alexrains

due to the fact, that this is my first us-car, i was surprised about the lack of gauges and meters. the 3 idiot-lights are nice, but i like to preserve my 442 and therefore want to know more about the current "health" of my engine...

so please tell me what you think about placing some gauges (water-temp, oil-temp, oil-press., volt from autometer classic metric) into the area, where the front speaker is normally ?

i have found an image on the web of another owner who did that (see first photo) and my actual dash is seen on pic 2.

i would use angled, chrome-rings to make it look more authentic (which it ainīt and that is my concern).

so, is that a sin or not...

yammiman

I would say that it is only a sin if you were trying to keep it 100% original - they look real clean mounted there IMO!!

Mongoose

That actually does look pretty good. Before I looked at the picture I thought "uh, no". But it looks pretty nice.

But to Yammiman's point... if you are keeping the car 100% original, the most I'd do is put a 3-pack gauge set mounted under the dash. And that is probably even questionable on an original car.

Jamesbo

I have it hanging below the dash it on my 69 Vista and my 69 442 drop top. Nope it's not 100% origional but it is certainly very "correct" for that era.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ng-up-60s.html

Rdrokit

I like it in the dash, go for it.

Dan Wirth

I also like the dash option, but would keep the gauges SAE instead of metric.

2blu442

It looks clean in the dash, but once you've cut the dash there's no going back without replacing the dash with a good used one that hasn't been cut. Finding a good used one that hasn't been cut or broken isn't easy today, 5 to 10 years down the road it will be less easy.

Llife changes and sometimes we'll have to do something different than expected with our toys. So while I don't plan to sell any of my projects, before I do any upgrading I do consider how it will affect the potential value/resale in the future.

It's your car and whatever you do is up to you. But... my 2 cents are that I'd not hesitate to do that to a Cutlass but wouldn't do it to a 442. Under the dash gauges leave small holes in the metal that can easily be patched. I'd go that route. John

gearheads78

I would do something under the dash so you don't hack up an unreplacable part of the car.

aliensatemybuick

From pics you posted in another thread, your car looks very nice, made it all these years with few if any modifications. Again, just an opinion (you did ask!), but it strikes me as wrong to modify a car that stayed so intact for so long. Thirty years ago, what you are contemplating was done all the time, with little regard to originality (people also put headers on their cars and threw away their factory exhaust manifolds). Mods are fine, but in terms of preservation, these days should only be done to an already butch...I mean modified car, or done in such a way that it could be put back to factory without Herculean effort.

How about this: buy a used dash insert and try it on that first? If you are happy with the results, you can swap out your original and keep it for the future.

t bell

I'd say find a beater dash (one that has a crack or chips) and hack it. Install your gauges in it. It definately looks good in the dash.

alexrains

thank you all for your opinions !

please consider, the car is from Biel/Switzerland (GM Europe) and it will have metrics in it, as it did by 1966..

i cannot use the regular mounting area at the bottom of the dash, as there is my (yep, original!) switch for the rear defroster.

using another dash to play around is a good idea, but wheer to get one, that is cheap enough..

i want to keep it as original as possible and on the other side, it scares me to know literally nothing about the engine status during the cruise... so i guess, it IS a sin, but my local bodyshop will make it as discrete and nice as usual.

thank you all again !

jaunty75

I think we have to be careful here to define exactly what is meant by "sin." As I recall from my second grade catechism classes, there are actually TWO kinds of sin, "venial" sins, which are low-grade, "forgivable" sins, such as calling your classmate a bad word or something like that. This kind of sin could be erased from your soul by a quick trip to the confessional to talk to the priest, and even if you didn't confess to all of the venial sins you committed before you died, you could still go to heaven.

Then there is the much more serious "mortal," or grave sin, such as killing someone. This kind of sin is so serious that, if you don't confess it before dying, you have no choice but spend eternity in hell.

So, with this in mind, let's analyze your gauge setup. Unless you killed a guy to put them in, doing so wasn't a mortal sin. So you don't have worry about being consigned to eternal damnation for having done so.

But putting those aftermarket gauges in like that might be a considered a venial sin in some circles. So, to play it safe, and to avoid having to spend some time in purgatory before finally making it through the pearly gates, make sure you see a priest at some point before you die, and tell him what you did. He may cringe a bit, especially if he's also a car guy, but he'll forgive you, and he'll even likely let you keep the car in the afterlife, thus disproving the notion that you can't take it with you.

Run to Rund

Back when the cars were new, gauges were put in a 2 or 3 gauge plate under the dash. You can move the defroster switch if it is in the way, to another place under the dash. Back in the 1960s it would be a MORTAL sin to cut up the instrument panel such as the speaker area. Today you can't even buy the plastic instrument panel, so it would be even worse, maybe an ORIGINAL sin

jaunty75

You can get rid of this one by being dipped in water. Problem is, the car would need to be dipped in water, too.

dc2x4drvr

Please...don't even think about cutting up your dash! Like Rund suggested, move the switch and mount a few gauges below the dash..they're only original once..

aliensatemybuick

I think its a mortal sin to even THINK about cutting up that dash...so arguably, since your immortal soul has now already been condemned to an etenity of hellfire and damnation, at this point you might as well just do it.

