[grivera]

I have the opportunity to buy a nicely restored basic gauge cluster for a 69 Firebird (no tach). I have a hood tach. I was already considering a Dakota Digital dash and obviously there is a huge difference in price between these two (160 obo vs 755). For those who have Dakota Digital, are they worth the expense?

[ErikW]

Have DD in my wife's 71 TA. Very nice appearance, works great. Hardest part was hiding all of the wiring. Worth the effort though. You can always reverse it later. Planning on installing one in my 66 LeMans also. It's got the old school 3 gauge under the dash and tach strapped to the steering column. It would clean up the dash nicely

[The Champ]

We have the DD dash in my wife's Camaro. It's a totally modern look and it's what she wanted in her car (which is very much "non stock").

[JLMounce]

I went back and forth on that myself and decided I could better utilize the money on the car elsewhere. I ended up restoring my dash and cluster.

One thing I did opt for was LED bulbs, which really helped illumination of the cluster and modernized the look somewhat.

I didn't go as far as to repaint the needles, but I've seen examples where the needles were repainted red to match the fuel needle and along with white LEDs (will appear pale blue with the eggshell color of the pod) looks really nice and up front.

[i82much]

Seems as much a matter of taste as anything? I actually *like* the old three knee-knocker gauges under the dash, myself. But I'm kind of a "day two" guy rather than a "bone stock" or a "modern retro" guy. But who cares what I think, what do you think? Does the DD dash look like what you want to see when driving your car? If so, go for it!

[grivera]

If money wasn’t an object I would do the DD as I can always reinstall the factory gauges- at the end of the day I’m trying to gauge if the price is proportional to the value- Full disclosure though, I haven’t seen them I person.

For those who have done it did you opt for the dimmer feature and if not, are they just right for brightness?

[Mister Pontiac]

Originally Posted by i82much

Seems as much a matter of taste as anything? I actually *like* the old three knee-knocker gauges under the dash, myself. But I'm kind of a "day two" guy rather than a "bone stock" or a "modern retro" guy. But who cares what I think, what do you think? Does the DD dash look like what you want to see when driving your car? If so, go for it!

X2. It really is personal taste and budget.

For me, my 'old' cars should look, act, drive, smell, and sound like an old car. It's a full sensory experience for me. If any of those aspects are missing, it doesn't "feel" right and leaves me wanting. So mine stay mostly original, or 'day 2' as well.

Again, that's just my opinion too, but if you're anything like that, I'd also say use the originals and spend the money elsewhere.

[lamans71]

I really do like the Dakota setup, very clean and still has a very original look. In case you have not seen it there is a thread in the non Pontiac motors in Pontiacs section titled 1970 LeMans repower where the car has the Dakota gages installed. He provided some nice photos so that is a good way to see what they look like in a real car. The cost is steep for the Dakota package but if you like them and can swing the cost then I would. Not a priority for me but I am considering this as well down the road as I really dislike the under dash gages I currently have, just not sure I dislike them enough to offset the cost.

[vertigto]

Nothing against the Dakota (they are very nice), but I'm also one of those guys who prefers the OEM gauges.

Instead of getting the typical 3 gauge mini clusters for the bottom of the dash, I opted for a Rally gauge set on my 70 GTO to replace the standard gauges. So now I have an in-dash tach and oil pressure/temperature sweeps instead of idiot lights. Maybe not perfectly accurate, but was the best/most cost effective alternative for me.

[grivera]

How much is too much for a restored factory gauge cluster? Below are pics of the one I'm considering (advertised at $160). The bottom of lens on speedo side appears to have a blemish - is the edge covered by dash bezel or will I see this?

Is the odometer set at "0" an issue? I will keep the original cluster which shows 83xxx.

Also note I have a hood tach.

[RocktimusPryme]

Ive been waffling over the same thing myself, though Im looking at an electronic setup that goes into your factory gauge cluster.

I just have extra gauges all over the place and its getting tiresome. I have a big tach on the steering column that hides my Right Signal indicator. Plus the oil pressure, water temp, and AF Ratio arent in normal line of sight.

So I feel like putting all that into the dash with a digital setup, and then moving my AF into a comfortable area is the best option.

[lamans71]

The one real downside to the OEM cluster is the idiot lights, I am not and never have been a fan of those. It would be great if DD had an option to delete the RPM from their offering. Its rather small anyway for your application and redundant since you have the hood tach.

[grivera]

Is $160 a fair price for a restored gauge cluster as pictured in post 10?

