There are zero gauges in my car, not even a gas gauge... They just give you something to worry about all the time. I can tell if it's running hot by the way it runs. I'll probably get flamed for this, but I ask the question; If it 'really' has low oil pressure, what is a gauge going to do for you?
Ignorance is bliss..... I was looking at Richie Whalen's '32 at the Alter Boys meet, his gas pedal seems to be in about the same place (Rolling Bones design...) I wasn't too impressed with his dangling front flex brake hoses either...
I tried that once. I learned that triangles have a bad effect on ride quality and handling. On the positive side, however, I discovered that with triangular wheels you don't need a parking brake anymore.
It tells you to shut off the engine, pull over and call for a buddy to help you haul it home before you destroy the engine you worked so hard to build.
Lets you be able to catch it, and shut your engine down before it causes serious damage! When I built a new engine for my truck, the bypass adapter for the oil filter had a weak spring. When it started up, it would show a healthy 75lb+ of pressure, but when it warmed up and idled down (like waiting at a light), the pressure would drop to zero unless you kept the rpms up. If I didnt have gauges, I wouldve locked up my brand new crank first time out!
Mount your oil, temp, fuel gauges underhood. Then buy 3 Borescopes from Snap-On. Mount borescopes on dash, cameras facing each gauge. Now you're cool!
I can't even believe this is a discussion on a hot rod board. Even the oldest of Volkswagens, even their base models with wooden "dipstick" gas gauges you had to dip into the tank, with no radiators and a measly 25hp, had idiot lights for the oil and generator. If you guys are just not wanting to know or "worry about" what is going on before it's too late, you can't act like that is a good idea and still be taken seriously on a hot rod board that deals with old cars... a PT Cruiser or Prius board, maybe.. or maybe a cooking board. Gauges are there for a reason, and if you know how to read them, and understand the components of what they are monitoring, they can save you plenty of headache before things just stop working and cause untold preventable damage. You don't need an aircraft spread, but a few basics should go without saying. This should be a no-brainer...
One of the neatest gauge clusters I ever saw suggested for a rod was a friggin' huge round thing that turned up on page 27 of the June 2004 issue of Rodder's Digest. According to the magazine they found it sitting in the dash of a '60 Rambler station wagon and included "speedo, water temperature, and fuel level with idiot lights for oil and amps." It went on to say "Sure, the speedometer only goes to the century marker -- but after that your eyes should be on the road anyway." The thing looked like it was centered behind the top half of the steering wheel so you could easily see it between the spokes with just a glance down, had a neat looking chrome bezel and must have been about 8 inches across. I could easily see one of those mounted in the dash of a Model A roadster pickup or a T-Bucket.
If you are not driving your vehicle then the alternate gauge scenario may be plausible. As it is my profession, I will simply state that: your gauges are an indispensable connection between you and your investment.
I have a friend that built a rather dialed kandy tangerine 55 chevy with a cream colord dash that he filled in all the way across and it has a set of gauges that are hinged that flip out from under it. It actually looks pretty rad.
How well can you see the Motometer coolant temp gauge from the driver seat? From the pics I've seen it looks like you'd need binoculars! I like the idea of it but the motor I'll be runnin is notoriously a hot runner and I want to keep tabs on it closely
The dash in my 32 pickup has nothing on it except paint. The guages are in the firewall by your feet, and while some may think it's trick, it's not at all fun to use. I'm moving them up where they can do their job; let me know what's going on. You can use lights for oil, temp, and charging. For speed, multiply the number of white line segments you pass in 2 seconds by 10 and that gets you close enough to keep up with traffic and not get a ticket. I did that for years.
Cell phone in your car????? Banned.... Midget is so passee, it's vertically challeged now. Time for me to see the doctor. bye
Working gauges are overrated, they only tell you that something is wrong anyhow. I may as well drive my rigs with plane dash boards as few of them have had a full compliment of working gauges. My daughter still tells the story of me pulling the speedometer out of the dash and handing it to her friend when the girl asked it it worked while we were running down the road one day.
A lot of older customs had gaugless dash boards. Some of the builders were real clever at hiding the gauges behind panels that could be opened up for driving and others just didn't care. Here is something to ponder. All good wheels are round. No one has thought up a better shape for them.
"Here is something to ponder. All good wheels are round. No one has thought up a better shape for them." YET!!!!!
The Jalopy Journal
