the site mentions replacing the stock trim with the pillar mount.
it also says something about heating the pod mount with a heat gun to soften the plastic so you can re-shape it at the top if you overlay your existing trim.
and you could probably find some duplicolor paint to match the interior pieces and paint to match.

 

my camera's not the best night picture-taker, but...

the setup...



and with no camera flash...



their a little brighter when you're actually sitting in the driver's seat than what it looks like in the picture...



but some LED bulbs are deffinately coming soon; it's sad when the incandecent bulbs heat up the gauge pod... I noticed the front glass fog up on them this morning cause it was a little cooler than normal, and the heat from the bulbs in them mixed with the humidity here in Fl just caused them to fog up... never seem that happen before with all the gauges I've ever put in, but oh well, lol

but when I swap those bulbs to LEDs, I'm most DEFINATELY doing my dash bulbs, cause these are absolutely horrible...



the tach's not so bad; it's actually just got the green condom over the bulb from the light that lights the AC/heater control face...



I had to put the cap over the shift light, cause if I wouldn't have it would have blinded the camera out, lol, the thing's STUPID bright... and no I wasn't doing 5k RPMs when I took the pic, that's just where my shift light is set at



but I payed half the price



*shrug* no... I stopped at the parts store today and looked around for about 30 minutes at some fittings; I thought I had something when I came across a metal in-line shut-off valve that the valve portion unscrewed out of, but the probe is just too think to go into it; I think I just want to save myself the complications and see if I can find the original Toyota t-stat housing with the temp sensor port on it...



that's exactly what I did; though I didn't get it perfect, it would have looked pretty bad if I would have thrown it on there and left it as wide as it was

 

Lookin good, man. With all the trouble with finding that thermo housing, would it be worth it to go to an electric sending sender/gauge?

 

just looking, I'd say "yeah, go electric" and then "go electric with the oil pressure too". I can't find a reason in me to justify pumping oil into the passenger cabin, just for a gauge. On a race car, maybe, but in a personal vehicle... I can only imagine 180F+ oil being pumped into the cab.

 

Well, initially I would agree with you hands down. However, he said that he'd done it before with no problems:

 

yeah, I've routed 2 to the the same spot before up on the pillar with no problems; it's all in the routing really; no kinks, protection against vibration/rubbing, and keep the tubing away from the exhaust (which isn't hard considering the exhaust and oil pressure sensor are on opposite sides, but on some vehicles it can get a little tricky)

 

I can't wait till I can afford this!

Im hoping to go full out on autometer guages. All three electric.

 

My original plans were to go all electric as well, but I said screw it and just went for the mechanicals

They work, and that's all I'm shooting for; plus it's really not all that hard to chang em out; the hardest part is that intial fit, afterwards it's maybe a 10 minute job to switch a gauge out...


OH, BTW GUYS!

I'm at my wits end on the hunt for the t-stat housing with the temp probe threaded bung on it. If anyone has one they can or want to sell, PM me and I will buy it off you for a reasonable price! I've checked 5 junk yards, 3 auto parts store, and I can't find ANYTHING! What agrivates the hell out of me is looking at a Hayne's manual looking for the thing. It clearly shows it in some of the general pictures of the motor, yet they don't have it shown specifically anywhere in the book; well they show how to change the t-stat, but of cause they did that with a model that doesn't have the sensor whole...

Also if someone can tell me without a doubt what years and vehicle specifics had these housings, I might be better at trying to find one, cause I'm shooting in the dark now...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3AIT&viewitem=

Think it would work?

It says for the early 80s 22r, not the re's, but I dunno; it's the only thing I can find online...

 

Should work, but the sender hole is on the side...might have interference issues with the efi intake?? I'd double check the clearance, but for $20...

 

aw crap... didn't think about the proximity to the upper intake...

 

Yeah man. Its pretty tight.

 

My 86 4Runner has the thermostat housing on it that your looking for, stock part.

 

86 huh?

Cali emmesion?

SR5 or standard?

I need some details man, lol!

 

I too searched hi and low for the "water outlet" your looking for...man I'm screwed if mine ever breaks 'cause I'm not finding it!!!

 

seriously; I'm glad it's not just me, lol

 

what kind of are fittings/sizes did you use for the oil sending unit ?

highway

 

1/8"-28 bspt

 

yep, exactly

the inlet thread on the "T" fitting was a bit larger than the threads on the OEM oil sensor, so I ran it through a thread-die a few times and it shrunk it down far enough to thread right in. But no leaks or issue so far from it

accept for the hunt on the t-stat housing...

MyYota, what's the full stat's on your truck man? Manual? Auto? Cali emmisions? Fed emmisions? ect...

 

hehehehe, I don't think he likes you... hehehehe