Suspended
September 25, 2022
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
Back From The Dead
Leon Sneed and Chris de Melo are the men behind Big House Customs, a Mustang restoration and customization shop in Dayton, Tennessee. We met them after moving our company to Dayton, the town we now call home. Like anyone else who runs their own shop, they are constantly on the lookout for project cars to fill in the gaps when customers don’t bring in cars, and that’s exactly what De Melo was doing when he saw a newspaper ad selling miscellaneous Mustang parts.
The Sights of SEMA 2023
Explore the standout rides and jaw-dropping innovations at SEMA 2023! Join us as we revisit the show’s hottest builds, from the iconic 1957 Nash Metropolitan to the cutting-edge Arrington Hydrogen Monster Truck. Get an exclusive look at the custom creations, unique body kits, and powerhouse engines that stole the spotlight at the premier automotive aftermarket event of the year. Don’t miss out on the highlights captured by The Auto Builder Staff and photographers Wendy Miles & Kim Cooley. Feast your eyes on the unforgettable designs and ingenious engineering that left a lasting impression at SEMA 2023!
MEN AT WORK
Is it us, or does it seem that Jim Bell and his crew at Kenne Bell turn out hot trucks at truly astounding rates? In the past, they have built such a wide variety of trucks and SUVs that it’s hard to count them all. But when you consider all their other projects, such as their ’05 Mustang, the ’04 Focus and the ’04 Escape, it seems they have been busier than a one-armed paper hanger (whatever that means). One of their latest projects is this ’04 Ford F-150. As with most all of the other Kenne Bell projects, it started out as a new vehicle and was destined to be displayed in its SEMA booth.
Spotlighter
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Intellitronix LED Digital Dash for Squarebody GM
Replace that tired Chevy/GMC gauge cluster with modern readouts, fresh style, and a better view of your truck’s vitals.
Author
Jamie Dent
Photos Courtesy of Intellitronix
You know your Squarebody’s little habits. The fuel gauge you don’t quite trust. The speedometer that leaves you doing mental math. The temperature needle that makes you wonder whether the engine is getting hot or the gauge is giving up. You might have learned to live with all of it, but that doesn’t mean you should.
If your old cluster has become a collection of educated guesses, it’s time to give it a retirement date. The Intellitronix BG6004 Squarebody digital dash brings modern instrumentation to 1973–1987 Chevrolet and GMC trucks, giving that familiar dashboard a fresh start.
A Squarebody Gauge Cluster Upgrade You’ll Appreciate Every Drive
A good set of gauges earns its keep every time you drive. Watching coolant temperature in traffic, checking oil pressure after the engine warms up, or keeping tabs on charging voltage shouldn’t require wondering whether the instruments are telling the truth.
The BG6004 combines a digital speedometer and tachometer with LED bargraph displays for fuel level, coolant temperature, oil pressure, and voltage. Smoked lenses give the panel a clean appearance, while automatic nighttime dimming adjusts the LED display for driving after dark. Turn-signal and high-beam indicators round out the everyday essentials.
Whether your truck is a weekend cruiser, a daily driver, or a project finally earning some road miles, those are functions you’ll appreciate long after the novelty of a new dash wears off.
Speedometer Calibration for Tire, Gear, and Transmission Changes
Different tires? New rearend gears? A transmission swap? Those upgrades can leave an old speedometer struggling to keep the story straight.
Intellitronix gives the BG6004 one-button speedometer calibration to accommodate changes in tire size, gearing, and transmission. An odometer and trip meter handle mileage tracking, while peak-RPM memory, high-speed recall, and built-in 0–60 and quarter-mile timing add useful extras for performance-minded owners.
You don’t need a show truck to appreciate that flexibility. Sometimes the best upgrade is simply making the dashboard catch up with the truck around it.
Modern Digital Gauges in Your Factory Squarebody Dash
The BG6004 installs into the stock gauge housing, preserving the familiar dashboard layout. The kit includes replacement circuit boards, smoked acrylic lenses, temperature and oil-pressure senders, a speedometer sender, and mounting hardware. Installation involves wiring and trimming portions of the housing for clearance.
Buyers can choose from amber, blue, green, red, teal, or white illumination, with optional GPS speed input, an LS engine swap kit, and a quick-connect wiring harness available to suit the build. Note that the bezel is not included.
That gives you a chance to make the instruments feel like part of the finished interior instead of another item waiting on the project list.
What’s in the Box?
The Intellitronix BG6004 kit includes the core components to replace your Squarebody’s factory instruments:
- Three digital circuit boards covering speedometer, tachometer, fuel level, water temperature, oil pressure, and voltage.
- Three smoked acrylic lenses for a clean, coordinated appearance.
- Water temperature sending unit with a 1/2-inch NPT adapter bushing.
- Oil pressure sending unit.
- Speedometer sending unit.
- Mounting hardware for the gauge panel installation.
The kit reuses your factory gauge housing and bezel, with wiring and some housing trimming required. A new bezel and fuel-level sending unit are not included; the system can use a compatible existing fuel sender.
The GPS speed sender, LS swap kit, and quick-connect wiring harness are optional add-ons.
Replace Your Worn-Out Chevy/GMC Gauge Cluster
There’s plenty worth keeping about a Squarebody. Questionable gauges don’t have to make the cut.
Made in America and backed by a lifetime guarantee, the Intellitronix BG6004 gives you a compelling reason to stop nursing a worn-out cluster along. You’ve put time, money, and effort into a truck you enjoy driving. Give yourself a better view of what’s happening every time you turn the key.
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