DIY: How to Install Gauge Overlays - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

*The Stig* · 05-25-2012, 01:42 PM

So I saw Randy's thread about his indecisiveness on what gauge color to go with

it's cool though I'm in the same boat with paint. It made me go back through my threads and I realized I never made a DIY thread on how to install the gauges. Just had the post in my build thread, and I guess some people don't read my build thread

doesn't make sense but I'm just going with it.

Anywho, here's the DIY write up

My white aux. gauge overlays arrived today from 6litereater

So I've spent most of my afternoon installing these bad boys. Now all I want to say is that this is not a complicated install, but it does take a decent amount of time to do.

The overlays

The OEM aux gauges

Now the fun part starts; taking it apart. First thing I did was undo these little clipy things that hold the wiring in place. They were just in the way.

The next step is taking apart the aux gauges. It's pretty straight forward really. Everything is held together via clips so nothing to unscrew.

The aux gauges taken apart

Here I ran into a bit of a hiccup, how do I get the needles off. Well I thought for a moment and decided that I was just going to call Ofer as he has done this before. Luckily he answered and was able to walk me through the process of getting the needles off.

The black caps off the needles.

Turns out though, getting the needles off was a lot harder than Ofer made it out to be. That and I wasn't able to find a small/tiny fork (the tool of choice for this install). Luckily I figured out a way around that. The overlays are pretty flexible, and if you bend them just right you can slip over the needle. Mind you this was/is a bit hard, but IMO this way is much easier than trying to get the needles off. That and I was terrified of breaking the needles so this seemed like a safer alternative.

The faceless gauges

The OEM overlays

Installing the white overlays was the same process, but in reverse. Not too hard, though the white overlays did not have the alignment holes punched out. So I used a tiny little exacto-knife and made them myself.

Comparison of white vs OEM

The finished product.

When I plugged the aux gauges back in they didn't do the normal start up thing, kind of had a panic attack. Because the entire time I'm talking with Ofer he's telling me how careful I have to be to not break the motor attached to the needles. But, turns out: the aux gauges don't work until you turn the car on

dodged that bullet.

Now, after this super long post; a before and after shot. I did my best to take the photo from the same angle.

BEFORE

AFTER

Chad's 2ss · 05-25-2012, 04:12 PM

Thanks, I actually just asked the question in that thread if this was going to be an easy "DIY"

*The Stig* · 05-25-2012, 04:39 PM

It's relatively easy. Steady hands help a lot too.

PQ · 05-25-2012, 04:46 PM

Totally can't see me losing much blood doing this.

PQ · 05-25-2012, 04:50 PM

Ok. Pics of the gauges at night.

*The Stig* · 05-25-2012, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PQ

Ok. Pics of the gauges at night.

Go to the OP of my build thread. The 3rd link next to the gauge overlays is a pic at night

*The Stig* · 05-25-2012, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PQ

Ok. Pics of the gauges at night.

PQ · 05-25-2012, 10:25 PM

This is gonna be awesome.

*The Stig* · 05-25-2012, 10:37 PM

I guess it was silly of me to think I'd be the only one with this mod forever.

PQ · 05-25-2012, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stieger

I guess it was silly of me to think I'd be the only one with this mod forever.

I thought about it long ago but was waiting to see if someone made it easy.

And it has been made easy.............ish.............

*The Stig* · 05-25-2012, 10:47 PM

You just have to be careful around the needles is all.

PQ · 05-25-2012, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stieger

You just have to be careful around the needles is all.

I'll do it like you did. Stretch the holes over. Looks like they'll be underneath the fronts anyway.

davista04 · 05-26-2012, 11:29 PM

now this might be a dumb question, but being that the area below the needle is never to be seen once installed, couldn't you just cut the piece so it slides on with out the risk of breaking or bending a needle?

mdrobtx · 05-27-2012, 01:24 AM

Can you give us a link to the site with the overlays.
Thanks....

PQ · 05-27-2012, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davista04

now this might be a dumb question, but being that the area below the needle is never to be seen once installed, couldn't you just cut the piece so it slides on with out the risk of breaking or bending a needle?

I was thinking the same thing. Might allow too much light through maybe?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdrobtx

Can you give us a link to the site with the overlays.
Thanks....

Send a PM to Ivan. They are too new to have on the their site.

mdrobtx · 05-27-2012, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PQ

Send a PM to Ivan. They are too new to have on the their site.

Ok, thanks.

davista04 · 05-27-2012, 10:21 AM

maybe not even cut it all the way, just cut one side so that you can pull back the flap piece and slide it over the needle

*The Stig* · 05-27-2012, 04:19 PM

You could. But it's pretty easy/simple to just bend it and slide it over the needle.

I guess I personally wouldn't want to cut something I just spent $100 on.

PQ · 05-27-2012, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stieger

You could. But it's pretty easy/simple to just bend it and slide it over the needle.

I guess I personally wouldn't want to cut something I just spent $100 on.

I'll try it your way first. If it's a pain then I think I'll just cut a slit in it.

*CamaroSpike23* · 05-27-2012, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stieger

You could. But it's pretty easy/simple to just bend it and slide it over the needle.

I guess I personally wouldn't want to cut something I just spent $100 on.

but in the process of bending it, you could accidentally fold the gauge and leave a crease.

I would knock a slit in it if it were me

*The Stig* · 05-27-2012, 05:19 PM

I'll post a pic of bending the stock gauges once I'm home on Monday. They're pretty solid, so getting them to bend is easy. Putting a crease in them would be hard.

Also, you CAN take the needles off. I just chose not to when I installed them.

PQ · 05-27-2012, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

I would knock a slit in it if it were me

ChriSS84 · 05-28-2012, 04:52 AM

Seems pretty easy.

