Anyone used a Covans Dash panel on a 68 ?
Thread Starter
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In the Staging Lanes
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 38
From: Houston TX,
Anyone used a Covans Dash panel on a 68 ?
Has anyone installed the 68 Camaro replacement instrument panel into their car?
I am considering this unit for a number of reasons and would appreciate any comments by anyone who has installed one
Is it a good fit?
Good quality and finish?
Accuracy of the holes for gauges fittment?
Durability?
How was wiring and instructions provided with the product?
This would be an import for me and i never hear much about them from customers.
YES or NO???
Regards
LR
I am considering this unit for a number of reasons and would appreciate any comments by anyone who has installed one
Is it a good fit?
Good quality and finish?
Accuracy of the holes for gauges fittment?
Durability?
How was wiring and instructions provided with the product?
This would be an import for me and i never hear much about them from customers.
YES or NO???
Regards
LR
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2
My buddy and I recently installed one of these in my 68. I chose the Autometer mechanical gauges and speedometer. ( I believe the SportComp gauges. ). To summarize, it was a lot of work to install these gauges but I am pleased with the final result.
Regarding fitment, it fits reasonably good but we couldn't get one of the bottom mount screws to line up and had to leave one out or risk perhaps damaging the cluster housing.
The quality of the product is good from a looks and gauge fitment perspective. The finish is nice however it can be scratched easily. You want to make sure to immediately tape as much as possible of the gauge cluster with blue painters tape to avoid scratching it while working on the gauge installation outside of the car. The housing itself without gauges feels a bit flimsy, but I assume they needed to do this to get the curves. Once you install the gauges it seems to stiffen up the housing. Only remove the tape at the very end.
Durability? I've only had it installed for a couple months so I can't really comment. I sure hope it's durable due to the amount of work to put it in.
How was wiring and instructions provided with the product? This is the tricky part. I opted for the optional $100.00 harness which I thought meant it would plug into the factory harness that plugs into the back of the stock gauges. It does not by any means, completely different plugs.
We sat down and stared at the wiring diagrams for an entire evening before realizing we were going to have to unpin the wires from the back of the factory gauge plug and map them to the new gauges. After realizing this, I was very happy that I went with a mechanical speedo since it saved a lot of time by avoiding trying to calibrate an electronic one including adding the speed sensor on the back of the trans. We actually ended up cutting away extra unneeded wires ( there are a lot ) from the new harness which cleaned up the amount of wires we needed to stuff behind the dash when finally installing the cluster. You may need a Friend to help you with this.
I also spent the extra $70 or so for the LED autometer bulbs which looked great. I recommend these especially since after you spend about 2 days installing these gauges, you will think it was not that much extra. Plus the Sport-comp tachometer or speedo ( one of them ) I used only has one bulb in it which needs as much light as possible.
The other tricky part is drilling the turn signals, park brake and high beam. Here again, ask for the larger lights vs the tiny ones. ( The store below will send you both if you want and then you can choose.) There is no template for drilling the holes so I used tape to mark a straight line etc.. and a ruler to mark it and drilled from the back. I put all four lights at the top of the cluster. It looks clean. When you mark the holes for drilling make sure to go a little lower than you think otherwise the lights may be slightly hidden by the top of the dash curve when it's installed.
My car did not have factory gauges so I really needed something to keep tabs on my engine and this worked out great. I went with mechanical oil and temp which appeared to be simpler ( and more accurate ) than their electronic counterparts.
I recommend dealing with the following store. I live about an hour from them and they were extremely helpful and had everything in stock.
http://fastlanewest.com/store/
Good luck!
Regarding fitment, it fits reasonably good but we couldn't get one of the bottom mount screws to line up and had to leave one out or risk perhaps damaging the cluster housing.
The quality of the product is good from a looks and gauge fitment perspective. The finish is nice however it can be scratched easily. You want to make sure to immediately tape as much as possible of the gauge cluster with blue painters tape to avoid scratching it while working on the gauge installation outside of the car. The housing itself without gauges feels a bit flimsy, but I assume they needed to do this to get the curves. Once you install the gauges it seems to stiffen up the housing. Only remove the tape at the very end.
Durability? I've only had it installed for a couple months so I can't really comment. I sure hope it's durable due to the amount of work to put it in.
How was wiring and instructions provided with the product? This is the tricky part. I opted for the optional $100.00 harness which I thought meant it would plug into the factory harness that plugs into the back of the stock gauges. It does not by any means, completely different plugs.
We sat down and stared at the wiring diagrams for an entire evening before realizing we were going to have to unpin the wires from the back of the factory gauge plug and map them to the new gauges. After realizing this, I was very happy that I went with a mechanical speedo since it saved a lot of time by avoiding trying to calibrate an electronic one including adding the speed sensor on the back of the trans. We actually ended up cutting away extra unneeded wires ( there are a lot ) from the new harness which cleaned up the amount of wires we needed to stuff behind the dash when finally installing the cluster. You may need a Friend to help you with this.
I also spent the extra $70 or so for the LED autometer bulbs which looked great. I recommend these especially since after you spend about 2 days installing these gauges, you will think it was not that much extra. Plus the Sport-comp tachometer or speedo ( one of them ) I used only has one bulb in it which needs as much light as possible.
