Epic Adventurer
February 13, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
Observations From the Field
Call ’em tech tips, building tips, details or whatever you like, but this is the stuff we see at events and shows while shooting features or doing shop tours, not to mention things we’ve discovered while working in our own shops. It’s like when you’re foot-cruising an event with the boys and pointing things out to each other, or when you have a stroke of genius while working on your own project.
LS Swapping a Classic Jeep CJ
In 1981 this Jeep, that now belongs to Clinton Campbell of Dallas Texas left the factory floor with a straight 6, but he drove it away from Street & Performance with a 5.3 truck LS-1 type engine and a 4L60E transmission. Clinton wanted more performance, drivability and, with the recent enforcement of emission laws in Texas, he needed to be able to pass emissions.
10 Cool Bow Tie Tips
These tips are performance-oriented in nature because no matter how good-looking a matching-numbers Chevy might be, getting there and back is vital, as is prepping the car properly and inexpensively with little trouble. While six-figure projects and high-tech billet products flood the market, finding a good deal at the local salvage yard or a worthwhile part left over from a project can be just as exciting and much easier on the wallet.
Spotlighter
MOLDED MONITORS
Installing A Covans Classic Molded Gauge Package
Author
Josh Kaylor
Story & Photography
Covans Classic, located in Cumming, Georgia, offers a full line of ABS molded dash panels and glovebox doors for classic cars and trucks. The fully molded dashes are designed to be factory replacements, giving a smooth, custom look while accepting common 3-3/8-inch speedometer and tach and 2-1/16-inch oil pressure, water temp, fuel level and volt gauges. The instrument panels feature high-quality molding and are available with or without holes. They can be purchased in brushed aluminum, black, burl wood and carbon fiber. The panels can also be painted to match the interior.
The 70 Chevy pickup dash seen here has recently been painted and the interior received a new Hot Rod Air under-dash unit and late- model bench seat. The owner wanted to update the look of the dash as well as the instrumentation, so he decided that the Covans Classic molded dash insert in brushed aluminum and the Auto Meter Ultra-Lite gauges would give him the look and style he was after. The owner modified the original gauges and installed a new dash insert, but the factory gauge cluster still functioned andlooked 37 years old. The original gauges operated via mechanical sending units, while the new Auto Meter gauges operate by electric sending units, which allow for a much cleaner installation.
Covans Classic offers the panels with or without gauges. The owner of this classic Chevy pickup purchased the gauge panel and gauges separately, so a custom wiring harness had to be made for the gauge installation. After a few minutes online researching the factory wiring harness and printing a diagram, the installation began. Wiring up the new gauges and connectors was the most time consuming, since purchasing a pre-made harness seemed too expensive at the time. Once the removal and installation began, it took a couple of hours to finish the job and test the new gauges.
The Covans Classic panel is well molded, as the mounting holes lined up great and the installation required only simple wiring tools, various hand tools and a small drill. The dash looks custom and the owner can now sit back and enjoy the road, knowing these great-looking gauges are providing an accurate readout.
Since the factory wires will be cut, the battery cables had to be disconnected from the truck.
The wiper and headlight switch have to be removed in order to pull the gauge assembly from the dash.
Next the headlight switch, wiper switch and retaining nuts are removed. Simply spin the ring on the outside of the switches, which will allow them to be removed from the rear.
The outside screws around the rim of the Chevrolet gauge panel must be removed to access the factory wiring harness and sending unit lines.
We had to unplug and remove the aftermarket tach from the column; it will be replaced with a new Auto Meter unit in the new gauge cluster.
We unplugged the factory harness and the sending unit lines and removed the assembly from the truck. The original gauges are headed for eBay!
Here are the original gauges; the entire assembly comes out of the truck in one piece. Now the original wiring harness is modified for the new panel.
In the engine compartment, the early-style sending unit pressure lines are removed and tossed in the garbage. The new gauges are electric and do not require the use of pressure lines.
The kit includes all of the needed sensors and brass adapters for installing the new gauges.
In order to keep the sensors from leaking in the future, Teflon tape was wrapped around the threads. Be sure to leave the end threads bare so that the sending unit is properly grounded.
Each new sensor was installed and plugged in. The old connectors were worn down so new ones were installed.
Here is the new gauge panelfrom Covans Classic. The owner of the Chevy truck decided on the Auto Meter Ultra-Lites in the brushed aluminum panel for this particular installation.
Since the owner purchased the gauges and the panel separately, a custom wiring harness had to be made. In order to keep the plugs from getting confused, there is one male and one female plug on the panel harness.
The connectors that we picked up are available at most auto parts stores or anywhere that sells connectors for trailers.
Next we tackled the original harness wires. After looking online, we found a harness layout that allowed the factory wires to be identified. These are available from a variety of classic truck suppliers for about $5 to $10.
Once we identified the wires and connected the new harness connectors, we zip-tied the wires and tucked them behind the dash.
Before mounting the new panel into the dash, the holes had to be drilled to accommodate the windshield wiper and the headlight switch.
The new dash insert was then plugged into the harness and fitted to the dash. The new Covans Classic insert uses the factory panel mounting screws. Before reinstalling the panel into your truck, check the condition of the screws, as many aftermarket companies such as LMC Truck offer these screw kits for a few dollars.
After installing the panel into the dash, the windshield wiper switch and the headlight switch are installed into the dash and plugged in. Now would be a good time to replace your switches if they are getting old, or if you need to wiggle the headlight knob at night.
The new Covans Classic dash and Auto Meter gauges are in and look terrific. The dash panel is available with or without gauges in a variety of finishes to complement the interior of the truck. The new gauges look great and will provide the owner with much needed engine vitals.
ARTICLE SOURCES
Auto Meter
413 West Elm St.
Sycamore, IL 60178
815/8959-8759
Covans Classic
CLASSIC DASH
5055 METRIC WAY
CARSON CITY, NV 89706
775/883-7904
