'69 Chevelle Gauge Panel Options?

[gmorris]

I have a covan's dash insert in my 69 chevelle and I've had enough of it...fimsy plastic that cracks if you look at it hard and just looks cheap in the car. Is anyone making a decent dash insert for these cars? I've found 66-67's and plenty of camaro ones but nothing for the 69 a-body. Anybody? Of course it's a fairly complex piece that will be hard to make without a lot of specialty tools but I may have to give it a shot this winter.

[youngmuscle]

Gmorris,

I'm with you on this for my 68'. I REALLY like the 69 chevelle dash and the camaros, but I have that funky 68 square bezel dash lol. I've considered the 69' dash in mine but it gets a bit complicated with wiring, and I'd just run a push button start I suppose. The dash has to look classic, maybe it's just me but most of the custom dashes look too barren and drag racey. Classic gauges and deep round bezels with some chrome accents makes you excited to drive. So far only the American racing muscle gauges look good to me, just trying to see if there's a way to have deep inserts with these.
Anyway, I've seen on ebay a few pieces that would fit in your 69 that would at least give you a good start. I'd like to see what you come up with though.

[WallaceMFG]

I'm working on a gauge panel for my 69' now. I'm basically cutting out the area where the old gauges were and replacing it with a metal panel for the gauges, but leaving the rest of it alone. Unless I decide to start building things with fiberglass, I'm just gonna leave the rest of the plastic parts intact. Should be simple but will let me run the gauges I want to use

[youngmuscle]

I'm working on a gauge panel for my 69' now. I'm basically cutting out the area where the old gauges were and replacing it with a metal panel for the gauges, but leaving the rest of it alone. Unless I decide to start building things with fiberglass, I'm just gonna leave the rest of the plastic parts intact. Should be simple but will let me run the gauges I want to use

Ok gotcha. So your cutting the plastic in your dash to fit the aftermarket gauges? Doesn't the 69 instrument cluster only fit that size? If your using aftermarket gauges and want to keep that cool, muscle car depth to the gauges wouldn't you have to use the same cluster? Just curious, all great info to help me when I possibly change mine.

[WallaceMFG]

Ok gotcha. So your cutting the plastic in your dash to fit the aftermarket gauges? Doesn't the 69 instrument cluster only fit that size? If your using aftermarket gauges and want to keep that cool, muscle car depth to the gauges wouldn't you have to use the same cluster? Just curious, all great info to help me when I possibly change mine.

I'll try to get a picture for you, thermodynamics is trying to kill me right now haha. It will hopefully look like it belongs in the car when it's done, I don't like when people just have a flat sheet of metal with some gauges stuck in it

[youngmuscle]

Haha sounds good. I totally agree, even the top of the line stuff looks too modern to me. I was considering your style 69 dash in my 68 with the autometer American muscle gauges in place of the original. Or even the original if I could find one with a higher speed limit than 120 lol

[NWEBER540]

I didn't like anything that's out there right now so I ended up building my own, I wanted a navigation radio and different gauges this I what I came up with
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/10/269-1.jpg (http://s1239.photobucket.com/user/540-chevelle/media/269.jpg.html)

[Barrrf]

Im in the same boat as you OP. As you already know from hours of google searching, only Covans is doing the inserts. The other option is custom - I don't have the skills for what NWEBER did. My plan is to take the Covan dash I already have and wrap it and add thin strip of alu to the mounting flanges to help spread the load of a weighted insert.

Im still himmin and hawin about what to do with the gauges. I like the Dakota Digital VHK Gauge Panel NWEBER put in but I don't know if it will fit in the Covan insert. Could do custom Speedhuts. I really want an LCD display of some sort but MiMOd is gone, the Pioneer AVG-VDP1 no longer exist, ect ect.

[gmorris]

I didn't like anything that's out there right now so I ended up building my own, I wanted a navigation radio and different gauges this I what I came up with
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/10/269-1.jpg (http://s1239.photobucket.com/user/540-chevelle/media/269.jpg.html)

That looks good. What did you use...sheet metal or plastic?

[NWEBER540]

Its all aluminum heres a pic from when I was building it
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2014/10/IMAG0398-2.jpg (http://s1239.photobucket.com/user/540-chevelle/media/IMAG0398.jpg.html)