OR here's a final thought (from me) on the matter: you can try to find a '67 Rallye Pac dash and associated wiring/sensors, etc to and install in you rcar



Although this option was generally not available in '66 cars (except perhaps cars built towards the end of the model year run), it would look excellent in your car. It would also be very expensive. But at this point, such an expenditure might be your only salvation.

OLD SKL 69

I would mount them under the dash. You can always remove them with minimal damage but once you hack up the dash, there's no going back.

mugzilla

Low oil pressure = lifter noise ...

Hot Temp = car pings ...

Generator = the dealy that plugs into a lighter socket ...

alexrains

hearing any of them = maybe too late ...

Bluevista

Just screw a gauge panel to the top of the dash.

I've never heard of a 11th "Thou Shalt Not Cut Dash" commandment so I don't think it would be a sin, the dash would be "holy" if you cut it though.

Making holes like that would be like cutting skylights into the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel IMO, may not be a sin but somebody isn't going to be too happy.

There has to be a place to mount them under the dash?? Everybody did that back when.
They have no sensor and I-pod apps for engine monitoring yet??

German442

X2!!!

Shade, dass Wien so weit weg ist!
For our stateside bros: Just said too bad Vienna is so far away (from Germany)!

Ralph

Yellowstatue

If I am not mistaken, the rear defrost switch should be up on the dash beside your 442 emblem where that other switch is (pwr ant?) and the switch under the dash is a later model, like '68 or '69...your correct switch should be verticle, no? and metrics for a metric country

alexrains

yes, the defrost is now left of the ash-tray, facing downwards and horizontally mounted.. i also did consider to move that next to the power-antenna, but the defrost-switch is black and chrome and looks completely different. also the defrost has 2 positions, which "lock" (blower "high" and "low") and the vertical switches (i guess, they where for antenna, convertible-top...) do not "lock" into the position or do they? at least my power-antenna does not..

or maybe the best solution would be to quit smoking and put the gauges in front of the ash-tray..

HolidayCoupe

Are the pillars an option in 66 442? pillar pods?

todd66442

It's a Sin.

66ninetyeightls

I agree I would be installing pods on the a-pillar.

I have also seen people install guage clusters in the glove box so they could be viewed when needed and hidden when not. Its very easy to mount something in the glove box without cutting it all up.

jaunty75

Wouldn't this kind of defeat the purpose, though? The whole point of installing gauges is to warn you of a potential problem BEFORE the idiot light would light up. You want to be able to check the car's vitals at a glance. If you had to reach over and open the glove box every time you wanted to check the coolant temperature, you might as well not have the gauge at all. As a place to hide an aftermarket radio, a glovebox is fine. But gauges? I'm not so sure.

66ninetyeightls

Is the car somehow undrivable with the glove box door open??? You can also get guages that have programmable alarms that go off when a set point is reached. This way you could make sure it warns you before it gets too bad.

alsalp

How about getting a donor "A" pillar cover and mount/mold them to that like a Rice Rocket ?

jaunty75

No. But who in their right mind would want to do that?


True, but these are going to cost more, and, to be honest, I've never seen one that does this. But, again, the whole point of the gauge is to avoid the idiot light. An alarm that goes off is not much different than a light that goes on.

Also, isn't at least one of the reasons that one bothers to put gauges in is because they dress up the look of the car as much as they do something practical?

alsalp

How a adapting Repo 68/69 rally pack? the three gauge cluster and the matching speed with a column or tach mounted low? $$

Yellowstatue

Alex; You must find the correct defrost switch for your year and it will match the other switch. Behind the 442 emblem on the dash is a rectangular hole already there waiting for the correct switch...just move the emblem to the right, the holes are already there!!!

Olds64

I agree, that is an option that hasn't really been considered. You can remove the trim from the inner, driver's side A-pillar and fabricate a braket to mount the gauges along the A-pillar. On the ricers and G bodies they have molded A-pillar covers with pods for the various gauges, but there is no reason you can do it without a cover.

66400

'66 442 pillar post does not have a removable cover. It is part of the body's welded structure. Henry

Alex just mount a gauge panel under the dash, could even go to the left side of the steering column. Henry

wmachine

X3 ? (losing count). My vote for no muss, no fuss, no butchering. And it is very "period correct", too. Any savy gearhead added gauges this way to his high performance car. Period Stuart Warner gauges are still plentiful enough to complete the look and give you the feedback you need.

citcapp

X4,5,6...................guage pods under the dash

todd66442

Check out the gauges on the 65 I used to own. You can do the same with a 66.

wmachine

That's a great example. Makes a neat "cluster" like that.

alexrains

looks really nice! it will block the ashtray and so i am going to quit smoking. itīs a new century dawning anyway...

Blk71SX

to quote the Isley Brothers,

"It's your thing, do what you wanna do"


but personally I vote no on cutting the dash.