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A-PILLAR GAUGE PODS
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AUTOMETER FULL T-TOP A-PILLAR 3 GAUGE PILLAR POD

Now I decided to add gauges to my car since was only equipped with idiot lights from the factory.

I would be an IDIOT to only rely on them to tell how my car is running. In fact relying on them as a teen was how I blew my first head gasket. The idiot light for the temp was not working and I ran the car hot and it was all over folks! This is what convinced me I needed real gauges.

So I purchased a set of Autometer gauges & originally installed them like this in their stock pod.

Now I decided to repaint my interior and this meant taking this unit off the cars gauge cluster. Since this area was to be smoothed and painted black, I did not want to mount this pod back in the car in this location. I instead purchased Autometer�s F-body T-top car full A-pillar 3 gauge pod unit from Summit.

I first test fitted the unit in the car. It was going to be a tight fit. The unit's lower pod hit and pressed into my dash pad when in the proper place. I figured it was made with a tight tolerance, and my added sound proofing under the dash pad, just exaggerated the problem. I got it to fit regardless.

Now I noticed there was nothing built on the back of the unit for installing it. The kit specified to remove my existing drivers side A pillar. Place the new pillar pod over the A pillar and drill holes thru both and install push pins to mount the pillar pod. I felt this method looked too added & I wanted a cleaner look.

I decided to do things a bit differently then the kit directed. Instead I got 3m double sided tape and fixed it around the edges of the pillar pod.

I left on the tape's backing so I could still do test fitting w/o the unit prematurely sticking. With this idea in place, I also did not have to remove my existing A-pillar, which is always a pain!

Now I planned to install Cyberdyne digital gauges, but due to time constraints, making it to the Trans Am Nationals, I could not. So I had to use my existing Aux gauges. So, I fitted the gauges in the 3 pods. Now the only problem was that they were a touch too small. So I had to rig them slightly. I got some dense closed cell adhesive foam and wrapped the cylinders of the gauges behind the gauges bezel. I then did some more test fitting.

For the finally fitting, I got enough foam around the cylinders, that they had a nice interference fit in the pod chambers. This and a spot of double sided tape held the gauges in place centered in the pod openings. The gauge bezel was out flush with the flat face of the pods just as they should be.

I was left with an even 1/8 inch gap b/w the bezel edge and pod hole edge.

Now that the gauges were held in place, I then went back and lengthened and shorted the wires to the individual gauges.

Once everything was wired up I did a test run to be sure everything was working correctly. It all worked perfect. Then it was time to install the new pillar in its place on the existing A-pillar.

I peeled back a small edge of the tape in each section of the pod, about and inch. I made sure the loose edges would be somewhere I could grab them once the unit was installed. I then slid the unit into place. Once I was happy with its placement, I gently pushed the small exposed tape areas down to hold the unit in place. I then grabbed the loose ends and pulled the tape backing free of the rest of the tape in all areas. I then pressed down the unit to hold it firmly in place.

Then I tucked the wires behind the trim that ran in the door jam and into the dash area thru the lower dash panel.

Then it was time to address the exposed gap left by the smaller gauges. A trip to the fabric store and I got some black cord to fill in the gap perfectly. I measured the exact amount of rope needed & cut the rope accordingly. I them glued the ends of the rope to form rings. Once they dried I applied glue in the gap and placed the rope in its place. It finished things out nicely.

It actually looked more like a fancy touch to the gauges rather then a fix.

As I mentioned above, the only real problem area to getting a good fit was having the bottom pod so tight on the dash.

I originally thought it was due to my sound proofing, but have since learned others have the same fitment issue.

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HOME PAGE

Follow this link to additional information on the car not found on this site!
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DIRECTORY FOR RAIF'S INTERIOR SITE
01 Site Overview
02 Power Windows and Door locks
03 Miscellaneous Trim Pieces
04 Smoked Plexiglas Covers, Flush Mounted KITT Light Box
05 Carbon Fiber
06 Carpet Swap
07 Overhead Console
08 Red & Black Seats
09 Seat Cover installation
10 Red & Black Door Panels
11 Red & Black Rear Cargo Panels
12 Kick Panels &Lower Dash Panels
13 Car Motor Sports Mats and T-Top bag
14 Neon
15 Center Console Repair
16 Painted Center Console
17 Dash Repaint
18 Repainted Gauge Cluster
19 Autometer Pillar Pod <<<
20 Seatbelts

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