I am working on a 3 pod, steering column gauge cluster for my '79 Pinto. I have studied where to put gauges in the pinto for years now and have come to the conclusion that I hate most of them.

Please note that I have considered all of these areas for my personal cars and am not here to argue what I like and don't like.

Places I hate -

1. Dash between vent control (non ac) and vent - There are relays behind this and I am not cutting my minty fresh metal
2. Console - What part of looking down to the floor is a good idea when driving? Installed on my '79 and my sisters '78
3. Under the dash - See console - installed on my '80
4. In the glove box - Do I need to explain?

Places I don't like -

1. A-pillar - This is not a Honda Civic (No ofence to the Civic, I like them) though visibility is excellent. Installed on my '77
2. On the Dash - Good visibility but i'm not making holes and I use my dash speaker
3. Rally Gauges package in the vent control area - I am not moving my AC vents, ever.

Places I will Tolerate -

Steering column - Puts all gauges in close proximity (visually) to the rest of the gauges


Is there anywhere I like? Yes, in the stinking gauge cluster but I do not want to rewire my car. I like stock on my cars and it is too bad that most Pinto's have fewer gauges than a Soviet era Lada 2100 (they have temp gauges too).

So here we are. In a conundrum.

I have then decided that I would like a 3 Pod cluster for my oil pressure, engine temp and a tachometer. These will all be a standard 52mm setup (2 1/16 for those that are stuck in the stone age). There are few choices for a 52mm tach but I don't need a 7" record player stuck on my dash board. Plus, I would like to add a warning lamp for my front fog lights and my rear fog lamp.

I know what you are thinking...I am blocking the turn signals. Well on a '79-'80, I'm not. On earlier cars, that is not a problem.

Fiber optics. Yeah baby.

Since I am here I have decided to make a small holder for my phone so that I can see the map when I am driving. It slots on to the top of the gauge cluster and then the phone pops in.

These are all going to be 3D printed on Shapeways where I already have a store. 3D printing is getting pretty cheap today. I am also going to make the dome light for the base model Pinto's but that's another thread. Here I am so far.




These are very basic and I am currently working on a thermal analysis to make sure the gauges don't get hot if they have light bulbs though I use LED's in all my clusters and gauges. Ill update later with updated designs.

Hello fellow power.....

Looks like a great idea, I have a 79 that would be great for...And  a 1969 ranchero and a torino those would look nice on

SR

Cool looking.

Well Jeez, so many replies and no pictures? Come on guys! Let's see where you have placed them in more detail. Might give me an idea to steal and call my own. 

I have seen that a few time Scott but I have later cars with ac and consoles and all sorts of goodies so sadly I have no room there. I am trying to go for a "How Ford would have done it" without the falling apart and crumbly, blue cheese like plastic that they gave us on so many plastic bits.

I have since updated my look for my '79. I discovered that I was going down thw wrong path. If this was on the column, it has to look like it matches. So I took other styling clues and applied it to the cluster. Here we are so far:



The beauty of 3D printing is that detail does not cost more. Oh, you might be wondering how much this will be. Right now, printed, out the door, $60. This is not including the little lenses and the simple version of this will be in the $55 area. Man, I spent like $80 on my a-column gauge set. This basically means I can have anything for the pinto 3D printed once I have it scanned. Yup, grilles, hot pants kit, air dams, valences, gauge housings, you name it. Plus, in most cases we are talking about less costly than conventional methods and infinitely more accurate. I love technology.

Nice design!  I'm learning Solidworks and if you'd be interested in collaborating, I'd be into helping.

Well I wanted to post as I was building but I got busy. Everything was 3D printed, painted and installed. It came out better than I could have imagined. These parts come in a many colors but i like to start with white ABS and then paint them. I use SEM paint as the finish is better and stronger than anything I have ever used. The fascia was shot black and the housing was done in the burgundy to match the interior.




Lenses had the text bosses painted to match the cluster and the symbol bosses were also painted to match the cluster.

Wired up the warning lights. They looked nice. These are all LED. I don't do incandescent bulbs anywhere anymore. Too much current draw and too much damage to the dash housings.



I also made under dash panels for the switches and the volt meter. Also 3D printed in white abs with the text either being embossed (Rallye trim) or sunken so that I could make them glow like the factory lighting.

The LED's needed housings so those were made also and mounted to the rears. LED's provide the lighting.

Here are the gauges in the bezel from the rear. The posts simply provide rigidity, not that the bezel needs it. This think is rock solid.

Here is the text illuminated on the panel with the volt meter. I made this out of a simple LED display. Tiny and effective.





