Gauging Encouragement

Today I had a short day working on the car.  I needed some encouragement after yesterday's slow progress, so I decided to install some aftermarket gauges in the dash.   I've been thinking about adding mechanical oil pressure and water temperature gauges to the car.  It has no oil pressure gauge, just an idiot light.  This makes me rather uncomfortable... a good oil pressure gauge is particularly useful for on-road engine diagnostics.  I've found that mechanical gauges tend to respond more rapidly than electrical ones, and they are in keeping with the rest of the car (mechanical tach, etc).

The car already has a water temperature gauge, but it is electrical, uncalibrated and notoriously inaccurate.  A mechanical temperature gauge, sensing at the thermostat housing, should provide a more accurate reading.  This is important in a car like the t-bird which is prone to overheat!  A mechanical gauge will also read the temperature when the engine is off... this is important, because the water temperature rises after the engine has been stopped and the water flow ceases.  Needless to say, I find the presence of these two gauges more important than the presence of a radio in the dash!

I found a $12 three-gauge set at Harbor Freight with unusually small 1.5" diameter mechanical oil pressure, water temperature and ammeter gauges.  They have black dials and orange pointers, just like the other gauges on the car.  As it turns out, two of them will fit perfectly in the hole that the radio used to fill!  I still have the original radio, but I don't intend to restore it any time soon.  It makes more sense to me to have a "headless" stereo in the car, hidden from view and connected to an iPod.  I committed to this path when I removed the radio antenna and filled hole in the fender.   I had intended to use the radio hole in the dash for something else all along, then these gauges turned up.

I got a radio delete plate in a batch of unrelated t-bird stuff from eBay, so I decided to modify it to fit these two gauges.  I've just been waiting for the right time to do this, and today was it.

The radio delete plate matches the aluminum "fish scale" pattern of the rest of the dash, and completely fills the rectangular radio hole.  I used a thin piece of plywood as a backing, since the aluminum is pretty soft

I used an adjustable hole cutter to get the holes exactly the right size

The mechanical temperature gauge has a permanently attached bulb, so I had to thread it back through the dash to put it in this new panel.

The panel is in place, and the engine is running.  Note that the tachometer works, too!

I think this looks great!  Just like they belong there!

 After the gauges were in, I cleaned up the old wiring harness and started dressing the wires.

 I had to run part of the harness under the nose of the car, in front of the radiator.  This includes the heavy yellow wire that goes to the generator.  I have replaced the generator with an alternator, and will need to modify the wiring slightly.

 On the firewall, I decided to use the third tiny gauge from Harbor Freight, an ammeter.  I want to see how much current is being pulled from the battery under normal conditions, especially as I hook up the alternator, lights, and internal circuits.  I also like to see the condition of the electrical system as I close the battery disconnect, so an ammeter under the hood makes sense.

I fashioned a right-angle buss bar out of copper stock, connected it to the starter solenoid, and mounted the ammeter.  I moved all the internal wiring supply wiring to the other side of the ammeter.  Now, the starter has a direct path to the battery, but everything else must go through this under-hood ammeter, so I can tell when something goes screwy!

It seemed like a very productive day, but I really think productivity has nothing to do with the way I feel.  It's really about attitude, and acceptance.  I can think, I can strive, and I can create, but there will be days when I just need to be patient and wait.  There are times when I need to learn, and if I let myself get anxious or frustrated, that learning will not be easy.

Tomorrow I leave with my wife for 5 days in Vermont.  I expect it will be very peaceful.  I expect I will need to do a lot of learning, and a lot of waiting.  I think I'm OK with that.