The other tricky part is drilling the turn signals, park brake and high beam. Here again, ask for the larger lights vs the tiny ones. ( The store below will send you both if you want and then you can choose.) There is no template for drilling the holes so I used tape to mark a straight line etc.. and a ruler to mark it and drilled from the back. I put all four lights at the top of the cluster. It looks clean. When you mark the holes for drilling make sure to go a little lower than you think otherwise the lights may be slightly hidden by the top of the dash curve when it's installed.
My car did not have factory gauges so I really needed something to keep tabs on my engine and this worked out great. I went with mechanical oil and temp which appeared to be simpler ( and more accurate ) than their electronic counterparts.
I recommend dealing with the following store. I live about an hour from them and they were extremely helpful and had everything in stock.
http://fastlanewest.com/store/
Good luck!
Last edited by sinc93; Jul 8, 2009 at 08:53 AM.
Thread Starter
|
In the Staging Lanes
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 38
From: Houston TX,
Sinc 93, thanks for the excellent reply and details of your experience with the Covans unit. Sounds like there are a few lessons for me there, and plenty of good information.
I think I better read it a few more times to figure out what I will do now.
I have an HEI distributor, which I want to keep. I have a new fuel sender unit, so that will work with a new Autometer gauge. I have the oil pressure, volts, and water temp gauges already (electric) I figured a new Autometer tacho will fit the build (Ultra lite), and I should decide on the Speedo. For me I must use a kilometres per hour speedo, and they have them available in the Ultra lite series here in Adelaide. I think I will have to get that calibrated whatever I choose.
My only problem is getting Covans to respond to my emails. I had a look at fastlane. Did you buy the wiring harness from them?
I have already spent many hours on the wiring, I had to cut it all off clean near the fuse box, and extend every single wire by about three feet since I am converting to right hand drive. It is a pity the new wiring harness is not really a straight plug-in job. I will definitely check the lighting levels and consider the LED's. And I will take care with the marking and drilling, if I ever get Covans to notice my emails. maybe they dont send international?
anyway, the build continues. the 396 is back together, ready to fire it tomorrow sometime. I have to get the glass out and new headlining done, maybe fix a lttle spot of rust in the rear window channel. I better check the hood too. I put a performer RPM Air Gap manifold on, and it looks a bit taller than I expected. I have a 2 " cowl, so I hope it fits.
keep sharp, and thanks to all for your replies. There are not many 1st Gen Camaro's in Adelaide, so its nice to hear from you all
regards
Les
I think I better read it a few more times to figure out what I will do now.
I have an HEI distributor, which I want to keep. I have a new fuel sender unit, so that will work with a new Autometer gauge. I have the oil pressure, volts, and water temp gauges already (electric) I figured a new Autometer tacho will fit the build (Ultra lite), and I should decide on the Speedo. For me I must use a kilometres per hour speedo, and they have them available in the Ultra lite series here in Adelaide. I think I will have to get that calibrated whatever I choose.
My only problem is getting Covans to respond to my emails. I had a look at fastlane. Did you buy the wiring harness from them?
I have already spent many hours on the wiring, I had to cut it all off clean near the fuse box, and extend every single wire by about three feet since I am converting to right hand drive. It is a pity the new wiring harness is not really a straight plug-in job. I will definitely check the lighting levels and consider the LED's. And I will take care with the marking and drilling, if I ever get Covans to notice my emails. maybe they dont send international?
anyway, the build continues. the 396 is back together, ready to fire it tomorrow sometime. I have to get the glass out and new headlining done, maybe fix a lttle spot of rust in the rear window channel. I better check the hood too. I put a performer RPM Air Gap manifold on, and it looks a bit taller than I expected. I have a 2 " cowl, so I hope it fits.
keep sharp, and thanks to all for your replies. There are not many 1st Gen Camaro's in Adelaide, so its nice to hear from you all
regards
Les
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2
Hello, Yes I did buy the wiring harness from fastlane as well. We ended up making multiple trips to fastlane to exchange a dash panel and pickup the led bulbs. My first dash panel had a very minor scratch on it and they exchanged it without any problems. I also double checked the harness in person with fastlane to make sure I had the correct one. ( I've seen other posts where people received the wrong harness. ). The only other option would be to check directly with I believe American autowire to see if they show a different harness.
Regarding Covan, I've seem other people on the www.camaros.net site having problems receiving their orders from Covan. Apparently they were in the process of moving and their phones were not working. I also checked Summitracing and noticed mostly ship dates of mid September or no ship dates at all for Covan dash panels. So you may want to consider dealing with someone like fastlane who may have the panel you want in stock.
Another option that looks nice is to perhaps go with just the Autometer tach and speedo in the dash. I found a nice thread with a good picture of this option.
http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=108621
Thanks
Regarding Covan, I've seem other people on the www.camaros.net site having problems receiving their orders from Covan. Apparently they were in the process of moving and their phones were not working. I also checked Summitracing and noticed mostly ship dates of mid September or no ship dates at all for Covan dash panels. So you may want to consider dealing with someone like fastlane who may have the panel you want in stock.
Another option that looks nice is to perhaps go with just the Autometer tach and speedo in the dash. I found a nice thread with a good picture of this option.
http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=108621
Thanks
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