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ashtray assembly

1

1978Blazerk5

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Well for my 78' I was gonna get a another ashtray assambly and do some custom work put like a tranny temp gauge and switchs and LEDs. and i dont wanna mod the origanal just on the off chence i wanna turn the truck back to semi-stock condition. So what years are these universal, is it all the way till 1987(91) or ?

Thanks
 
I did this. Lil scrap of SS and drilled it out for some toggle switches (and light) and the hole for the cig lighter. Still opens and closes too. My bet is pretty much any trey will work as long as it's from a simular dash.
 
2 ss screws. One above the lighter hole, one below. Only pic I could find.
fb79d506.jpg
 
hm those are pretty good ideas guy to do with the center...if i move my 3 gauge cluster to my dash where i wish they were then i can make room for my fire extinguisher and some other things...for locking security i'm thinking of putting an ammo box and tack welding it to the body and putting a little lock on it....
 
I just drop a piece of ABS or acrylic across the thing and be done with it. The local plastic place sells various materials as scrap, cheap, so I just trim them to size (Dremel or a tablesaw with a fine blade) and voila, for less than a buck you have a control panel:

james-bond-switch-redux-1.JPG



strobe-control-switch-panel-3.JPG
 
1978Blazerk5 said:
I see you have a tranny temp gauge, how hard are the to install?
Click to expand...

I useta have that gauge IN the ashtray, couldn't find the pic in time to post.

Gauge proper is easy; power, sender wire, ground. Some folks put the sender in the tranny pan; for ease of install I've always put them in the cooler lines. I try and get the hotter one, i.e. the one going INTO the cooler.

The sender is a bit harder, but I've done it on enough trucks now (three, four, I forget) that I have it down ... use the tubing cutter to cut out an inch and a half or so, splice in the compression fitting tee that B&M sends you, and tighten it all up. Fit in the sender, run the wire through the firewall, etc.

On my '74 K5 I did my own setup, using a factory water temp sender and a factory water temp gauge (upper left):

new-gauge-installed-1.JPG


On the other trucks I just used the B&M kit ... yeah, it costs a bit more, but it's easier than sourcing all the parts at the hardware store and screwing around. For you as a relative n00b :haha: I highly recommend the kit:

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...&part=BMM-80212&N=700+300222+115&autoview=sku

-- A
 
Sorry for the hijack, but I installed my trans temp gauge in about 5 min. and it didnt require doing much. I have a 700r. above the pan on the drivers side is a plug, you pull that plug and install sending unit, they are the same size. it works great.

AAPLUG.jpg
 
1978Blazerk5 said:
then it gives you accualy number vrs a idiot light
Click to expand...

Sure, though that's true of the homebrew setup I have as well.

My logic is that it doesn't really matter WHERE the sender is ... I learn where the normal range of my truck is, especially the tow rig. Heading uphill, loaded, vs cruising, etc... when I see the tranny getting a bit too warm, I know I'm working her too hard and I can back off a bit.

Heat is the #1 killer of auto trannies, as evidenced by the TH350 in the aforementioned K5 ... started to slip, and when I pulled the dipstick to check the fluid, smoke came out :eek: [In retrospect I suspect the auxiliary cooler in the radiator got blocked, so along with the replacement tranny, I did a new radiator, auxiliary cooler, AND the temperature gauge.]

-- A
 
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