Additional Gauges on a 63

[Guest 1963 Riviera]

Hi All,

I'm thinking about putting additional gauge(s) on my 63 and was wondering if anybody here has. Is there much work involved for rookie ?

The console seems to be the place, as in the 65 GS (?). What gauge(s) would you opt for ?

HOPE YOU ALL HAD A SUPER WEEKEND.

(STILL) waiting on my ROA #

[Jim Cannon]

If you can live without a clock, you can insert a small gauge there. I have seen a tach there.

If you can live without an ashtray and lighter, you can put a flat piece of metal in there and mount the gauges on that metal. Flip the lid down on the ashtray and the gauges are hidden from view (clean look).

I have seen the same thing done in the glove box. If you do that, you have lots of room for lots of gauges and they are all out of sight when the lid is closed. But they are not right in your view as a driver.

I hate cutting holes into consoles and such.

Personally, the only gauge I would like to add is coolant temp. Then you can see a problem developing before it is a big problem.

[RivNut]

As Jim says, you have multiple choices depending on what you're after. If you want to keep a stock look, here's a picture of what was in the ash tray opening of my '63 when I bought it in '82. It even has a separate lighting system for the gauges. The small hole to the 10:00 of the tach had a small toggle switch that controlled the lights to the gauges. Turn it off, shut the glove box lid, and they were invisible. The vacuum and oil pressure gauges were direct reading gauges with lines running to them. The AMP and TEMP gauges ran off electric sending units. The tach was a stand alone item, it even had its own internail light, but was still hooked to the toggle switch. The PO who installed them had to remove a couple of mounting tabs for the '63's ash tray in order to get them to fit. What you can't see is the intricate work that he did to bevel the holes for lights and how he drilled and tapped the back of the tack to mount it. You can see the rings at the top of the center gauge where the individual bulbs were attached. Tny screws that screwed into tapped holes in the plate.

The other link shows a picture of a '65 with Classic Instrument gauges replacing the original units. There's even a clock to match as part of this set up. Belongs to an ROA member from central Kansas.

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Happy hunting and let us know what you decide.

Ed