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Hi everyone. I inherited my grandparent's 1977 Chevrolet Caprice Classic back in 2012, when my grandfather past away. It had not been on the road for about 4 years prior to that, according the inspection sticker. Due to everything going on, I was not able to get back on the road until last year. Shortly after I got it back on the road, the gremlins of the car sitting all of those years started to appear. I now have to spend a little time on the engine and show some attention to a few other things; including the gauges. The biggest issue I have with the gauges is the fact that pin for the needle of the water temp gauge at cold is no longer there, and the needle now rests at the 9 o'clock position. Another minor issue, which is a personal quirk of my father's and mine, is the fact that we are not huge fans of the fuel economy gauge.
I did a little research and found the Dakota Digital gauges, but my father and I agreed that they would not look right in the car. So, I have been on the fence of sending the gauges to Classic Instruments to have the water gauge fixed and swapping out the fuel economy gauge for a tachometer; or, designing gauges through the Autometer Custom Shop. I have not contacted Classic Instruments yet; however, I did design the gauges on the Autometer Custom Shop website. My design consists of four 3-1/8" gauges: speedo, tach, water/volts and fuel/oil dual gauges. I also made the attempt to make the design look similar to the stock gauges in the car. I really want these gauges to look like the belong, and not an afterthought. I realize that the fitment may be an issue, and Autometer already told me that it is not a good idea to remove the bezels from the gauges. I was wondering if anyone on here would have any suggestions?
I did a little research and found the Dakota Digital gauges, but my father and I agreed that they would not look right in the car. So, I have been on the fence of sending the gauges to Classic Instruments to have the water gauge fixed and swapping out the fuel economy gauge for a tachometer; or, designing gauges through the Autometer Custom Shop. I have not contacted Classic Instruments yet; however, I did design the gauges on the Autometer Custom Shop website. My design consists of four 3-1/8" gauges: speedo, tach, water/volts and fuel/oil dual gauges. I also made the attempt to make the design look similar to the stock gauges in the car. I really want these gauges to look like the belong, and not an afterthought. I realize that the fitment may be an issue, and Autometer already told me that it is not a good idea to remove the bezels from the gauges. I was wondering if anyone on here would have any suggestions?
