badmix
1/2 ton status
Welp, after all the contemplating of what to do about extra gauges, short of replaceing the OEM stuff (which I will do eventually) and I didnt really wanna cut holes in my dash like the Banks article (posted in my other gauge post). So, there are only so many options.
I started looking on Summit and Autometers site and seen some dash pods. I figured one of them would work. The 3 gauge pods look pretty big. The k5 dash really isnt that big or deep. So, I opt for the Ford Mustang Dash gauge pod. Luckily the local speedshop had the Gauge Pod and the Volt meter, the clock was special order, so ill be getting that later on in the week.
Installation was pretty easy. There is absolutely NO DRILLING required. But you do have to loosen all the screws on the dash to raise it enuff to put the lil support bar underneth. My dash is pretty old and brittle, so I had sure to not have the bracket under the dash being totally supported by the speaker holes. Its on the edge of speaker holes and pad itself. Plus there is metal dash part around the speaker hole.
You simply position the bracket with built in bolt thru one of the speaker holes, its a perfect fit. And for the wires, jus slide them thru the speaker holes as well. The hardest part is fishing the wires down. If you get under your dash with a light shining down, you can see the lil narrow space you have. Its between the Vent ducts and something else. I actually only had to refish one of the lines, all the others fell down enuff for me to get ahold of.
The only real modification is to the pod itself. The one I got is for 94-2003 mustang. The dash on my '84 K5 is pretty flat for the most part. The pod has a weird shape to the bottom of it. The corners are lower than the sides. So when it sits on flat surface it looks bowed in the middle at the front and sides. This is easy fix, jus take a file or dremel and work on the corners, jus do a lil bit at a time and test fit it each time. eventually youll get it flat. The flatter it is the more OEM itll look.
The one thing that was surprising to me was the color of the pod (the come sorta gloss black). This is a make it or break type deal. Color of the pod matters. I had some Light Blue metallic paint and figured since my truck is Blue id do that. Well it was too light and the gauges themselves (silver ultralight series) kinda got lost in the light blue. Also my dash is dark flat blue, a color that is lighter than the dash will show any impurfections in your filing , esp. on the edges.
Next I went with Dark Glossy Blue (as in the pics). This is okay, but my dash is really dull. So, Ive gone with Semi-Flat Black. This is a pretty good color. The dullness matches my dash pretty well. The Black kinda stands out a lil bit. But the Black makes the Silver gauges easier to read. One cool thing about this type of plastic is that it doesnt take very much to paint it. Jus a few light coats and its done. If I can find some semi-flat blue, ill do that, for now, ill live with the black.
Taking the pod off and on isnt a big deal. There is a 10mm nut in the center, you have to remove one of the gauges to get to it. The gauges fit VERY tight. When I get the Clock, if its TOO tight, I may lightly file the hole to make it a lil easier to go in and out.
Overall im happy with it. Its a fairly easy project, jus takes time and patience like all things.
I started looking on Summit and Autometers site and seen some dash pods. I figured one of them would work. The 3 gauge pods look pretty big. The k5 dash really isnt that big or deep. So, I opt for the Ford Mustang Dash gauge pod. Luckily the local speedshop had the Gauge Pod and the Volt meter, the clock was special order, so ill be getting that later on in the week.
Installation was pretty easy. There is absolutely NO DRILLING required. But you do have to loosen all the screws on the dash to raise it enuff to put the lil support bar underneth. My dash is pretty old and brittle, so I had sure to not have the bracket under the dash being totally supported by the speaker holes. Its on the edge of speaker holes and pad itself. Plus there is metal dash part around the speaker hole.
You simply position the bracket with built in bolt thru one of the speaker holes, its a perfect fit. And for the wires, jus slide them thru the speaker holes as well. The hardest part is fishing the wires down. If you get under your dash with a light shining down, you can see the lil narrow space you have. Its between the Vent ducts and something else. I actually only had to refish one of the lines, all the others fell down enuff for me to get ahold of.
The only real modification is to the pod itself. The one I got is for 94-2003 mustang. The dash on my '84 K5 is pretty flat for the most part. The pod has a weird shape to the bottom of it. The corners are lower than the sides. So when it sits on flat surface it looks bowed in the middle at the front and sides. This is easy fix, jus take a file or dremel and work on the corners, jus do a lil bit at a time and test fit it each time. eventually youll get it flat. The flatter it is the more OEM itll look.
The one thing that was surprising to me was the color of the pod (the come sorta gloss black). This is a make it or break type deal. Color of the pod matters. I had some Light Blue metallic paint and figured since my truck is Blue id do that. Well it was too light and the gauges themselves (silver ultralight series) kinda got lost in the light blue. Also my dash is dark flat blue, a color that is lighter than the dash will show any impurfections in your filing , esp. on the edges.
Next I went with Dark Glossy Blue (as in the pics). This is okay, but my dash is really dull. So, Ive gone with Semi-Flat Black. This is a pretty good color. The dullness matches my dash pretty well. The Black kinda stands out a lil bit. But the Black makes the Silver gauges easier to read. One cool thing about this type of plastic is that it doesnt take very much to paint it. Jus a few light coats and its done. If I can find some semi-flat blue, ill do that, for now, ill live with the black.
Taking the pod off and on isnt a big deal. There is a 10mm nut in the center, you have to remove one of the gauges to get to it. The gauges fit VERY tight. When I get the Clock, if its TOO tight, I may lightly file the hole to make it a lil easier to go in and out.
Overall im happy with it. Its a fairly easy project, jus takes time and patience like all things.
