Hey guys, im sure at one point or another youve thought about goin with some sweet aftermarket gauges for your ride, me too. But after some digging, quickly found out that my options were limited for my 72 Dart and other models with this same gauge panel. Autometer plastic ABS insert? Hard pass! Digital gauges? Yeah right! Once I came across the aluminum dash panel from Speedway it was a no brainer. Only problem is you need to cut and gut your original dash insert. I figured there would be instructions, I figured I could find someone else that had done the same thing in some long forgotten FABO forum. Nope. I ventured into uncharted territory, but came back victorious. And im here to share the process.
Speedway #91140355 aluminum 6 hole panel. Cost $105 bucks. Has four - 2 1/8” holes, and two 3 3/8” holes. Decided to go with black Autometer Mopar licensed gauges with a GPS speedo. One last piece that really was a game changer was the Painless gauge harness. They specifically make a harness for electric gps speedos, and a harness for mechanical as well. For me this was great because I was currently rewiring my car with a full painless harness, for those of you with the same it really makes things easy.
First thing I did was disassemble the original gauge cluster and separate the plastic cover. Then I mapped out the back of the plastic, leaving a generous border around the edges to trim back later. Using a tiny rotary cutting wheel I got to work. Lots of angles made the process take awhile, and the 50 year old plastic would start melting if you started going fast. Once the center was gutted, I started final trimming the edge. Leaving just enough for the panel to sit against on the front side, about 1/4”. I had to belt sand the panel on all edges to make it sit in there just right. Once fitment was good I used some black RTV and left a bead along the perimeter of the front side of the plastic and laid the panel inside. There are 3 mounting holes in the panel, I used 10/32 bolts and some roll bar weld on tabs to hold the panel firmly against the plastic and let the RTV dry. After that I set the gauges in and marked where I was gonna put my high beam and indicator lights. I went with some tiny billet LED indicator lights from Summit. With my gauges and indicators mounted I started Wiring and tying the gauges into the main harness.
And there you have it guys. Final fitment and look for me is exactly what I wanted. Hope the pics can lend some assistance for those of you trying something similar. -Gurt
Speedway #91140355 aluminum 6 hole panel. Cost $105 bucks. Has four - 2 1/8” holes, and two 3 3/8” holes. Decided to go with black Autometer Mopar licensed gauges with a GPS speedo. One last piece that really was a game changer was the Painless gauge harness. They specifically make a harness for electric gps speedos, and a harness for mechanical as well. For me this was great because I was currently rewiring my car with a full painless harness, for those of you with the same it really makes things easy.
First thing I did was disassemble the original gauge cluster and separate the plastic cover. Then I mapped out the back of the plastic, leaving a generous border around the edges to trim back later. Using a tiny rotary cutting wheel I got to work. Lots of angles made the process take awhile, and the 50 year old plastic would start melting if you started going fast. Once the center was gutted, I started final trimming the edge. Leaving just enough for the panel to sit against on the front side, about 1/4”. I had to belt sand the panel on all edges to make it sit in there just right. Once fitment was good I used some black RTV and left a bead along the perimeter of the front side of the plastic and laid the panel inside. There are 3 mounting holes in the panel, I used 10/32 bolts and some roll bar weld on tabs to hold the panel firmly against the plastic and let the RTV dry. After that I set the gauges in and marked where I was gonna put my high beam and indicator lights. I went with some tiny billet LED indicator lights from Summit. With my gauges and indicators mounted I started Wiring and tying the gauges into the main harness.
And there you have it guys. Final fitment and look for me is exactly what I wanted. Hope the pics can lend some assistance for those of you trying something similar. -Gurt
