Jalopnik: gauges

Half Price Junkyard Sale Yields $3.01 Fiat Tachometer For 20R Sprite Hell Project

Murilee Martin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EDT

When I stopped by my local self-service yard to photograph the Crusher-bound '49 Ford on Friday, I discovered that I'd walked into Half Price Weekend. Might as well do some shopping!

The usual crowds of grimly determined men were plucking engines from minivans, of course, but I wasn't interested in minivans.

Now that I'm applying the lessons learned during Race Car Wiring Hell to my Personal Hell Project, I figured I could just rig up any old 4-cylinder junkyard tachometer in the scrap-aluminum dash I'm fabricating. I had this perfectly serviceable late-70s Volvo 240 unit that came with one of the free parts cars we obtained for the Black Metal V8olvo, but it's only about 3" in diameter and- well, let's face it, that Volvo emblem wasn't quite sporty enough for my sports car.

As you can see from my under-construction wiring harness and fusebox, this project is all about image, because I am truly an image consultant at heart. So when I spotted a Fiat 124 Spider with a nice Veglia tach still in place, I grabbed it.

On Half Price Day, you can score any tach in the yard for $3.01 out the door, including all the Rip-U-Off™ fees and taxes that magically appear during the transaction. When I saw the long line, I hesitated, but an Italian tachometer in a Japanese-engine-powered British car would be just so right that I decided to wait it out.

I haven't tested my new find yet, but there's no way such a passionate, soulful gauge could refuse to function!

Olio, Huile, Or Oil? Gauges Of The Monterey Historics

Murilee Martin — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Once I saw a tachometer with a "$$$$" marker at the redline and another driven by a leather belt coming off the camshaft, I decided I'd start shooting some instrument panels at the Monterey Historics. Italy, Germany, Japan, and Detroit are all represented in the gallery below, but Joe Lucas ( the Prince Of Darkness) caused all the shots of British gauges to come out blurry and/or dark.

A Look Back At Digital Gauges

Travis Hudson — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:20:00 EDT

Whether you're a fan of digital gauges or not, you no doubt remember their prevalence during the glorious 1980s. Everything from the Dodge Daytona Shelby Z to the Nissan 300ZX Turbo to the Chevy C4 Corvette complemented the era's best futuristic vehicle design with digital gauges. Motive Magazine highlighted some of the best, with accompanying videos to demonstrate the awesomeness. Our favorite? Definitely the Buick Riviera with iPhone-rivaling touchscreen media controls. [Motive Mag]

Roush Vent Gauge Pods Makes Adding Gauges Somewhat Classy

Travis Hudson — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:15:00 EST

Are you that guy? You know, the guy with big, gaudy and ugly gauges all over the dash and door molding? I don't judge you because the fact that you have so many gauges, sometimes people need to actively monitor other systems not included in the stock gauges, I just judge you because the placement of said gauges. Roush has a solution for owners of any 2005 to 2008 Ford Mustang or 2004 to 2008 Ford F-150. These gauge pods from Roush fit inside of the vents in the cooling/heating system of the Mustang and F-150 and hold any gauge you could ever dream of.

The vent gauges require no drilling and don't obstruct a substantial amount of airflow, either. The $30 price tag simply includes a pod that fits in the Mustang or F-150's vent. The pod can then hold a standard 2 1/16-inch gauge of your liking. [Roush]