Covans pics...completed

Anybody have any pictures of a covan dash you drilled. Looking to see if a monster tach will go in with a speedo and 3-4 guages.

Thanks-
john

Do a search, there are alot of this style (Covan) dash's posted on here


http://www.wideopenwest.com/~brownsrule/me/lffront.jpg

dang that looks great! if you dont mind me asking whats your total investment in that set up?? thanks

i'm guessing between 450 and 550. cost of the guages and the covan's unit... maybe a bit more...

Dash was 199.
The gauges, 500'sh been awhile since I bought them. But I shopped around, alot cheaper then getting them from Covan. But make your own harness

Got the idea from 69gofast,
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h266/69bigblock/dashmy5.jpg

very nice and the black would work for my interior!! would you happen to have a parts list of what it took to do that?? thanks

that looks very nice.

How did you guys mount your shift light if you don't mind me asking?
I'm needing to add a shift light this spring and have been debating on how to mount it.

this is my opinion, but the covans unit looks like the plastic you see halloween props and dollar store toys made from, the black looks like the plastic my aco trash can is made from, same texure as a milk carton, sorry, but they could have made this thing better looking, remindes me of a cheap mini van dash, not a high dollar muscle car part, i must admit its a great idea that someone dropped the ball on and is charging way to much for, i might as well melt down some black nacho supreme trays from tacobell and make my own:mad:

Maybe but I'm really happy with mine.:)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/monk75/nova7.jpg

74.........I have to agree to a point. I still like the look alot, but the dash is to flimsy. Biggest reason I like it is because I didn't want gauges all over the place in tha car. This makes it nice and neat, in one place.

You don't notice how flimsy it is when its all bolted up.

My shift lite came off my monster tach so it already had a bracket on it. Just had another bracket that bolted to the lite and to the dash where the dash mounts to the car.. I have a pic which would explain it better..

Ok but those are not the 5" "monster" gauges - do you know if they will fit?

I have a VDO Xtreme tach with playback and don't want to get another.

john

Don't think so, because the problem was trying to mount the monster tach. It doesn't use the hold down bracket like other gauges plus they probally won't match the other gauges you use. I just bought another 5" tach and used the shift lite..

Isn't 5" monster gauge 5"? That is the size of the Speed & Tac in my dash. Am I missing something??

this is my opinion, but the covans unit looks like the plastic you see halloween props and dollar store toys made from, the black looks like the plastic my aco trash can is made from, same texure as a milk carton, sorry, but they could have made this thing better looking, remindes me of a cheap mini van dash, not a high dollar muscle car part, i must admit its a great idea that someone dropped the ball on and is charging way to much for, i might as well melt down some black nacho supreme trays from tacobell and make my own:mad:

I'm in 90% agreement.
I've seen a few in person and was not very impressed, overall. The lines for the dash are not very straight or well defined...like a poorly made mold was used when making these parts. They also could DEFINITELY be made a little more sturdy.
Every one I've seen to date (except the carbon fibers) look very cheap to me...and I'm not a fan of the whole carbon fiber phaze, seems to ricer-ish to me...If they ever improve their product, or someone else steps in with a higher quality unit I'd jump right on it...
But their current production is not up to par for me.

Isn't 5" monster gauge 5"? That is the size of the Speed & Tac in my dash. Am I missing something??

Maybe i am, Covan sells the dash with 3 5/8 I think, so if the speedo is 5" than that answers my question.

john

I'm in 90% agreement.
I've seen a few in person and was not very impressed, overall. The lines for the dash are not very straight or well defined...like a poorly made mold was used when making these parts. They also could DEFINITELY be made a little more sturdy.
Every one I've seen to date (except the carbon fibers) look very cheap to me...and I'm not a fan of the whole carbon fiber phaze, seems to ricer-ish to me...If they ever improve their product, or someone else steps in with a higher quality unit I'd jump right on it...
But their current production is not up to par for me.

I also agree with BSC and 74. I think it looks a little cheap but if you're happy with it bolted in then I'm glad. I haven't seen the aluminum ones yet. Has anyone had experience with these? How do they look? How about the Lanes aluminum ones? How are they for fit and finish?

