I want to put Auto Meter Z-series gauges in the stock gauge cluster. My goal is to upgrade from the dated stock gauges while keeping as near as possible stock appearance and feel. Since I'll be loosing the dual function gauges with this swap I'll be adding spots for three gauges where the cig tray is. I also plan to replace the stock clock with the Z-series one. I'll be putting the speedo and tach in the larger locations and then the oil pressure and one other in the smaller holes. I'll move the "non-critical" ones to the center console.

Now here are my questions:

1. What is the diameter of the stock gauges? Are they 2 1/16 and 3 3/8?

2. What Ohmes does the fuel gauge function at: 0Ωs Empty / 30Ωs Full, 240Ωs Empty / 33Ωs Full, 73Ωs Empty / 8-12Ωs Full0Ωs Empty / 90Ωs Full?

3. Are there any known LED's that closely imitate the stock orange-red color of the stock gauges?

4. Will the speedometer and tachometer work "straight out of the box" or are there some modifications, or additional accesories that I'll need to make it functional?

5. Are there any serious issues that I may have to deal with during the swap?

6. Do you have any other tips or pointers that you care to put forth that you feel will help me with this project?

To any potential "search trolls" lurking out thereI'd just like to say I spent about four hours searching around last night to get me to this point, and wanted a nice little unified question thread to answer some of the questions I had yet to find absolute clarity for.

Thanks,
Adam

 

I concidered going the route you are asking and decided that trying to redo the gauges in the cluster would be more work and headaches than I wanted to deal with.

In the enclosed pics is the setup I recently finished with the Autometer Ultra-Lites.

As far as replacing the fuel sender. Autometer does not make one that matches the ohms of our oem one. You will need a sender that matches which ever gauge you purchase. That sender will then need to be modified to fit the tank. The mounting plate that comes with the sender will also need to be re-done, I ended up making a new one. I cut a spare tank in half to check the positioning of the sender and still need to tweak it some to get more accurate readings. The biggest problem I have is the sender mounts at a 45* angle on the tank and may throw off the linearity of the signal. Right now I have at least 1/3 of a tank of gas and the gauge is showing near empty.

When I get more accurate readings and a little testing in, I plan on doing a write up on the install. Don't hold your breath, I still need to get the car inspected, tagged and some miles on the rebuild before I can do the write up.

 

wow that looks pretty good!

 

Thanks trochoid, that info on the fuel gauge is most helpful. And your setup looks quite nice.