1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
My Clarion radio is in the upper part of the dash and the equalizer is just below the ashtray, so, that left the storage cubby since I didn't want to disturb the audio system.
My VDOs are 2 1/16" in diameter, I'm assuming yours are the same.
(1) I held a piece of cardboard over the "top" portion of the cubby and traced the inside of it and transferred that to a piece if 1/2" plywood. I still have the bottom half of the cubby for letters, sunglasses, etc.
(2) Fit the plywood and trim as necessary. Don't worry about a perfect fit because you will add material to the sides of the plywood (see 4 below). I then cut out my 2 holes in the plywood for the gauges. In my case, its electrical oil pressure and voltmeter, however, I believe that you may be able to get three across on a straight line. If you wanted to use the whole cubby, I think you could get 5 of these size gauges in there.
(3) To give the plywood a finished look, I got a thin piece of foam (packaging material from anything that's shipped to you) and glued it to the plywood. I used 3M adhesive spray but anything to hold it in place will do.
(4) I then covered that with a piece of black vinyl that an auto upholstry shop gave me from scrap material. Glue that, wrap it around the sides, and staple it to the back side of the plywood. This is the added material, so, the plywood itself does not have to be absolutely perfect. Careful in cutting the holes; not as wide as the gauge itself. The gauges have a slight lip and once that rests against the vinyl, it looks "finished".
(5) I was expecting to screw into the sides of the plywood, but, the fit is very tight, so, I left it as is. Give yourself enough wire to be able to pull the whole gauge cluster out when necessary.
(6) The pilot light on those VDO gauges can tap into the ashtray bulb's wire and your rheostat will dim and brighten the gauges.
Good luck.
posted by 198.240.13...
, Wed, 28 Jan 2004 14:43:43
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
