I have installed 7 aftermarket gauges, and 3 of them have failed, or work unreliably in some way. The boost/vacuum gauge died, and the light never worked in the Cobalt fuel pressure gauge. In the instructions they say, "if you experience problems with your gauge, send it back to the manufacturer, not to take it back to the dealer". So they seem to expect you to have problems. The cost of the gauge is only part of the hassel. The other part is taking the dash apart, or A column in this case.

So.....which brands of gauges do you have the best, and or worst experience with. I am kind of tired of the crap shoot approach to buying gauges.

By the Way, the cheapest gauges have worked flawlessly. YOu know, the volt, temp, oil pressure ones that come three in a pack for $60, and are all mechanical. The ones every hot rod buys first to hang under the dash.

Sam

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The only gauge I've had fail when new was a 2" SunPro mech temp from PepBoys; they gave me a new one, but not without grumbling about it a lot.

I've had a 10+ year old, inexpensive mechanical oil gauge from J.C.Whitney spring a leak, but other than that all my gauges have lasted for years. I have a Stewart Warner Stage I tach that still works fine and is probably 30+ years old - it was old when I got it 21 years ago.

I only use Autometer. The only gauge from them I do not trust is my 25 year old liquid filled fuel pressure gauge, but that is mainly because liquid filled gauges are not accurate to start with.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

I installed a set of guages, I found them on e-bay and they were TMP brand, I believe. They've worked great and only had to convert senders. I'm interested in what you do as I'm building a turbo engine this summer.
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I have had very good luck with cheap mechanical gauges (JC Whitney, summit...).

The one AutoMeter tach I bought got ripped off, and their $60 electric oil pressure gauge crapped out during a drag race and made me think I spun a bearing. I still drove it home from Bristol w/ no gauge though...

I also figure that ANY gauge is inaccurate unless you calibrate somehow. So, it may be sorta close, but trusting an exact absolute reading could be risky.

Not sure what else to say...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Hey, I remember that

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

Zero problems with vdo, except their cheaper tachs which are not accurate at all. I've had one set for twenty years. Zero problems with autometer, even their cheaper autogage line. I've had some of them for over ten years. I have just used the autometers lately, mostly because of face styles.

Maybe I have just beat the odds here with the bad luck. Both major failures have been Autometer. Maybe I will look into the VDO line. I am planning a major dashboard facelift this fall with a Rocky Mountain Dashes unit, and I have been hesitant to buy gauges yet because of my previous experience.

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