Well, I hardly consider it butchering, it's closer to surgery.
Fabrication of a new panel is a bit out of my price range, seeing as I would need to buy some cutting tools, the aluminum, and all the gauges. I understand that it would all fit however I wanted it to but I simply can't afford it.
My existing panel, in my opinion, is beautiful. and worth being saved (if only ascetically).
As far as my budgetary restraints go, My wife, son, and I, all live off $11,000 a year. I have spent maybe $2300 on the truck in the last 3 years including purchase price. (mostly from the money I get from recycling).
I have most of what I need laying around my garage to hard wire my existing panel/cluster. I was only looking at the volt meter because it seemed cheap and easy to install, If it's not then I will just leave the dead temp in there so I don't have an empty spot on my dash.
My main goal is to have a working gas gauge, speedometer, blinker sig, and hi-beam. My mechanical temp and oil pressure have been working fine.
If I had enough to fabricate my own dash panel/cluster I would just buy a used cluster from Ebay that still works.
Sometimes people do what they do not because they want to, but because they have to.
