a Ford sender but that can be worked round.
Ford MK2 1600e and Lotus Elan speedos and tachos are also suitable but when mounting take to avoid SVA sharp edge problems.
[Edited on 17/8/05 by britishtrident]
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