Howdy Fellas- I have done my searches and asked my buddies and haven't really had a yes or no. I have a SBC that I installed in my 52 Chevy Deluxe, I am in the process of installing a rebel wire harness and I would like to know if I can make my original gauges work? ie oil pressure, battery, temp..... I do have a after market set of three gauges like most people from the local parts store but I really dont feel like using it. Any thoughts? All opinions and help are appreciated. Sam
IIRC the oil pressure gauge is going to be insufficient. I think the replacement motor will run higher pressure than the old 235? Battery gauge is presently for six volts? Do you have a six volt starter available for the V8? Check on the after market gauges and you can probably find replacement gauges that will fit properly in your original dash so you can save the "ladies shin shaver" gauge panel hanging below the dash. Ask me how I know. OR you might try Jason Oliver at vetteinstruments.com and see if he could convert your original gauges for the replacement motor.
I just picked up some gauges from New Vintage (Alliance Member). You could also send them away for rebuild but I think it is pretty heavy on the pocket.
All of mine are working off the sbc..i have a 53 chevy with a 327 installed.. water temp was plummbed into the block. oil was plummed into the block..(reads a bit high when cold) amp meter dont care..if 12volt or 6..sbc bbc, brb,,sbf, bbf..bff now if dead on accuracy is your thing , than you might not be pleased.. over 4 years running this way..no problem you are converting to 12 volt right?..than the starter wont be any issue..nor will the ammeter..it dont know the difference..its working on amps..not voltage Make sure you use a Runtz reducer for the fuel gauge..and change over all your bulbs to 12 volt bulbs..every one of them your head light switch wont care, your door switches wont care..your new 12 volt system will draw less amps than your 6 volt system ever did Been here ,, done this
The 'ladies shin shaver', [first time I heard that], would be traditional. Don,t recall having custom gauges bkinthday, we just bought them at pepboys and hung em below the dash. However I used the stock fuel gauge on my Model A.
Sam, I used the stock guages in my '50 sedan delivery when I installed a 401 Nailhead and Hotrod Wire harness. As already mentioned the Temp guage will work OK, the oil pressure guage will stay pegged most of the time but you will know when it drops below 30 lbs. I chose not to hook up the Bat (ampmeter) gauge instead I installed an idiot light that the aftermarket wiring harnes has a provision for. To make the fuel guage work properly you will need one the two resistors below. http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/6756/VOLTAGE_REDUCER_VOLT_GAS_GAUGE.html http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/13225/VOLTAGE_REDUCER_VOLT_GAS_GAUGE.html
I used original 51 Mercury gauges with a SBC some years ago, I had converted it to 12 volts when I dropped the motor in so made a 12 to 6 volt converter to drop the voltage to the gauges. Worked well.
The ammeter will not care about 12v or 6v, as has already been stated, since amps are amps and volts are volts. However, your new electrical system might have a greater ampacity than your old. What is the full scale reading on the stock ammeter? 30-40 amps? If you are going to run a lot of electrical accessories and a 100 amp alternator, then you could peg the gauge under certain conditions depending on how you wire that ammeter into the circuit. So 'yes' you can do it, just need a little forethought to be sure that it works out the way you want.
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