05-25-2012, 01:42 PM	#1
The Stig I used to be Stieger.... Drives: a PBM camaro Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 25,664 View My Garage	DIY: How to Install Gauge Overlays So I saw Randy's thread about his indecisiveness on what gauge color to go with it's cool though I'm in the same boat with paint. It made me go back through my threads and I realized I never made a DIY thread on how to install the gauges. Just had the post in my build thread, and I guess some people don't read my build thread doesn't make sense but I'm just going with it. Anywho, here's the DIY write up My white aux. gauge overlays arrived today from 6litereater So I've spent most of my afternoon installing these bad boys. Now all I want to say is that this is not a complicated install, but it does take a decent amount of time to do. The overlays The OEM aux gauges Now the fun part starts; taking it apart. First thing I did was undo these little clipy things that hold the wiring in place. They were just in the way. The next step is taking apart the aux gauges. It's pretty straight forward really. Everything is held together via clips so nothing to unscrew. The aux gauges taken apart Here I ran into a bit of a hiccup, how do I get the needles off. Well I thought for a moment and decided that I was just going to call Ofer as he has done this before. Luckily he answered and was able to walk me through the process of getting the needles off. The black caps off the needles. Turns out though, getting the needles off was a lot harder than Ofer made it out to be. That and I wasn't able to find a small/tiny fork (the tool of choice for this install). Luckily I figured out a way around that. The overlays are pretty flexible, and if you bend them just right you can slip over the needle. Mind you this was/is a bit hard, but IMO this way is much easier than trying to get the needles off. That and I was terrified of breaking the needles so this seemed like a safer alternative. The faceless gauges The OEM overlays Installing the white overlays was the same process, but in reverse. Not too hard, though the white overlays did not have the alignment holes punched out. So I used a tiny little exacto-knife and made them myself. Comparison of white vs OEM The finished product. When I plugged the aux gauges back in they didn't do the normal start up thing, kind of had a panic attack. Because the entire time I'm talking with Ofer he's telling me how careful I have to be to not break the motor attached to the needles. But, turns out: the aux gauges don't work until you turn the car on dodged that bullet. Now, after this super long post; a before and after shot. I did my best to take the photo from the same angle. BEFORE AFTER __________________ thanks for the sig Russ

05-25-2012, 04:39 PM	#3
The Stig I used to be Stieger.... Drives: a PBM camaro Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 25,664 View My Garage	It's relatively easy. Steady hands help a lot too. __________________ thanks for the sig Russ

05-25-2012, 04:46 PM	#4
PQ Drives a Maro Drives: Hybrid SS Camaro Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 35,545 View My Garage	Totally can't see me losing much blood doing this. __________________ PEDDERS NO BULL/BeckyD@RodgersChevrolet.................................................. .....

05-25-2012, 04:50 PM	#5
PQ Drives a Maro Drives: Hybrid SS Camaro Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 35,545 View My Garage	Ok. Pics of the gauges at night. __________________ PEDDERS NO BULL/BeckyD@RodgersChevrolet.................................................. .....

05-25-2012, 10:25 PM	#8
PQ Drives a Maro Drives: Hybrid SS Camaro Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 35,545 View My Garage	This is gonna be awesome. __________________ PEDDERS NO BULL/BeckyD@RodgersChevrolet.................................................. .....

05-25-2012, 04:12 PM	#2
Chad's 2ss Chad's 2SS Drives: Yellow 2SS Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Woodland Posts: 740 View My Garage	Thanks, I actually just asked the question in that thread if this was going to be an easy "DIY"

05-25-2012, 10:37 PM	#9
The Stig I used to be Stieger.... Drives: a PBM camaro Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 25,664 View My Garage	I guess it was silly of me to think I'd be the only one with this mod forever. __________________ thanks for the sig Russ

05-25-2012, 10:47 PM	#11
The Stig I used to be Stieger.... Drives: a PBM camaro Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 25,664 View My Garage	You just have to be careful around the needles is all. __________________ thanks for the sig Russ

05-26-2012, 11:29 PM	#13
davista04 Drives: 2012 Special Edition Camaro Synergy Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Schofield, WI Posts: 156 View My Garage	now this might be a dumb question, but being that the area below the needle is never to be seen once installed, couldn't you just cut the piece so it slides on with out the risk of breaking or bending a needle? __________________

05-27-2012, 01:24 AM	#14
mdrobtx Drives: 2010 2SS/RS Victory Red Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 213	Can you give us a link to the site with the overlays. Thanks.... __________________ 21 years of owning Camaros. Finally got a 5th Generation. 1968 Coupe and 1967 Vert

05-27-2012, 10:21 AM	#17
davista04 Drives: 2012 Special Edition Camaro Synergy Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Schofield, WI Posts: 156 View My Garage	maybe not even cut it all the way, just cut one side so that you can pull back the flap piece and slide it over the needle __________________

05-27-2012, 04:19 PM	#18
The Stig I used to be Stieger.... Drives: a PBM camaro Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 25,664 View My Garage	You could. But it's pretty easy/simple to just bend it and slide it over the needle. I guess I personally wouldn't want to cut something I just spent $100 on. __________________ thanks for the sig Russ

05-27-2012, 05:19 PM	#21
The Stig I used to be Stieger.... Drives: a PBM camaro Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 25,664 View My Garage	I'll post a pic of bending the stock gauges once I'm home on Monday. They're pretty solid, so getting them to bend is easy. Putting a crease in them would be hard. Also, you CAN take the needles off. I just chose not to when I installed them. __________________ thanks for the sig Russ

05-28-2012, 04:52 AM	#23
ChriSS84 Account Suspended Drives: 2SS Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cincinnati,Ohio Posts: 861	Seems pretty easy.