How to Choose a Camshaft
May 1, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Eddie Motorsports’ Billet Aluminum Kinetic Style Hood Hinges for Slammed Squarebodies
If you’re a Squarebody owner, you know the heartbreak of watching your factory hood hinges kink up your truck’s sheet metal like a bad day in the junkyard. Those OEM stamped-steel hinges might have gotten the job done back in the 1970s, but these days, they’re better at mangling your hood than holding it. Enter Eddie Motorsports’ latest product release: Billet Aluminum Kinetic Style Hood Hinges for 1973-80 Chevy Truck – Slammed. Specifically designed for slammed trucks, this innovation is the hero your Squarebody has been waiting for.
A FITTING TRIBUTE
When we shoot a feature, we give the owner a tech sheet to fill out to tell us about all the parts that were used on the truck. The tech booklet tells us what shocks or body modifications have been performed, and we always ask why that person has decided to build that particular truck. Many times the answer is that their father had one when the owner was a kid. This is the case with Hector Leon and his ’57 Chevy.
NEIGHBORHOOD SEDAN
We’ve all heard stories of fellow street rodders who have searched far and wide for that special car. Weeks are spent on the Internet, days are spent stumbling through hot, dry, cold, wet, dusty or muddy swap meets, and even more time is spent at major rod runs, car corrals and cruise nights. Even with all that effort, time and expense, often times you still don’t find a particularly special car. Of course, you could do what Cecil Watts did and walk next door while your neighbor is having a barbecue for the hot rod club and say, “I didn’t know you were going to sell the Fordor—I’ll take it.” It was really that simple, and the best part is that the car is really special.
Spotlighter
MULTITASKING FOR THE MASSES
Installing Haneline’s 3-in-1 Gauge Clusters
Author
Matt Emery
Story & Photography
Say you drive an older pickup in which the original designers weren’t all that interested in engine management. Thanks to the addition of that high-horsepower engine, however, you are very interested in what it is up to. But you are also interested in keeping the dash area clean and don’t want to put a bunch of holes into it. You also don’t really want to have an old-style gauge panel hanging beneath the dash. What to do?
For those who drive a 1947-’53 Chevrolet pickup truck, the ideal way to handle this problem is to install Haneline’s 3-in-1 gauge clusters.
Haneline has a long history of producing high-quality gauge packages that are designed as a direct replacement for a majority of classic autos and pickup trucks. It is well known for its “machine” finish gauge panels and vintage-appearing gauge faces, but with the advent of these multitasking gauges the company is reaching out to those owners who don’t actually have dash panels.
As with most of the Haneline product line, the 3-in-1 gauge clusters are a snap to install. It takes only an hour or so to install the units (not including the time to install the senders).
We were on hand as Jim Bible showed us how to install the units into a Chevy dash. Okay, it was not one that was actually mounted into a truck; it was one that Bible used to design the billet ring, as well as the size of the gauges that he would use in the kit. Haneline includes a detailed installation sheet with the kit, which takes into consideration not just how to install the gauges into the dash, but how to install the sending units and even how to calibrate the speedometer to work with a variety of tire sizes.
So if you like a clean dash, as well as being completely informed on how your truck is running, take a look at Haneline. You will probably like what you see.
Haneline’s 3-in-1 gauge clusters do exactly what they say; they encompass three gauges in a single housing.
There are two housings, so that actually makes six gauges, which give the driver all the engine’s information.
This dash is out of a 1947-’53 Chevrolet. It was used by Bible to design the gauge package for this kit. Now it will be used to show how the Haneline gauges are installed.
The billet ring is held in place in the dash with three set screws. They are installed into the rings.
The billet rings are inserted into the dash openings and the set screws are tightened (but not too tight, or the ring could distort) so that the rings are secured.
The wiring harnesses are fed through the openings.
Care is taken to make sure that the gauges are aligned straight.
A pair of L-shaped brackets is used to secure the gauges to the billet rings.
The gauges are in place and held fast, thanks to the
A 1/2-inch hole needs to be drilled to mount the trip/odometer button. This button will change the LED display from the trip odometer to the main odometer.
Though the lead wires are attached as the unit comes from Haneline, they need to be removed from the button so that it can be mounted through the hole. A nut holds it in place from behind.
There you have it. In less than an hour you can have a complete set of gauges installed into your Chevy pickup. These Haneline gauges not only look great, but they also give the driver a complete look at the operational parameters of his ride.
ARTICLE SOURCES
Haneline
P.O. Box 430
Morongo Valley, CA 92256
888/878-8678
