Decided to mess with the gauges above the radio again. With the gauges flat in the panel at that location, I found it was still difficult to see the entire gauge face and read it at a glance. Always wanted to figure out a way to point them slightly upwards and towards the driver's sightline. Then I had a clever idea to re-purpose some plastic bits that came with my gauges. In my case, the Prosport gauges I have all came with these plastic sunshields. If you slip the gauge into the rings backwards, I figured the part could be modified to make an angle mount. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about
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And now the original piece, next to a modified one that gets me a good viewing angle. I determined the angle by trial & error test fitting - and the angle that worked for me may not work for all drivers. I'm 6'0" and sit with the seat all the way back; a shorter guy who sits closer to the wheel will need more angle to get a good sightline. Anyway, the angle is subtle, and just enough to point the gauge face toward the driver. To repeat that angle for 2 more gauges, I made up a wood jig to replicate the angle and used it with a miter box & hacksaw to make the cuts on the other 2 rings.
Since space is limited, you need to glue the right-most ring to the panel first, and then the center ring needs a bit of shaping so it "steps over" the ring to the right. Do the same thing with the left ring, letting it step over the center one. Don't worry if the cuts/grinding are not perfect, the gauge rim will likely cover the gaps, or you can fill with bondo & paint. You'll probably want to paint it anyway, which is what I did. Here's the setup ready for installation in the car.
And here it is completed, right from driver's point of view. Note that you can clearly see the entire gauge face at a glance
01-16-2012, 12:04 AM
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