Has anyone ever switched around the early 944 gauges?

[preludeofwrath]

i'm somewhat upset that the tachometer is not in the center, which should have been a logical place for porsche to place it considering what they've done with the 911 and 914. has anyone ever switched out the speedo and tach?

i have not gone through the effort of looking through to see if this is feasible, but since there isn't a one piece circuit board, i figure this shouldn't be an issue. thoughts?

[mikepellegrini]

I've never heard of anyone doing that.

I have had the gauges out of my 83 NA a number of times and I'm gonna guess the speedo cable isn't long enough to get it to where the tach is - it's a fight just to get it connected where it is in the middle.

If you could find a longer cable, it'd probably work. Maybe a VW part?

[Techno Duck]

It is do-able but getting the speedo cable hooked up is a major pain in the ass. It can be done without trimming anything, but it is far easier to cut /grind down a small piece of metal behind the dash. When you try to hook it up you will see what i am talking about.

[preludeofwrath]

Originally Posted by mikepellegrini

I've never heard of anyone doing that.

I have had the gauges out of my 83 NA a number of times and I'm gonna guess the speedo cable isn't long enough to get it to where the tach is - it's a fight just to get it connected where it is in the middle.

If you could find a longer cable, it'd probably work. Maybe a VW part?

that's too bad, the car would look so cool with a center tach... however, i'm not willing to sacrifice my daily to find out.

i'm surprised no one else has done this, i look bottom right too often and would be more comfortable seeing my revs right in front of me

Originally Posted by Techno Duck

It is do-able but getting the speedo cable hooked up is a major pain in the ass. It can be done without trimming anything, but it is far easier to cut /grind down a small piece of metal behind the dash. When you try to hook it up you will see what i am talking about. I dont have any picture but you will see what i am talking about.

is this piece an impediment to reaching over one of the gauges?

[Techno Duck]

The metal bracket behind the dash i am talking about makes it difficult to get the cable hooked up as its not a straight shot to the back of the gauge. The cable is basically just barely long enough to reach the gauge, so cutting the metal gives you some much needed extra slack.

[962porsche]

my 944 race cars i have done it to i also turn the tack so when the needle is at red line it points straight up . most of the time you have to rerut the cable because its about two inches to short . i find it easier to do that than cut most of the support bracket out of the way. but its a doable thing .

[romad]

One: this is not a 911 or a 914
two: assuming its not a race car, the speedo is more important
three: If you are speed racer you are not referencing your tach for every shift anyway. Regardless, How much effort is it to glance the tach?

Again assuming this is not a race car, why would anyone consider this massive headache as a usefull project.

[ernie9944]

Porsche did it on their 924 Carrera GT (S) wonder if they reroute the speedo cable or just use a longer one.Also to the OP one of the nicest upgrade that can be done to your interior is to install flat face lens (911-914 style) in your fascia which Porsche should have done in the first place,I did it on my ex 944 ,althougth it's a time consuming job it worth every minutes of it,I really did hate those conical lens.Difference when looking at your early 944-924S gauges is like nigth & day.__GT_S
___flat face

[romad]

The difference between night and day! Really? maybe in the way you might think it looks, but really the usefulness of your gauges went from very good to very very good. I'm not sure what kind of driving you are doing that would necessiate the tach front and center, but it sure is not a night and day improvement in regards to function. Yes it might be enough that you just like the look, but no one else is going to give a damn or even notice. Beyond a restoration or a non functioning gauge set, I got better things to do than tear into my perfectly functional and functioning dash.

[M. Murphy]

Lots of reflection in the flat lenses. I agree the conical enses suck the big one (probably a vw innovation). I have an 83 NA I am thinking of using a later 924S gages to get away from the yellow on black (echh)! Anyone out there try led lighting? The factory lashup deserves retribution it is so bad/uneven.

Mike

[ernie9944]

[QUOTE=romad;5847803]The difference between night and day,.

Originally Posted by M. Murphy

Lots of reflection in the flat lens.

Mike

Romad__ You reply to the wrong guy ,I'm the one saying that the flat lens difference is like nigth & day.I've never try to move my 944 tach in the center of the gages pod on my ex 944.. Murphy ___I can assure you that there is less reflection from the flat lens than the conical ,if you don't beleive me go try an early 944 with flat lens ,the ligth reflection in the pic is normal it is cause by the camera in full day ligth with the sun in the back.If you take a close look at the second pic how much reflection do you see?

[commdiver]

I did it in my '83 with 924 S gauges, you either have to purchase a custom longer speedo cable, or do what I did and trim the inside metal on dash so you can have a straight shot right to speedo on right hand side. Also the speedo has to sit rotated clockwise about 45 degrees! I also have seen the flat lenses installed on 924 S gauges and they refract the light comiing in under the stock dashboard and it can at certain times of day or depending on light angle play funny with your eyes! This is why Porsche engineers had the cone type lens designed.

[romad]

Earlier 944's had flat lenes? Anyway that’s not my major *****, its the point of performing major surgery for the very minor aesthetic result of centering the tach.