Does your 5" gauges have the 2 studs in back to mount a holding bracket? My old tach which I bought 10 years ago didn't have a way to mount it to a panel. The 5" gauges I use now have those studs ,so I was able to mount it to the panel....

I also agree with BSC and 74. I think it looks a little cheap but if you're happy with it bolted in then I'm glad. I haven't seen the aluminum ones yet. Has anyone had experience with these? How do they look? How about the Lanes aluminum ones? How are they for fit and finish?

Lanes?? havent heard of them.do they have a website..i have a covan in my 71 and you are all right it is fairly flimsy for the money you shell out.aluminum dash plate would be great if it looked good..anyone know about Lanes??

I admit that I was a bit dissapointed when I ordered a "carbon fiber" bezel and found out it was molded plastic.

The ads when I ordered mine were a bit misleading I think. I actually thought that the bezels were aluminum, carbon fiber etc.
Also when I got mine I was upset that it was a bit flimsy.

That said when I installed it and bolted it up I was quite happy with it. I liked the fit and it was quite sturdy once the bolts were put in. It sure beat my old setup that I used to have with gauges all over the place mounted however I could see fit to do it.

I wish I had a pic of it but I don't. It was in a Good Guys show and it looked like an aluminum or stainless filler stuck in place of the cluster. Guages were mounted in that. It had been rubbed straight across with a scotchbright pad and came out looking like the nickle door hardware that is popular now. A nice brushed finish. I'm going to try it with mine and see how it looks.

Dave

Here is the dash i made, The wood grain fits the rest of the interior, Door panels have wood grain in them, custom consol will have strips of wood grain also. Let me know what you think.

74, i agree, i made my dash before these flimsy things came out for production.

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/462226734.jpg?1171783883

http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/462226739.jpg?1171784493

Rennskii

Hey Guys, I have the Black one in my 76 and love it, It is ABS plastic and I think it is very strong when bolted in, I have had mine since they came out and yes they fit up to 76 even if they only say 74. I wanted mine cause I needed a new bezel and well like the look, Plus I no longer had a need for heater controls so this took care of it all for me

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c46/ProNova/Interior.jpg

I have the Autometer Tach that fits the dash, How can I attach a shift light to it, Who makes one?

See the difference in size between the guages in the last two pics, Pronova dn 1971novass. It appears the large size wont fit above the colum.

john

OK I see the difference. Hey Rennskii, have you put the steering wheel on yet and if so can you see them alright with the outboard locations?

Dave

I have a monster 5 inch tach with a 5 inch speedo. I have put the my grant steering wheel on and it works perfect, no visibility problems at all. I am taking it back out this weekend to cover up the wood grain up with either billet or perhaps black paint. Not sure yet what i will be doing.

Rennskii

Ok, I've been thinking about the Covan's insert but, from hearing some of these things, is there a viable alternative to the Covan's piece other than stock???

Well yeah, what some of us are talking about is taking the back off your cluster and uising those little screws to hold a new base for your guages. Woodgrain, plastic, aluminum...whatever. Leaves you with all the vent controls and that "really cool and adequate" radio cutout! LOL!!:rolleyes: Then mounting guages in that.

Dave

Well to get the clearence for the 5 inch gauges you have to actually cut up your plastic dash, Not just take out the cluster alone. I used a dremel and very carefully cut it out flat with the rest of it. You have to get rid of a ton of the plastic in the back of the thing. Takes patients. I also used some hidden copper wire to hold it in, then i fiberglassed the wood piece into the plastic to make it a solid one piece unit.

If i want to change the wood backing out all i would have to do is cut the copper wire, And dremel the fiberglass off(would take a lil while).

If you want to know details on how to perform this let me know and i will direct you the best i can, And the background you use is limitless.

Rennskii

If you have any pics of the work in progress I'd really like to see them. I'm pretty sure this is the way I am going to go with my '71. I'm just not sure whether to go with the 5" or the 3 1/4" versions. I like the way the 5" look in your panel.

Dave

I think i have a few. Might have to dig for a day to find um. Oh i also Built my own wiring harness for the gauges as well. I will go out tonight and get a few more pics of the back of it. I have to finish up the rear coilovers and its crossmember and take pics as well. :beer: Coilovers are giving me a whoopin :beat: