[Lee]

I first found New Vintage USA (NVU) about 7 years, when looking for gauges for my Cutlass project. I have had exceptional customer service with them on those gauges. NVU recently posted a request, looking for somebody to do some test fitting of a new offering for 79-81 Trans Am gauges - and I accepted the task.

To cut to the chase, I've finished my test fitting, and they now have the finished product up for sale. The have their packages listed here:

http://newvintageusallc.mybigcommerc...0-81-firebird/

The pictures on their website with the gauges in a car, are in my car. Some of the pictures were with a dummy (no internals) set of their "Performance" series of gauges, and others are from the actual gauges I now have installed which are their "Aviator" series.

Although there is no voltage gauge, the OLED display on both the tach and the speedo can be toggled to show the voltage. The OLED displays are quite cool, showing typical functions (hours, odometer, trip odometer) along with some innovative functions. The Tach will show max RPM, hours, voltage, and has a "shift light" function as well. The Speedometer will show max speed, KPH, and also have a built in timer for 0-60, 1/8-mile and 1/4-mile.

The speedo can either be controlled by a GPS module, or by a module that connects in place of your speedometer cable. I chose the module to replace the cable. I is super-easy and quick to calibrate the speedometer. You can either do an "auto calibration" by starting the function and driving an exact mile, or you can manually calibrate it. I did the manual option. The speedo wasn't way off to begin with, so I just had to tweak the "pulses per mile" (PPM) a little bit. It literally takes less than 2 minutes to adjust the PPM, so you can make quick & easy adjustments to compensate for changing tire diameter or gear ratios.

[Lee]

Note that there is an "ear" that comes off of the left side of the main panel. That ear was their solution to a request I made, for them to find a solution to replace the factory "prism" to illuminate the "Lights Wiper Wash" indicator. It holds an LED light. For me, the supplied light was a bit TOO bright. After talking with NVU's tech guy, I tested some resistors on the feed wire to the LED. I ended up with 2,250-ohm string of resistors, and find the level of brightness to be very nice. Anywhere in the 2,000-2,500 range should be fine, and some people may like the full brightness.

I did 3 rounds of test fitting and modifications for them. The final product should bolt directly in place of the old gauges, using the same mounting screws and holes.

Wiring will be up to you. The tach & speedo come with a harness that plugs into the back. The fuel, oil & water all need to be connected with eyelets crimped onto wires, though. I decided to make my own harness, and utilized a 12-pin Deutsch connector for the main cluster, and a 6-pin for the oil & water smaller cluster. That way I could unplug and remove the entire cluster without having to mess with the actual connections at the gauges.

To avoid cutting wires, I used the red/black Posi-Tap connectors to tap into various wires (high beam indicator, blinkers, etc.) and taped over the connectors for the original gauge connector.

I finished the project a few days ago. Crappy weather has limited how much I can drive it, but I've had it out several times. I now have gauges that are very accurate and I can trust. I'm very happy with them.

I used an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of the wire colors, and make a legend for future maintenance or repairs.

[Will]

Is there any reason these wouldn't fit in earlier 2nd gens?

Edit: Might be some confusion here. Post title says '70 - '81 but first paragraph in your first post says '79 - '81. I was under the impression that all '70 - '81 were interchangeable.

[Lee]

Will, thanks for pointing that out! Yes, I typo'ed and can't edit it now. My car is a '73 :-)

These will fit all 1970 to 1981 Firebirds that have dashes with openings for the two smaller gauges to the side.

[Lee]

A heads-up for anyone interested in these. There is a 20% off sale from now until the 25th.

[joes455]

800 big ones...ouch,count me out

[joes455]

800 big ones ,ouch count me out

[chuckies76ta]

Lee: Thanks for taking the time to share pics and the write up..

Charles