These cars are 25 plus and you start pulling and bending the wiring, good luck. I would bet a large percentage of the reliability problems these cars have, outside of age, is the unending activity of people trying to modify it in one way or another.

[commdiver]

Yes it is defiantely for the major home tuner to undertake a complete restoration of his 944. I did mine with pure motorsports in mind and thought this would look nice since I am currently spending alot of money and time on a very powerfull engine. I had the interior all torn apart because I purchased a NOS early 924 Anthracite dashboard last year to install with matching door panels!

With a new speedo cable I did not want to do that very thing and screw it up so, with about a 1" square window cut out in the inside of dashs reinforcement the cable fits nicely through and with tach as shown in my picture twisted slightly it is a nice bolt up with no kinks and a nice sweeping bend!

[ernie9944]

[QUOTE=romad;5848404]Earlier 944's had flat lenes?

No early 944 or 924S had flat lens,if so it will be a DIY job,personally I was comfortable doing the flat lens mods ,for your infos I'm also somewhat of a purist when it come to Porsche & try to keep the cars has original as possible if I can. But it's also fun to try thing which is out of the boxe once in a while specially if you own the same 944 like I did for over 26 years.During that time I've modified the front & rear bumpers ,say what you want but there is a lot of 944 owners here that will like to remove them ugly rubber bumperettes & throw them in the garbage.Second mod was to install some real running ligths (fog ligths instead of the OE candles the car came with & the rear ligths also had an extra bulbes add to it) Mechanically the car was never tempered with (and was over maintain) except for a short shifter.Suspension wise the car was very well sort out & could hold is own against many newer car on the road today & my friend this is the sole purpose of owning a Porsche ,a 944 that look like a 944 without doing extreme modifications to it that I enjoy owning -driving & wrenching on for 26 years,to peoples who want to do minor mods on their's I'll say this go ahead do it, it's your car as long as it's tastefull.If anybody care to look at my garage (old faithfull ) & see the mods go ahead your welcome & if you think I've over did it, your commments will be welcome.

[murrayg]

I have an early 85 944 and I did this swap. I put 924S speedo and tach in and swapped positions, putting the tach in the middle. It's easy to do. I didn't cut out the support behind the gauges, but I did notch it to allow the speedo cable to clear. My Speedo sits level, not sure why some have it on a slant?? It took 5 minutes with a Dermel. Its a nice Saturday afternoon project.
Now, Why?? First I have a Momo steering wheel that is smaller than the original wheel. I found it difficult to see the right hand gauge. When I'm driving "in a spirited fashion", I found it difficult to look for the tach, and quite frankly, couldn't care less about the speedo. I was moving my hand off the wheel to "uncover" the tach. By moving it to the center, it is right there. I find now that I maintain speed more by RPM than by the speedo. The second reason - ITS COOL! I really like the way it looks. Go for it! I took pictures of the install, if I can find them, I'll post them.

[preludeofwrath]

Originally Posted by murrayg

I have an early 85 944 and I did this swap. I put 924S speedo and tach in and swapped positions, putting the tach in the middle. It's easy to do. I didn't cut out the support behind the gauges, but I did notch it to allow the speedo cable to clear. My Speedo sits level, not sure why some have it on a slant?? It took 5 minutes with a Dermel. Its a nice Saturday afternoon project.
Now, Why?? First I have a Momo steering wheel that is smaller than the original wheel. I found it difficult to see the right hand gauge. When I'm driving "in a spirited fashion", I found it difficult to look for the tach, and quite frankly, couldn't care less about the speedo. I was moving my hand off the wheel to "uncover" the tach. By moving it to the center, it is right there. I find now that I maintain speed more by RPM than by the speedo. The second reason - ITS COOL! I really like the way it looks. Go for it! I took pictures of the install, if I can find them, I'll post them.

post some pictures! would love to see. i love the signature early 944 tach and how it swings from 3:00, but i do want it in the center. despite going against OEM i think it simply makes more sporting sense!

[preludeofwrath]

Originally Posted by commdiver

I did it in my '83 with 924 S gauges, you either have to purchase a custom longer speedo cable, or do what I did and trim the inside metal on dash so you can have a straight shot right to speedo on right hand side. Also the speedo has to sit rotated clockwise about 45 degrees! I also have seen the flat lenses installed on 924 S gauges and they refract the light comiing in under the stock dashboard and it can at certain times of day or depending on light angle play funny with your eyes! This is why Porsche engineers had the cone type lens designed.

this looks incredible! also, do you have your AC routed elsewhere or do not have it at all? it seemed logical for porsche to put in a third gauge there but i have this ugly protrusion of a dial. what is the middle gauge for, and is it stock?

[ecostellodo]

north hollywood speedometer can make custom length speedo cables.

[nynor]

Originally Posted by preludeofwrath

i'm somewhat upset that the tachometer is not in the center, which should have been a logical place for porsche to place it considering what they've done with the 911 and 914. has anyone ever switched out the speedo and tach?

i have not gone through the effort of looking through to see if this is feasible, but since there isn't a one piece circuit board, i figure this shouldn't be an issue. thoughts?

i did this in my '83 and turned the tach so that redline was at the top. i liked it a lot.