THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
Junky Genie
Have you ever seen a pictorial like this that tells where the location actually is? We didn’t think so, but don’t you just love a good mystery? Good, because that’s exactly how the owner wanted this incredible story left: unfinished. So we had to make part of it up. But which part? The interesting thing is this: Just when you think there are no old cars left to rebuild, think again!
CLASSIC RECONSTRUCTION
Kinney Lazarus has owned several Jeeps over the years, and he had an interest in owning one of these vintage Willys pickups. While searching the Internet one day, he came across a running ’52 Willys 4WD pickup in Arkansas. He purchased the pickup online and had it shipped to his home in Georgia. Once he had possession of the truck, he quickly found that the performance of the original flathead four-cylinder engine left a lot to be desired by today’s standards. Also, being accustomed to a more modern ride, he found that the outdated suspension was less than desirable. In general, this classic Jeep was no fun to drive.
CUSTOM STOPPING POWER
If you own a Ford or Chevy, most of the parts you will need to build a street rod are readily available, and from a variety of suppliers. We have written numerous stories about kits for these cars in our family of rodding magazines, and some of them were a direct replacement for the original. By and large, they worked perfectly and bolted right in, as designed. These types of kits are convenient for many street rod builders, as well as street rod shops, and they are part of what has helped grow our hobby into such a broad special-interest group. But in addition to the “normal” and most popular rods, there were many other great cars made in the pre-war era, and some of them can be a real challenge to street rodders because there are no pre-manufactured parts, and no kits that make them easy to build. Sounds like the old days, right? Well, that’s the modern world for you–even our hobbies have become targets of convenience.
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
