Has anyone replaced their center dash vent with gauges?

[175K911]

I know most people are looking for more airflow in their cars, but this is a track car. I've replaced the clock with the big Ford F150 vent for airflow on me, now need to add a trans temp gauge somewhere. Was eyeballing the center dash vent thinking since it does nothing now it might be a great place for the gauge. Can't do it below because the ventilation control area is now the kill switch and the Tilton brake balance knob, and the radio slot is now the Cool Shirt and helmet blower controls.

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by 175K911

I know most people are looking for more airflow in their cars, but this is a track car. I've replaced the clock with the big Ford F150 vent for airflow on me, now need to add a trans temp gauge somewhere. Was eyeballing the center dash vent thinking since it does nothing now it might be a great place for the gauge. Can't do it below because the ventilation control area is now the kill switch and the Tilton brake balance knob, and the radio slot is now the Cool Shirt and helmet blower controls.

just this week i added this to my 'interior' list. i was hoping to find some pics before i commit. i think it's a great idea for instrumentation. (my HVAC system suffered a lot of truncation so my vent is similarly useless.)

[175K911]

I may try to fab something out of thin aluminum this evening just as a template.

[juanbenae]

instead of a full gauge would a simple dummy light serve your purpose? one that could be set to a temp that is 10* less than what you consider too hot? in my old spec car I used an adjustable oil pressure sending unit that I set to flicker at warmed up temp during idle. I used a 1"x2.5" trailer light side marker fixture and mounted it high between the tac & speedo so it was in vision. I figured if I caught it with so little oil pressure that the thing illuminated it was still pumping a small amount of oil and get it shut off. thankfully it only illuminated on grid for my race days...


what are the dimensions of the vent holes? im not familiar with the Carrera's dash, but I recall they may be as big as 2"x3"? any dial gauge would be difficult to read on the fly, you'd almost have to have a digital gauge akin to the AEM airfuel gauge IMO. id also consider the climate control face would be too low to see on the fly even with the digital gauge.


I realize your 3.6 is a monster and at the limits of the 915 gearbox im assuming you have with the 86 being 915 equipped so temps are a huge concern. my spec car was prolly down a 100HP compared to your car, but I installed a pump driven cooler for my 915 with the wevo bottom plate that had an integrated thermostat. it was not needed I found after having it in place for a season. I can count on one hand how many times I came in from a 30 minute race it was running. it always seemed to kick on about the time I got out of the car in the paddock post race even on the hottest of days.


I curious to hear your thoughts on a simple dummy light.

t

[175K911]

A warning light is certainly possible. What I have is an AutoMeter 2-1/16” temp gauge that can be set to have the whole gauge face flash red at a preset temp. I like “at a glance”gauges, for example my tach was rebuilt by North Hollywood as an 8,000 rpm oriented so the sweep begins at 5:00 and 7,000 rpm is straight up at 12:00 and redline from 7,200 to 8,000. Visually when the needle is pointing north I shift.

I have the full Wevo trans cooling on my ‘86 915. I’ve had some people say I don’t need it but others who’ve broken their 915 behind a 3.6. With my trans, I’ve got a 20:32 2nd gear, short 28:24 5th and Guard diff. My 2nd is good for 80mph at 7,000 and I use it a lot at some of our shorter, slower midwestern tracks. Between that and the diff lockup, I’m putting a lot of torque multiplication into the trans which causes heat and stresses. Having the pump and spray bar to keep all the gears bathed in oil is good. I’d like to know the temps. It may be that a cooler isn’t even needed, just the forced lubrication.

Oh, and the vent opening is 2.5x7 so plenty of room, but curved. So I’ll probably bend some aluminum as a template but make the final piece out of fiberglass because part of the area will need to transition to flat to mount the gauge and angle it so I can see it with just a glance.

