Here is the American Autowire #500624 harness that goes to the back of the Auto Meter gaug
Most stock dashboards in older cars leave some instrumentation to be desired. Granted, there are exceptions out there, but even then, some of the older optional gauge packages consisted of a dash or "knee-knocker" tach, and what good are dummy lights if they don't work?
You don't have to cut up your stock dash to have peace of mind. Covan's Classic Automotive Specialties has teamed up with American Autowire and Auto Meter to bring you an updated direct replacement gauge panel with gauges and wiring, which are easily installed at home. Covan's Classics offers the panels in many different finishes, like brushed aluminum and carbon fiber, as well as multiple Auto Meter gauge packages to create a plethora of choices for most Chevy musclecars.
In this story, we have a '71 Camaro getting the carbon fiber panel and matching gauges. I will walk you through most of the wiring from the gauges to the inside of the firewall. Wiring is not my forte, which may be the case for many of you out there. For those who share my pain, American Autowire has done an excellent job of making the wiring job as much of a "bolt-in" as possible.
You will need basic wiring tools, the directions, and a phone if you need to call for tech support, like I did. This car doesn't have a motor or tranny yet, so we will follow up with the gauge sending unit hookup later. What might be tricky is the lack of room around the stock headlight switch, so plan accordingly; you may have to loosen it up to get the panel in there with the wiring hooked up. The #CA11808 harness has provisions for all the other stock parts that this harness replaces-like the cigarette lighter and heater controls.
In summary, this may take a few hours, and for the electrically challenged, like myself, you'll want to set aside a Saturday or a couple of nights. Not to worry because all of this is shipped to you in a very easy-to-use package. Read on and stay tuned.
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This is the second part of the new retrofit American Autowire harness #CA11808; this will
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Picking up the job from here in this '71 Camaro where the dash was mocked up, I just took
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Here we are behind the firewall just above the gas pedal and you find this bulkhead that i
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On the workbench we can start assembling everything for the gauge wiring. On the left is h
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Once you get that taken care of, install the lights for the gauges. Connect the black grou
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Lucky for me the kind people at American Autowire label all the wires for their kits.