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...3&postcount=10

[Jonsey]

There are other options for aftermarket gauges besides Dakota Digital. I have a 69 firebird and I'm planning on getting New Vintage USA gauges. They have a direct fit for the 69 Firebird gauge cluster with fuel/oil/water/volts integrated into the speedo/tach/

https://newvintageusallc.mybigcommerce.com/69-firebird/

I don't personally care for the way the sweep looks on the integrated gauges so I'm thinking of getting the auxiliary gauges separate. My dash pad is at Just Dashes and they charge a little more to add three 2 1/16" gauge holes to the pad when they recover them.

[Gator67]

I think $160 is a great price. I'm building a pro-touring '70 Firebird and am weighing whether to have an original gauge set restored or go with new. Cost is pretty much a wash. I'd much prefer the originals from an appearance standpoint. However, I'm starting from scratch with everything, and DD system really simplifies things and allows for more integration.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by RocktimusPryme

Ive been waffling over the same thing myself, though Im looking at an electronic setup that goes into your factory gauge cluster.

I just have extra gauges all over the place and its getting tiresome. I have a big tach on the steering column that hides my Right Signal indicator. Plus the oil pressure, water temp, and AF Ratio arent in normal line of sight.

So I feel like putting all that into the dash with a digital setup, and then moving my AF into a comfortable area is the best option.

Weren't you looking at a Sniper install?? I may be misremembering.

I say that because if you do, you don't need the digital dash, nor do you need all the external add on gauges anymore.

When I converted dad's GTO over to Sniper, his car was a factory "no gauge" car so he had extra external gauges all over the place. When the Sniper went in, all the gauges were removed. Now he just has a simple Sniper screen that monitors all the vitals he was watching with gauges, plus it monitors even more than his gauges provided. On top of that he can also log all of this. For instance during a dragstrip pass, he can log and play back the entire run and see his oil pressure, fuel pressure, engine temp, rpm, throttle position, MAP, AFR, and much more. It really cleaned up his interior, and a ton of wiring.

I basically did the same thing to my Chevelle. Added a sniper and removed a bunch of add on gauges. I can even setup all those vitals I'm monitoring to flash yellow or red if they reach what I determine to be a caution zone so they grab your attention. I use that feature on the tach as a shift light.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. Then again if you just want the digital gauges in the dash just for the looks, that's a different story.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by grivera

Is $160 a fair price for a restored gauge cluster as pictured in post 10?

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...3&postcount=10

Seems cheap to me. Factory gauge conversions for other brand cars run upwards of $400 or more.

[grivera]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

Seems cheap to me. Factory gauge conversions for other brand cars run upwards of $400 or more.

Thanks - I ended up getting them for $100 in a package deal with other parts and hopefully they arrive soon.

Above you mentioned the ability for Sniper to monitor oil pressure? Which Sniper system does your dad have?

[Formulajones]

Sounds like a smokin' deal

We are now both running the Super Sniper Stealth units. The Super has extra inputs so you can choose to monitor anything you wish, and in turn setup the screen how ever you like.

There are endless choices. Here is how I set up one screen with oil top left, fuel pressure top right, coolant temp bottom left, and air fuel ratio bottom right.

This short video is a great example of how you can set up parameters to flash yellow and then red to get your attention something is wrong. In this case fuel pressure is fluctuating to dangerous levels. This was before I installed a fuel damper that cured the issue.

You can set these screens up with 1, 2, 3, or 4 or 6 gauges in any configuration you want, and make them sweeping gauges, digital, etc..what ever you prefer to look at. There are several screen choices to choose from set up with any number of combinations that you can switch back and forth from to watch what ever you program in. You can also buy a larger screen if you wish.

I set one of the screens up in my car as a single large tachometer that lights up yellow at 5700 and red at 6200 rpm. I have a factory tach in the dash but when I'm racing I grab this handheld, put it where it's visible (suction cup on the windshield) and use it as a shift light

This thing has virtually eliminated any extra accessory gauge needed hanging under the dash. And when you don't want to look at this screen at a cruise or show, I simply put it in the console out of sight. I might have mentioned you can also data log anything that you are monitoring with the unit, and play it back, overlay things, look for problems etc...

Out of the EFI conversion this is probably what I've liked most about it.



https://youtu.be/bTaWq0Ykjtk

[grivera]

nice features! I have the basic Sniper and when it works well it’s a blast. I went through a rough patch in beginning.