Black is Beautiful
I love it when I see an interior shot of a truck and all of the gauges match. It looks very nice and clean. That's how I want my truck to look but I'm running into a problem with the gauges. I'm trying to find some black-face gauges for my air system, however my air tank gauge needs to go to 200 psi and I can't seem to find a single-needle gauge that goes beyond 160 psi. I found one through Glowshift, but they don't sell dual-needle gauges and I kind of want all my gauges from the same company. My other two current gauges, one for the front and one for the back, are dual-needle and go to 200 psi even though when the bags are inflated they don't go past 160 psi. Is there any help I can get with this? Also, at night, I want the colors to be the same, to include my main gauge cluster behind the wheel. Can this be accomplished by simply changing all the light bulbs? Thanks for any help!
Michael
Via email
This is a tough one. We can find you analog dual needle gauges from Viair (www.viair.com) with black faces that will read up to 220 psi, but the single needle gauges only go to 160 psi. Most of the other gauges on the market have white faces, or just one needle, or don't have a large enough scale for the pressure you're running. So you can simply buy three dual needle gauges from Viair and just have one dead needle for the gauge that shows your air tank pressure or you could buy a set of digital gauges from Dakota Digital (www.dakotadigital.com). The company makes gauges that will show the pressure in all four airbags and the reserve tank on one gauge and will measure up to 400 psi. The gauges are available in traditional round configuration or square as well.
-Mike
Right to the Point
I'd like to know the backspacing on the Boyd Coddington wheels used on the Stealth Bomber project vehicle. Thanks and I love your magazine.
Jake Shepherd
Via email The Stealth Bomber rode on 22x9 Boyd Coddington Impact wheels with 5.8-inches of backspacing and a 15mm offset. The tires rarely rubbed with this offset even over rough stuff and the turning radius was perfect so the rim fitment was right on the money.
-Mike
What A Waste
I love the mag and wouldn't change a thing. I'm writing to you in regards to the Cash for Clunkers program. This is a nightmare for any car or truck collector. Instead of putting these cars to good use, they are crushing them and not salvaging parts. There are rumors of sand in transmissions, holes being drilled in engine blocks, and that's only the half of it. We need to make people aware of what's going on. Sure it's nice for people who need a car, but at what cost? Here is a prime example of the madness this government incentive is causing. I was talking with a man who runs a crusher in Indiana. A Ford dealership brought him 12 cars to be crushed. One of these was a 1994 F150 Flareside with a 302 that only had 50,000 miles on it. These trucks are hard to find parts for in my area. Maybe I'm just ranting, but what's going to be left after we destroy our automotive heritage. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Thomas Reed
Via email I couldn't agree with you more. We are going to systematically lose thousands of parts that could be used in restorations of older trucks. Engines that could replace worn ones or be used for cores are being needlessly destroyed. Check out the Front Page news item that describes how each engine must be permanently disabled and you'll get sick to your stomach!
-Mike