Gauge Pod Installed

[Ian Gross]

Well guys after a few months i finally got my gauge pod fab'd and installed. I followed Jeff C's advice and went with an F-150 Pod and chopped the ends off. Ended up fitting pretty well. I rivited it to the factory A-pillar trim and then used some bondo around the top to smooth it into the trim at the roof. I was taking some pictures of the mud damage (dark spots on the windshield) from last night and snapped some of the pod while I was at it. I'll try to get some close ups tomorrow if it's not still raining. If anyone else is looking to do this let me know and I'll see if I can help. It really wasnt too bad. I thought I was going to have to use fiberglass but the bondo worked just fine, dispite the fact that it was a pretty big area that needed to be filled.



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[Wayne Fajkus]

sweet. 3 pods are better than two.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Looks good Ian. To me though, those gauges would be distracting. But that is just me. Good job, looks like they were there all the time.

 

[Ian Gross]

Thanks guys.

sweet. 3 pods are better than two.

Thats what I thought too. I had Three in my SHO and I wasnt happy with the two gauge ones that I saw.



Right now I just have Volts, Trans Temp and Oil Pressure. I think I want to ditch the Volts gauge since we have an idiot gauge on the dash, and add another trans temp gauge but have it reading the temp of the transfer case or rear diff. Im not sure which temp would be more usefull. What do you guys think.

 

[David Griffith 2]

Looks good Ian. How hard was the wiring?

 

[Ian Gross]

It was pretty straight forward I wired all of the lights to the same lead and then to a dash light. Then all of the grounds and positves for the gauges together so thats 4 wires, (and if you dont care if your gauges have the dimming effect of the dash gauges all of these leads can go to the same places) then the transmission gauge only has one other wire to hook to the temp sender. The oil pressure gauge is mechanical I know alot of people dont like that in the cabin, but I had it in my other car for 2 years without a problem. So for that I just put a tee where the factory oil pressure sender is and ran the tubing from there. I also found a bolt/plug in the transmission that the sender for the temp probe fit perfectly into without drilling/tapping any holes, Which was very fortunate.

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Nice job, Ian.

 

[Curt NA]

Very nice! Autometer Phantom series gauges, right? I had some simular gauges (Autometer Comp series) put into my car. Very reliable.

 

[Keith Lewis]

I have Phantom's in my SVTF and Lunar's in my Cobra...do the Phantom's match the dash better in the ST?

 

[Fred]

Looks real good Ian.

 

[Ian Gross]

Yeah, they are the Phantoms. They match perfectly during the day, but now autometer has the phantom II which light up exactly like our factory gauges at night, I had these from my SHO and didnt see the need to buy new ones.



But what do you guys think about the transfer case / rear diff temp. Im leaning towards rear diff for when I'm towing.

 

[Chad Merry]

What temp would be considered bad for your transfer case or rear diff? And if you are towing a load and your transfer case or rear diff gets hot, then what are you going to do? Seems like pointless gauges, or am I missing something?

 

[Jeff C]

I'm waiting to get a few more things finished and for all my gauges to arrive before I post any pics All of mine are Autometer Phantom II with the exception of the wideband O2 which is from Innovate Motorsports. Triple pillar and a steering column. Hope to have some pics up after Xmas



Looks good! Glad I inspired you.



Daeron, the Phantom IIs match the dash perfectly, which is my reason for going that route.

 

[Wayne Fajkus]

I like the volt gauge mainly because I'll be adding an e-fan and off road lights. My Oil pressure will end up going outside on the cowl.

 

[Jeff C]

How are you going to mount it, Wayne?



I'll be running the wideband, fuel pressure, nitrous pressure, and tranny temp. I also plan to have a few gauges mounted in the engine bay, both for show, and to monitor things.

 

[Ian Gross]

What temp would be considered bad for your transfer case or rear diff?

Obviously you would get a base reading driving around town normally, then when you are using your truck hard you will know if to take it easy if you start seeing the temps go up. Automatic transmissions hate heat.

And if you are towing a load and your transfer case or rear diff gets hot, then what are you going to do? Seems like pointless gauges, or am I missing something?

I agree with you its not necessary but its more useful to me than a wideband sensor, since I dont have any boost or nitrous on my truck.



Jeff I wish I had the money for the Phantom IIs they match so good. Oh well I guess what I have is better than none

 

[Wayne Fajkus]

Jeff, I have a piece that came off an s-10 fuel filler. It looks like it will go right on and hold the gauge. I'm using all mechanical gauges so having the oil pressure out side the cab is not a bad deal. It's a little old school also which is not bad in my book.