"Newly Engauged" from Chevy Classics Summer 1998 Issue

Volume 3, No. 1

also published in Super Chevy  February 1999,

Volume 28, No. 2

By Shane Reichardt

    When it comes to upgrading the instruments on 1955-’56 Chevys, there aren’t too many options. Actually, until recently there were only two—bolt ‘em under the dash or hack up the precious sheet metal. But the aftermarket recently came through with a third option, and our friends at D&P Classic Chevy called to let us know about it. They now market a bolt-in replacement gauge cluster that features full host instruments, including both a speddo and tach, fuel level, oil pressure, water temperature and volts. Manufactured by Custom Rod Gauges, the unit can be had in either black with white lettering or white-faced with black lettering.

    As far as installations go, the cluster is designed to be a simple and easy bolt-in. The hardest part will probably be connecting new wiring and adding a few new senders if your car isn’t already equipped with aftermarket gauges. To show you how simple it is to install, we stopped by D&P’s Huntington Beach shop, where a ’55 Nomad was ready for some contemporary monitoring equipment. The owner had already added a few Auto Meter gauges under the dash to keep tabs on his beefed-up powerplant, but he really wanted to keep the interior looking as clean as possible. The new gauge cluster solved his dilemma, and the installation took just a few hours. Most of that time involved re-routing wires.

    Initially, this cool-looking cluster was available only for ’55 and ’56 Chevys, although we just found out that plans are now in the works for a ’57 package, which should be out early in 1998. New versions are also available for late-‘50’s Chevy trucks, and all of the new styles will have new programmable speedometers for 1998.