Here is the other side:



Here is the harness I made for the gauges and the switch panel. Common ground, separate circuit for "On", "On/AUX" and constant. Not a single factory wire in the car was cut or damaged. Adapters were made to prevent that.



Once installed and tested, this is what we have:





This image is terrible. The lighting looks far brighter than it is and the colors are all off. The red hue is identical everywhere with matching intensity and the night time brightness is great. The column gauges are a dream come true. They look factory and match the car, unlike how the car used to look with gauges strewn about haphazardly.

The number driven digital tach is horrible as usual but it is the led boarder that it has that works like an analog unit and looks fabulous. I am sold. Ill take better pictures of the interior soon. I was to busy getting the car ready for the track day my wife and I went to:




I think I was the only car there with a working heater and air conditioning. Man, I love this car.


Oh here is another project I have been working on:

I just printed 20 of these out and sold them to  my friend before I could even keep any! They are so much better than the stock ones. Stronger and the light cast is no longer a medium brown from the old junky one.


Overall, I am thrilled with the looks and functionality of the interior. Not to mention the cost! It was CHEAP! Who says 3D printing is expensive? everything was under $100 including the panels and the lenses. The fiberglass and plastic stuff I have bought in the past was way more expensive and never matched the car. With 3D printing, I can make everything perfect with a tolerance down to 0.1mm! try that at a machine shop and see what they charge you. I cant wait until I can print my Rallye front and rear spoilers. Big stuff is still pricey but give it time.


Ill post better images soon!


Have a happy new year!

that's some nice looking shizod there alberto.  kinda cool that you are also leading all those exotics around the course!

Holy Crap!
Those are EXCELLENT!
Russ

Thanks Russ. It was a lot of work but it came out better than I would have thought.

that's some nice looking shizod there alberto.  kinda cool that you are also leading all those exotics around the course!

Well, I know it LOOKS like I was leading them...more like they were stuck behind me... I was taking it pretty slow on the straits as I really have no desire to hurt my car. That was where I would point everyone by. Funny thing was I had no one behind me on the curves. Man this car hooks up and the rear end breaks free so predictably.

Simply AMAZING!!!


Dwayne

Thank you Dwayne. Ill post better images after new years.

Thank you! I Always felt that the Pinto needed some options for where to put the gauges. The track was a ball. I go rather often.

So when is the mass production to start? This by far the best way to mount gauges on the Pinto....So where can we get some....Hint.. ..I do not want to cut up my dash or mount them where they are either in the way or are to far a way to be useful. For the older cars add turn signal/caution and hi beam and you have a deal.   

So when is the mass production to start? This by far the best way to mount gauges on the Pinto....So where can we get some....Hint.. ..I do not want to cut up my dash or mount them where they are either in the way or are to far a way to be useful. For the older cars add turn signal/caution and hi beam and you have a deal.   

I will make them available shortly!

Ok, done.

These are being uploaded to shapeways now. The housing needs to be primer and painted to you liking (I recommend SEM interior paints) as well as the lenses. Lenses will work fine with fine coat of opaque paint. The signals are not bulb driven, rather LED. These are 5mm holes for a standard 5mm LED in a color of your choosing. Please note that most LEDs are not 12v so you will need to solder in resistors. I attached the wires to the dash turn signal bulb socket so as not to harm the printed board on the back of the dash. Please make sure your gauges will fit in the housing. This is attached with a clamp and will fit any 4" diameter steering column. Make sure you have adequate clearance between the column and the dash first.

Sorry to be a jerk and not post any links but I was waiting to get my parts in to make sure everything was correct and fit Properly.


I have and they do!


Main Enclosure for 1971-1978 Ford Pintos (79-80 will come soon, I need to remove the signals)



Signal Close Up:



Base, held on with large hose clamp



Inside area:



Close up of LED socket. These need a 5MM led to replace the turn signal. Please remember that the only way an LED will work on a 12V system is with a corresponding resistor to decrease current.





The enclosure can be purchased from here:


https://www.shapeways.com/product/QEDQAF3J3/ampro-gauge-cluster-w-signals


Signal Lenses here:


https://www.shapeways.com/product/EFJDD4F5G/ampro-gauge-cluster-signal-lenses


These will take a month to print and send over to you.


What ever you have heard about 3D printed parts being weak or substandard was only true a decade ago. Very soon, 3D printing will replace most forms of manufacturing. Trust me, I am in the industry and see it already.


email me at pintopower@hotmail.com for any questions.

That's pretty slick looking.

Looks awesome...