Installing Autometer Gauges in '59 Project
I decided to use new Autometer gauges in the '59. I used Autometer Arctic White gauges for the fuel, voltage, water temp, oil pressure, and tachometer. The speedometer is the original '59, just modified with a 200MPH face.
Gauges mounted from the rear
Initially I mounted the gauges from the rear of the instrument cluster, similar to how the original gauges were mounted. This method worked, but there was interference with the fuel gauge and the metal bracing on the far left side of the instrument pod support. I then tried mounting the gauges from the front, and I liked the appearance much better. I think the instrments are easier to read also.
Gauges mounted from the front
Mounting the gauges from the front does require a slight bit of metal removal from the inside of the small gauge holes.
Rear view of one gauge mounted from the front. The aluminum piece helps to align the gauge in the hole and also serves as a flat surface for the 'C' shaped mounting brackets.
Finished gauge pod.
The speedometer is the original '59 unit. The face was painted white with a red needle to match the small gauges. The 200MPH face was printed on an old HP7580 pen plotter using a felt tip pen on a piece of clear acetate and mounted on a piece of clear plexiglass cut to the same shape as the original 160MPH face. The car has a 4L80E transmission which has an electronic output for a vehicle speed sensor. This signal is fed into a Cable-X unit which converts the electronic signal into a rotary motion which drives the old speedometer. The Cable-X unit has a series of DIP switches which allows correction for axle ratio, tire size, or (in my case) speedometer changes.