Firewall gauges are the bomb... reminds me of this thread where Bob K was trying to find his old 39 Ford. one of the distinguishing features was firewall gauges.... https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...shot-find-my-old-hot-rod.294750/#post-3128199
The last photo is pretty interesting. Aside from the killer set of crescent needles apparently set into white naugahyde, there's a lot of chrome, some unique headers, a magneto and then that induction system.
Two that come to mind. The first car I remember seeing with firewall mounted gauges was Bob Bleed's family roadster @bobbleed Darth Walter Coupe @Dreddybear
I've never had them on the firewall, but Oil Pressure, Water Temperature, and Vacuum gauges are always in my engine bays, usually direct mount liquid filled.
I love the look and functionality of them. It captures both the show car vibe as well as the performance look. It indicates the driver is a wrench and cares about his mill. Ryan, the lighted set you posted are rad. To complete the "one man tuning" show, I've got the ignition switch mounted on the far left side of the dash. Open the suicide door, hit the key with my right hand while I dick around with my left with the throttle linkage or distributor. I always wondered if there's any accuracy loss running two mechanical gauges (oil pressure, vacuum) off the same line?
My flathead has mechanical oil pressure, water temp and fuel pressure. Direct mount not firewall but I do like the firewall mounted gauges on a open hood car.
yup, that is from when I owned it. just unloaded at the Rock n rods on rte 66 show in Bloomington Ill in 07
I'd like to see a dash-mounted gauge cluster that you can pop the whole pumpkin out, turn around and set down on the cowl........ then shove it back into the dash when you're done messing with the engine. I'm not sure if I want one but I would like to see one.
Yep, @Dreddybear was the first one that came to mind when I saw the thread title. Tastefully done and absolutely fits the vibe of the car.
I could see a tach and a vacuum gauge for doing the tune-ups, really don't see the need for oil and temp unless your having some kind of mechanical problems. A small oil pressure gauge on the motor, a small fuel pressure gauge on the fuel block would be fine. Not saying I wouldn't do it but the oil and temp gauges to me are more for show than go. .
I have thought about installing firewall gauges several times in my T coupe, but never followed through. I love gauges. My T has 6 in the dash, 2 on the column, and a fuel pressure gauge at the carb. I love to tweak and tune on engines. Probably the main reason I have been a racer/ hotrodder my entire life. So, I would want the firewall gauges I need when starting a new engine or tuning on an old one. Tach, oil pressure, and temp gauges would be my first choices. I also use a vacuum gauge quite a bit, but 4 gauges seems a little too much. And a vac gauge is easy to plug in when you need it. Someone mentioned earlier about a starter button on the firewall. That would be really handy. A kill switch would be easy. My question is, are the electrical oil pressure and temperature sending units capable of supporting 2 gauges? I have never tried running 2 gauges off one electrical sender. Does it work? I'm pretty sure the extra tach will work just wired off the coil, because my dwell/rpm meter does. My vacuum gauge is manual, so the extra vac gauge can be T'd in if I decide to use it. Maybe it's time for firewall gauges. Thanks for posting that Ryan!
If you like the look...Do it. If you don't...it ain't your car so respect the owners choice. There are a number of traditional hot rod or kustom traditions I don't care for and I wouldn't do to my car but if it floats the owner boat I'm happy for them.
A godsend when working alone under the hood. Warning lights on the dash, ala the old style VW bug speedo.
Chris Flynn’s model A pick up runs them well. This is an incredible build with all kinds of cool details.
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