View Single Post
Old 06-29-2008, 01:26 AM   #56 (permalink)
Johnny Mullet
Hi-Tech Redneck
 
Johnny Mullet's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Ashtabula, Ohio
Posts: 1,436
Thanks: 6
Thanked 49 Times in 42 Posts
Send a message via AIM to Johnny Mullet Send a message via MSN to Johnny Mullet
Vacuum/Econometer gauge

Quote:
3 pages and all I see is a mirror delete and some lights.

What did I miss?
This little car is driven over 100 miles per day and all repairs/mods are being done as the car is being used and as time and weather allows. Read the date on the first post and you will see I accomplished a lot in that time since starting the thread. You would know that if you read the freakin' posts to begin with..............

Engine rebuild (fuel economy related issue)
Timing advance
Complete tuneup
Air intake mod
DRL disable
Hyper-inflated tires
Antenna relocation
Transmission swap (fuel economy issue and required repair)
Mirror delete
And now a new vacuum gauge posted below. This car is pushing 65 MPG right now with simple mods and more extreme mods like the grill block and fender skirts will be posted as those come into play. Just refrain from posting if you want to be as stupid looking as your avatar Frank Lee. I am sure other people may benefit from what I have done and will do in the future. If you don't like it then too bad.

Anyway, back on topic.................

I used to have one of those really nostalgic vacuum gauges that read "Power" and "Economy", but the needle broke off and I had a hell of a time locating a replacement. The new gauge is a "Vacuum/Boost" gauge made by Sunpro, but the only scale I can use on a non-turbo vehicle will be the vacuum side of the gauge.

The new gauge required me to do a complete installation, so I decided to share it with you. The first thing I had to do is find a proper mounting location and on my car, the spot on the column was perfect for a 2" gauge. I simply used self tapping screws and secured the mount to the top half of the column cover...............



I then placed the gauge in the proper location and ran the vacuum tubing and electrical wires for the gauge illumination behind the cluster cover so nothing is exposed.



I simply removed the heater control cover plate and unplugged the bulb and spliced the illumination wires right into the harness so the gauge lights up when the cluster lights up.............



The mounting and illumination is now complete. The last thing to do is to run the vacuum hose provided with the gauge through the firewall to find a vacuum source. I ran a long screwdriver through the main wiring harness boot and fed the tubing through the gap made by the screwdriver.



I then adapted the connector to a vacuum source to monitor my fuel economy.



Here it is all installed...............



Sunpro vacuum gauge = $23.00
Total labor time = 2 hours
__________________

GeoMetroforum.com - got mpg?

Last edited by Johnny Mullet; 07-21-2008 at 09:08 PM..
  Reply With Quote