PHAT ’53
July 16, 2023
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
BRIGHT ORANGE
When Mitch Meyers was but a pup back in 1986, he experienced one of the greatest days of his life: He received his first ride, a ’71 Dodge stepside pickup. Now, the truck wasn’t anything like the one shown here, but it wasn’t a bad canvas for a cool high school cruiser, and the $700 purchase price was just right.
The Ultimate Street Rod Showdown: Goodguys Crowns the 2026 Street Rod of the Year
There’s no shortage of incredible hot rods rolling through the gates at the Goodguys Summit Racing Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. With more than 6,000 of the country’s finest 1999-and-older hot rods, customs, trucks, classics, and muscle cars filling the Ohio Expo Center, the weekend once again delivered a showcase of some of the most impressive vehicles in the hobby.
REDEEMING THE FORGOTTEN Y-BLOCK
When Ford introduced its Y-block engine in 1954, it labeled the engine the worthy successor to the venerable Flathead. The Flathead gained a loyal following of hot rodders and racers, but the big Cadillac overhead-valve V-8 and Oldsmobile’s Rocket 88 were stealing Ford’s thunder in terms of power, so something had to be done, and Ford decided to respond. The answer was a clean-sheet V-8 design, featuring overhead valves and improved cooling compared to the old Flathead. It was dubbed the “Y-block” because of the way it looked and because of its deep skirt and tall cylinder heads.
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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