904 style combo gauge kit

[nein14]

Anyone know were I can get one of those 904 combo gauge kits I know north holywood sells the complete unit ,but too $much.

[Rouser]

Palo Alto Speedometer, Inc. has the Triple Cluster also, but I believe North Hollywood might have them beat on pricing.

Definately not a cheap option; maybe if I hit the Lotto ...

[derek_sf]

I've got a kit that I haven't built yet, still sitting in the box. I can't remember who I got it from, was about 4 years ago and I believe this person is not making them anymore?? at some point I will get around to building this.

I got a kit with my car that I believe was from Pelican. I built it a couple of months ago. It was a lot of work. Took me about two weeks of working nights to complete the gauge, not including installation. Considering the time and the cost of buying a 911 temp/pressure gauge to tear apart, I don't think the $500 N. Hollywood quoted me is so out of line. It depends how much your time is worth to you. I like to tinker so it was a fun project even though I almost gave up three times. Here is a photo of my finished gauge.

[anthony]

Looks great. I'd try it if the kit was still available. Since it's not I picked up a combo gauge from a '74 that didn't come with a center console. It has the temperature gauge where the big ass blinking brake light is usually located. I'm going to use that with an oil pressure gauge in my center console.

Speaking of oil pressure. What is the normal oil pressure range for a type IV? It seems like I usually see VD) oil pressure gauges that go 0 to 80 or 0 to 150. Which one for the 914? The Pelican gauge section is confusing since they sell both.

[Phoenix-MN]

Why not do this - all of the parts cost me about $600 and with a little cutting. welding and dash pad work you can have all the gauges you need

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

It took me about two evenings to build the combo gauge from Don's kit. That was while sitting in front of the TV, with breaks for dinner and so on. That did not include a fair bit of poring over the instructions beforehand, nor having a buddy modify the supplied back plate so it would work with a later (more common) fuel gauge module.

For normal running in a 914, the 0-90 gauge is sufficient. You may peg it on a cold morning, but normal operating pressures are rather lower than 90 PSI.

Make sure to get a sender that matches the gauge!

--DD

[red-beard]

The combo guage kit says NLA. Are any hanging around ?

James

Dave; modifying the back plate for a newer fuel gauge was a smart idea. One of my biggest problems was getting my old fuel gauge mounted and not grounding, those 30 year old fiber washers didn't cut it.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I think it was designed for the early one simply because that was what the original designer had around. I noticed that my later fuel gauge modules (I had a couple of spare combo gauges) all had the same pattern on their backplate as the oil temp and pressure modules. So I took one of those and used it as a template to drill a couple of new holes (and I think enlarge the two that were there) in the fuel gauge portion of the combo gauge backplate.

No problem.

I also used the 911 combo gauge housing, as it had the screw-holes in place. That way I didn't have to find and cut up an early combo gauge or a later one that had the oil temp gauge in it.

--DD

[anthony]

I wonder if Palo Alto Speedometer or North Hollywood would just sell the face plate. The rest can be fashioned from 911 and 914 gauges, right?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Well, you need the backing plate as well....

--DD

Email Don@pelicanparts.com and tell him to make some more kits.

DAVE can you help with this??

Ken

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Uhhh.... I can suggest a few things to him... Like the backing plate modification, and possibly not putting holes in the center for the silver button so 74+ cars would match better.

I've talked to him before, and he said that it was more of a hassle than he really wanted to deal with. That there was a lot of interest, but when it came to people actually shelling out for the kit, they got cold feet. The last dozen or so of the last run of kits were sold off at a pretty steep discount (read: at a loss). Not a good way for a business to stay in business...

But if people keep asking him, who knows? Maybe he'll have another run made up. But I wouldn't be surprised if the price goes up, as he will likely have to find another shop to have the metal cut... Some of the stories about the last place were - - - uhm, interesting.

--DD

[derek_sf]

dave do you know how he did the labeling and painting of the face plate? I have someone who can make these kits.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

He got someone to powdercoat them, and the labels were silk-screened on.

Frankly, you could probably make do without the labels...

--DD

[derek_sf]

wonder if people would buy these this time around, or get cold feet again? any idea how many of these he sold? wasn't the price around $100? (can't remember how much I paid). well, without the print would be easier, and therefore cheaper. hmmm.

[red-beard]

For $100, or less, I'd buy a kit. $500 is _way_ too much.

James

[derek_sf]

bear in mind, that $100 was only for two metal plates, no senders, etc. you will still need to put money into it to get a complete and working setup. $100 to me still seems a little high, but I don't know what the powder coating and print work costs.

[kellzey]

Does anyone have a photo of the North Hollywood Speedometer gauge. The Palo Alto Speedo gauge is on their website but NHS doesn't have a pic. I'm sure they're not THAT different, but I am curious.

I spoke to Hartmut at PAS and he said that their gauges are made from scratch and do not use the standard modules found in the 911 dual gauge and the 914 gauge. I wanted to know if I sent him my 914 fuel gauge and the two modules from a 911 dual combo gauge if he could build me the gauge and save me some cash. He said they don't use those modules and they wouldn't fit their gauge housing.

I think the fellow at NHS is also named Hartmut... How weird is that?

Regards,