SergntMac
05-14-2003, 10:04 AM
Yesterday, (5/14) I was restless. Nice weather and a day off with little on my plate. Checked a few things with Map Quest and hit the road.
413 West Elm, Sycamore IL., is a real fooler for a National HQ and main factory. I drove past it five times before I stopped at a gas station right across the street. The geezer looked at like I had three heads as he pointed the way, and I wished I had brought my other two heads with me because my embarassment wasn't going to drain away by the time I walked through the front door, not to mention the two guys on the dock who watched me drive by five times, and now I gotta walk past them...
Autometer. (www.autometer.com) The gauge guys of particular interest to us MM owners. Found the front office and inquired if they sold retail. No. Said I drove out from Chicago and I had a few questions about the gauges in my MM, and before I buy anything, I want to know more. "Just a moment sir, I'll get someone."
Someone came to be Mr. Brett R. Littlefield, National Sales. A very bright and concerned gentleman who wanted to look at my MM while we discussed options. Sitting behind the wheel of my Girl, with a lap full of catalogues, we mapped out the program.
A-Pillar mounting of two gauges, pods are listed in the catalogue, but not a full pillar for that true OEM look. I thought three may be too much gauge in your face, was I right? Okay, he'll look up the options, thinks a custom MM part is possible.
Next, the OEM pod with the cigarette lighter. Can we dump the lighter and move in a third gauge, correctly tilted towards the driver and matching the other tilts? Possible too, and a good idea for a real OEM look.
Next...What gauges? Mentioning this site and that many of us here have customized and updated their MM with a third gauge, or, a functional oil pressure gauge, he chuckled something about contracts with FMC. I mentioned that most of us DO fit the MM buyer profile, and we tend to be fussy about detail, and not so fussy about the cost of a solid and genuine product. He agreed, and reminded me that the OEM gauges do not match the dash light now, so, what else is the MM owner concern about? I said that any changes or additions would have to match each other. Am I correct? A full set of five gauges must match each other, are we not MM owners?
That will take some planning, but it can be done. The kit Brett is planning will be the full sweep, electric Ultra-Lite series, very close to the OEM we're looking at now, slightly better lighting and much easier to read as full sweep. Great, my old eyes need a break. See page 60 of the catalogue, on line or in hand.
The gauges I picked are oil pressure, coolant temp, volts, trans temp, and air/fuel ratio. I think these are areas we need to monitor most and can't wait for a PCM warning. Brett will have to make a few changes in the products they have now, but it so happens that he is the guy who calls for these changes (what luck, eh?). He added that the OEM voltmeter will not match the kit he has in mind.
Brett said he would contact FMC, explain what we're looking for, and ask about making up a full set gauge package for the MM. Brett said he has to have FMC permission, but he has gotten that in the past. He added that "I'll tell them that we need to help these guys out, we owe them." And, "probably be made available through the SVT catalogue, but we'll figure that out later." Very cool, eh? Privately, I'm hoping we can get this kit direct from AutoMeter, because if it goes to the SVT catalogue, FMC will up the price for their slice. Keep your fingers crossed.
So...Design and availability is pending and I'll keep y'all up to date as I hear from Brett. I don't think I am wrong to believe that us MM owners would buy a full set of functional gauges custom made for the MM. Sure, it will be pricey, but I don't imagine seriously pricey over the cost of piecing things together from a catalogue. A custom install kit is exactly the kind of treatment I would jump at.
I would like to hear your thoughts on a custom kit, please e-me at SergntMac@aol.com I'd like to call Brett back and say "got a hundred owners interested, now what?"
For those of you who have upgraded one or two gauges, I haven't much 411 on options, other than a full kit is in the planning. I think AutoMeter will come back with what Brett and I discussed, which means you'll probably eat the gauges you have already invested in...Sorry. However, let me thank you for the inspiration to get into this. I want more and better gauges too, so, why not enlist the manfacturer to give us what we want? A complete OEM looking kit seems the way to go, let me know how you feel, your feed back is important here.