[juanbenae]

that gauge sound like the best of both worlds. that vent opening seems plenty big for the unit you have in mind. put the gauge off to one side of your yet to be constructed plate so if there is another something you want to install there may be room.


strictly a reference point, I too had a guard LSD in my car but w/o spray bars and such. after the cooler, pump and lines were installed I was not going to pull it from the car at that point. the return was in the 915 side cover so the cooled fluid was directed right onto the LSD unit & R&P.

a flat face would not work in the old vent opening even if you set the new piece further in some? if not maybe some of the white nylon cutting board type material? ive used that stuff for a number of things over the years. you could cut it to size, make the aluminum jig you note then apply some heat and mold it in the convex manner you desire??

looking forward to your results.

[175K911]

I like the idea of the cutting board. Just might have to steal one out of the kitchen to try. Though my wife will think I’ve completely lost my sanity at that point.

My Wevo installation at the moment is everything but the cooler. I have it plumbed to circulate the Swepco and spray the gears and diff. The reason for the gauge is to see if that alone is sufficient or if I still need a cooler. If temps stay down, then no cooler. If I need a cooler I can mount a small one up in the tail where it’ll get good air flow.

Those AutoMeter Spek gauges are great. I had several of them in my Spec Miata- oil pressure, oil temp, coolant temp. You can set them with both high and low warnings, and I think 6 or 7 gauge face colors. Not inexpensive but eliminates the need for both a gauge and a warning light.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by 175K911

I like the idea of the cutting board. Just might have to steal one out of the kitchen to try. Though my wife will think I’ve completely lost my sanity at that point.

My Wevo installation at the moment is everything but the cooler. I have it plumbed to circulate the Swepco and spray the gears and diff. The reason for the gauge is to see if that alone is sufficient or if I still need a cooler. If temps stay down, then no cooler. If I need a cooler I can mount a small one up in the tail where it’ll get good air flow.

id suggest going to target or the like to save the wife's cutting board but with the silly black Friday season upon us she'll understand your reluctance to go fight the crowds. ask if you can use her amazon prime account.

I used a 6x6 earl's cooler mounted flat in the passenger side rear seat area with a hood from a race supply house who's names escapes me at the moment. I hole sawed a number of 1.5" holes for venting and the plumbing lines sealing around the edge of the hood with the camper shell type seal material. I also heat softened the hood edge flanges to meet the curved are the rear seat area presented. I then ran scat tubing from a vent in the rear qt window to the hood.


it comes down to are you willing to drill holes in the tub like I did, or want the supply and return lines draped from the deck lid through the motor compartment. a friend had his set up the way you suggest in an IROC tail and every time the deck lid was open he'd have to deal even with his thoughtfully ran hoses seemed to be in the way and frankly looked terrible. the beauty of the rear seat mount the lines were out of sight and very short runs to the wevo return plate, cooler and pump. by the time I installed the cooler on my car I had long gotten over the reluctance to drill even big holes in the thing

[175K911]

Picked up a cutting board at my local Ace Hardware yesterday for $1.99. I think I’m going to use the actual vent assembly as my form, though I’m still not sure how to create a flat enough spot for the gauge. Mechanical work Is in my wheelhouse, sculpting isn’t.

I briefly considered mounting the trans cooler like you did but decided I didn’t want to cut up the car like that. I have the Wevo cooler and shroud that mounts under the car next to the pump, but think mounting in the tail would be better if I need the extra cooling.

[Tyson Schmidt]

An easy alternative to an extra gauge is to use an engine temp sender in the trans, wired to a 3 pole toggle switch that switches between the engine temp sender and the one in your trans, and the engine oil temp gauge..

Then you just flip the switch left or right for it to read engine or trans temp.

[175K911]

Originally Posted by Tyson Schmidt

An easy alternative to an extra gauge is to use an engine temp sender in the trans, wired to a 3 pole toggle switch that switches between the engine temp sender and the one in your trans, and the engine oil temp gauge..

Then you just flip the switch left or right for it to read engine or trans temp.

Brilliant!!! I’ve got a temp sender in the trans already, just need to figure out the wiring.