Argument in support or against adding gauges under dash

[TJinSA]

With adoption of the GT instrument cluster for the '66 model year, what would be the arguments for, and against adding after market gauges under the dash of your 66 '350?... and if limited to ONLY two, what would they be?
Assume you have the Paxton gauges of Fuel Press and Boost already in place.
1) Water temp
2) Oil temp
3) Trans temp
4) Rear Diff temp
5) Ambiant Temp
6) Oil Press
7) Amps
8 ) Volts
9) Clock (same size and housing as Tach, 3 3/16" diameter)

While I have asked to narrow things down to only two; inorder of preference, What would be your top three in a road car - gymkhana ride?  Is there something left off the list you feel should be a top 3 contender?
I left the Accelerometer deliberately to be subject to a separate questionnaire

[Greg]

My two cents...Oil pressure, water temp for sure.  Oil temp if possible.

[cob4ra]

So it's 1967 and you're improving the performance of your Shelby; my first impression riding with you is you're a real car guy and not just a driver after you bought it , you're serious about it's performance so you added extra gauges! Now here Chevy Chevy " lol   , just love them and that's what real car guys did then !

[NC TRACKRAT]

+1 to what Greg said.

[Steve McDonald Formally known as Mcdonas]

A lot of people added them "back in the day" but the main question should be , "do you want them"  if the answer to that is yes then add them and if anyone else doesn't like them they don't have add them to their Shelby 
It's your car do whatever brings happiness to you

[6s1802]

I took the under dash Stewart Warner gauges out of 6S1802 and relay on the factory gauges. They have been doing their yob for 53 years.

[s2ms]

When I bought 6S1757 in 1987 it still had the racing gauges that had been added to the dash in the early 70's. Only OE gauge was Fuel. The OE Oil Pressure had been replaced by a SW Oil Pressure, OE AMPS replaced by a SW Oil Temp which was threaded into the provided boss on the oil pan, and OE Water Temp replaced by a SW Water Temp. Although it looked a little hacked up I really liked that arrangement.

Back to the original question...I'm satisfied with the original setup for the street, the only one I'd add underneath would be oil temp.

[FL SAAC]

The KEY to this and all of lifes question is...what will make YOU happy and content...

[shelbydoug]

You don't need more gauges. The basic gauges that you need are tach, speedo, fuel, oil pressure, water temp. For me I find a vacuum gauge as essential and oil temp unnecessary.

In some circumstances oil temp can be helpful but it would largely be for racing. An ammeter or a volt meter is useful also to instantly diagnose a functioning or failed electrical system including a broken alternator belt at start up.

A volt meter would tell you that your battery is dead.



In my Pantera I have found that an electric fuel pressure gauge is helpful especially with priming the Webers after a long sleep. A mechanical fuel pressure gauge is risky even in a race car.

If you were flying a plane, more gauges would definitely be essential but you have time to read them all. Usually there is an indicator light that is used with them to draw the attention of the pilot to an issue. In a car you would need a co-driver to monitor all the instrumentation.



Even in a GT40 at Lemans, you would have to look so far down the road, because of the speed, that your eyes can't focus in detail on the gauges as you glance down at them. There you need blinking indicator lights also.

With the current state of multi-color leds, they can go from green to amber to blinking red but that's a whole different monitoring system that needs a lot of time and engineering to make work right.

[427heaven]

I would say its not so much an argument but more of a discussion of adding extras. When in the last 50 years did car guys ask if it was ok to add pieces to their cars? This is one of the simplest additions to a car, if you don't like it in less then 5 minutes... unscrew, unscrew, snip and your done! Its your car build it the way you like it.

[TJinSA]

In retrospect it seems such a silly question. The car spent8 years as a dedicated race car; getting the dash to work and removing the string of gauges leaves the interior soo...  barren!

[FL SAAC]

Now, you have found balance and peace...you have arrived

In retrospect it seems such a silly question. The car spent8 years as a dedicated race car; getting the dash to work and removing the string of gauges leaves the interior soo...  barren!

[6s1640]

FoMoCo's four in one gauge is pretty cool.  Made in the same housing as the 66 GT350 tachometer by Faria.  Mount it on the dash next to COBRA tach or on the steering column, right next to the COBRA accelerometer.

Cory

[KR Convertible]

Oil pressure and temp.  You can add them temporarily until you make the correlation between the accurate gauges and your factory ones.  I have a mechanical temperature gauge in my glovebox that makes me more comfortable and I now know where 200 degrees is on my factory gauge.