BTW, can anyone help out by setting up a poll?
413 West Elm, Sycamore IL., is a real fooler for a National HQ and main factory. I drove past it five times before I stopped at a gas station right across the street. The geezer looked at like I had three heads as he pointed the way, and I wished I had brought my other two heads with me because my embarassment wasn't going to drain away by the time I walked through the front door, not to mention the two guys on the dock who watched me drive by five times, and now I gotta walk past them...
Autometer. (www.autometer.com) The gauge guys of particular interest to us MM owners. Found the front office and inquired if they sold retail. No. Said I drove out from Chicago and I had a few questions about the gauges in my MM, and before I buy anything, I want to know more. "Just a moment sir, I'll get someone."
Someone came to be Mr. Brett R. Littlefield, National Sales. A very bright and concerned gentleman who wanted to look at my MM while we discussed options. Sitting behind the wheel of my Girl, with a lap full of catalogues, we mapped out the program.
A-Pillar mounting of two gauges, pods are listed in the catalogue, but not a full pillar for that true OEM look. I thought three may be too much gauge in your face, was I right? Okay, he'll look up the options, thinks a custom MM part is possible.
Next, the OEM pod with the cigarette lighter. Can we dump the lighter and move in a third gauge, correctly tilted towards the driver and matching the other tilts? Possible too, and a good idea for a real OEM look.
Next...What gauges? Mentioning this site and that many of us here have customized and updated their MM with a third gauge, or, a functional oil pressure gauge, he chuckled something about contracts with FMC. I mentioned that most of us DO fit the MM buyer profile, and we tend to be fussy about detail, and not so fussy about the cost of a solid and genuine product. He agreed, and reminded me that the OEM gauges do not match the dash light now, so, what else is the MM owner concern about? I said that any changes or additions would have to match each other. Am I correct? A full set of five gauges must match each other, are we not MM owners?
That will take some planning, but it can be done. The kit Brett is planning will be the full sweep, electric Ultra-Lite series, very close to the OEM we're looking at now, slightly better lighting and much easier to read as full sweep. Great, my old eyes need a break. See page 60 of the catalogue, on line or in hand.
The gauges I picked are oil pressure, coolant temp, volts, trans temp, and air/fuel ratio. I think these are areas we need to monitor most and can't wait for a PCM warning. Brett will have to make a few changes in the products they have now, but it so happens that he is the guy who calls for these changes (what luck, eh?). He added that the OEM voltmeter will not match the kit he has in mind.
Brett said he would contact FMC, explain what we're looking for, and ask about making up a full set gauge package for the MM. Brett said he has to have FMC permission, but he has gotten that in the past. He added that "I'll tell them that we need to help these guys out, we owe them." And, "probably be made available through the SVT catalogue, but we'll figure that out later." Very cool, eh? Privately, I'm hoping we can get this kit direct from AutoMeter, because if it goes to the SVT catalogue, FMC will up the price for their slice. Keep your fingers crossed.
So...Design and availability is pending and I'll keep y'all up to date as I hear from Brett. I don't think I am wrong to believe that us MM owners would buy a full set of functional gauges custom made for the MM. Sure, it will be pricey, but I don't imagine seriously pricey over the cost of piecing things together from a catalogue. A custom install kit is exactly the kind of treatment I would jump at.
I would like to hear your thoughts on a custom kit, please e-me at SergntMac@aol.com I'd like to call Brett back and say "got a hundred owners interested, now what?"
For those of you who have upgraded one or two gauges, I haven't much 411 on options, other than a full kit is in the planning. I think AutoMeter will come back with what Brett and I discussed, which means you'll probably eat the gauges you have already invested in...Sorry. However, let me thank you for the inspiration to get into this. I want more and better gauges too, so, why not enlist the manfacturer to give us what we want? A complete OEM looking kit seems the way to go, let me know how you feel, your feed back is important here.
BTW, can anyone help out by setting up a poll?