Silver Sleeper

iTrader: (7)

started on another project for the fox today..since i have a motor swap and run megasquirt, none of my factorY gauges would work..so i sold off my v8 cluster and went to work on this 4 cylinder cluster i had...i wanted aftermarket gauges, didnt want to pay the insane amount some companies charge for custom clusters..at the Same time i wanted a factory looking cluster with factory fit and finish....well, below is how i did it..the cardboard template represents the medium of your choice for what you will mount your gauges to...it needs to be 1/8 inch thick or less..im going with a 1/8th inch thick sheet of carbon fiber

here is the stock 4 cylinder cluster




removed the clear lens



gut the body of the cluster of all factory stuff..it should look like this..KEEP THE GAUGE FACES..YOU WILL NEED THEM FOR YOUR TEMPLATE



take a hot knife or dremel and cut out the back side of the cluster...this is to give you room for the back of your aftermarket gauges




take a piece of cardboard and make a template using your gauge faces with needles and trip button removed...make all the holes etc...cut it our and fit it to the white backside of the cluster housing




re-install your middle black trim bezel and clear lens....once you are certain of the fit, make a gauge plate with your template, mount your gauges and viola !! you have a great looking aftermarket cluster for just the prices of gauges..and it fits like factory becuase you are using the factory gauge shell!!!





you can see looking from the back how much room you now have!!



**** YOU MAY NEED TO TRIM THE PLASTIC DASH PARTS BEHIND THE CLUSTER..NOT CONFIRMED YET...***

Sleeperls

I like it, but i think there is a reason most of the aftermarket do not keep the clean cover lens.

Post up when your done.

MIKE93SVT

iTrader: (6)

looks like it would turn out nice. good alternative if you have some extra gauges laying around instead of buying the over priced kit from florida50

usdmholden

Probably because it is unlikely the odometer post hole will not line up with whatever aftermarket odometer is chosen.

usdmholden

How do you plan to implement the backlit areas for the turn signals, CEL, e-brake light, etc?

I have a similar plan to what you posted but I'm going to cut the original cluster face plates to fit the gauges around the various backlit areas in the face plates. The face plates will need to be assembled together with some custom reinforcement before doing this because the gauges will cross the boundary between OEM components.

Capown

iTrader: (5)

Any updated pics??