mwilliam13

So, I have looked for a Toyota inclinometer and altimeter to install on my '86 4runner... In passing, a friend at work joked about how it would be neat to have avionics available for this information, and I began to think quite seriously about it. So, I headed on out to and found a aircraft boneyard in Denver, CO... They have available an atitude indicator, altimeter and compass out of a cessna. They are not airworthy, as that would require an overhaul, but are operational... Lookin' at less than $250, all in.

I thought to myself, "Self? Wouldn't it be neat if you had avionics in your 4runner?"

Given I have had quite a few hours PIC in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, I already can glance and quickly interpret them. I think it would be a wonderful conversation starter, an authentic idea, and a bad-@$$ install in the Yota! Really, the biggest challenge would be wiring it all up, as most avionics require 14V, not the available 12V in the truck. The artificial horizon (atitude indicator) needs suction and power for the gyro, the compass doesn't care except for the light, and the altimeter works on barometric pressure. If you want to see the instruments I am talking about, click this link (not for the faint of broadband or resolution - it is a big pic). The 2 indicators above the yoke (compass, then atitude indicator) and then one to the right on top (the altimeter) are the ones in question.

mwilliam13

Thoughts? Anyone an airplane mechanic that has some information to donate?

Atomic

I have no idea what to do, but I think it sounds like a great idea! Go for it!

vinnymac

You know, for years Toyota's came with these features as an option. From 1984-1989 pickups and 4Runners in the Sr5 package came with the option of an altimeter and roll/pitch gauge from the factory. Some of the AWD Tercel wagons even came with them. These gauges were semi-molded into the top of the dash with a soft dash material covering, same color of the dash. Mounted vertically above the middle air vents, the covers came in colors of brown, gray, and the rare red interiors so that they would blend into the dash. They also had back lights that were the same pale-lime green of the dash gauges to match. Although not incredibly accurate due to the "boing and bounce" of the suspension, they offered a great, like you said, conversation piece and a small amount of angular measurement for the off-roading crowd. Some (gasp) Land Rovers even came standard with these until the late '90s until the were deemed "cheesy" by a Podunk (4Wheeler) magazine. I have always had these mounted in place of my ashtray for the ambiance light and the coveted conversation starter in my vehicles. The aftermarket roll/pitch gauge is available from Iron Horse or Performance Products for about $30.

mwilliam13

Reheheally? I am going to check out your vendors. The instruments used in flight are built with dampening, high viscosity liquids because of turbulance in rough skies, so I figured it may be a good plan.

mwilliam13

vinnymac, do you know what brand the cluster is? I am at performace products' site, and can't seem to locate the product...

vinnymac

After checking out their website too, I cannot find the clinometer I own. I have PP catalogs dating back to around 1998, so I looked there and found one. The last time they had them in the catalog was in 2002, and this is before 4 Wheel Parts bought out the company. The clinometer from the Cessna sounds like it would be an even sweeter deal though. For a factory Toyota one, try T.A.P. recycling or just a junkyard. Our local 4x4 shop has a few of them in all colors except red.

mwilliam13

Can you post an image of your clinometer?

vinnymac

Yea, it will probably be Saturday afternoon.

EWAYota

this is what they look like: Both via EBAY


If you get the one from a tercel, you don't get the altimeter, it shows if your in 2wd or 4wd which is useless.

frodin1

Keep you eyes peeled on Ebay. I see them on there all the time. It's the FMU that are rare. I'm not sure about now, but the B-17's altimeter works off of barometric pressure I believe. We have one from a wreck my grandfather was in, and I couldn't figure out why every day the altitude seems to change a little. The nearest we could figure is because the barometric pressure changes with the weather. Most these gauges are pretty big, where do you plan on mounting them?

vinnymac

The one in my '84 4Runner has the dash molding just like the Tercel's, but has the altimeter like the one from the top picture. The top picture molding looks like it would fit onto the dash of an '89-early '95 truck/4Runner with the junky two piece vinyl dash.

This is from one of my favorite websites, Roger Brown's truck. check out his setup at http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...inometer.shtml

mwilliam13

OO, Roger's is nice. I know that you are correct, frodin1, as they do run according to the barometric pressure. Before you ever leave a ramp in a airplane, you listen to the predetermined frequency for ATIS (air terminal information system) and it will read out a pressure for the area. You constantly should listen to that pressure as you go through out your trip. If you are on an altitude and your altimeter is reporting off at all, you are in serious danger at landinig, and at altitude. you calibrate your instrument by the determined pressure in "inches mercury" at the tower. This is dialed into the altimeter, and it reflects the correct altitude. In my city, we flexuate usually between 27.7 to 31 some inches mercury depending on what is happeninig. Storms can obviously affect this pressure. It is possible to be off by quite a bit, which could mean mid air collision, especially when you have no visibility and are flying under instrument flight rules (IFR). The aeronautic cluster may just be too big of a dream, but I would still like to have the instruments from a Toyota.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

If you find one off ebay, just be aware that several of them come from overseas where the altitude will be in Meters, not feet...