soldsoul4foos

Me again,

92' baja 270. Boat is in great shape and the only part that shows it's age is the gauges and black console they are mounted in. I'm wondering if I should tackle this myself or if it can run into problems. I'd hate to have to bring it to someone 1/2 done The benefit of this one over my smaller runabout is that the cover for the engine completely raises and it looks to be much easier to work on.

1. With the standard gauges, what is a reasonable ballpark for having them all replaced with a new mounting plate generally run? I don't need top end I guess...but do want something that looks nice. White guages prolly with red or blue illumination.

2. Is there any type of calibration that the gauges normally require after or during installation?

3. Is it generally common practice to install all new electrical lines through the hull from the gauges to the engine area during installation?

4. Where would I get a new mounting plate for the gauges to sit in? Custom made or are there places that make them based on boat model?

Ok, in a nutshell...I don't mind doing it, but I don't want to do it and have it end up being half ass because I'm not a professional automotive technician. I can do general preventive maint. and some mechanical work on cars, snowmobiles, cycles, etc. But I'm not an engine builder.

Sure I'd love to save the money of having something like this done (assuming it's not too good of a deal to pass up) and getting to more about the boat as I perform the work myself, but, I also don't want something like this to turn into a over-labored over-budgetted trainwreck either. You know what i mean?

Thanks,
Bill w.

Dock Holiday

I'm a strong believer that the more you do yourself and the more you learn about your boat, the more enjoyment you will have.

Nothing like being able to fix a problem on the water and continue to enjoy your weekend, then having to be towed in and wait for a dealer two weeks to fix it.

Gauges are easy. I have never known anyone to replace the wire. Guess it all depends on the condition of the wire. I would however replace the sending units on the engine when you do the gauges.

www.trickmarine.net

You can go directly to Livorsi's website for info, and you also have Rex Marine, Eddie Marine and Dana Marine as options also.

I prefer Trick Marine myself.

Good luck, that will be a nice winter project.

Dock Holiday

BEFORE:

Red from the factory.

After:

Blue with billet controls and blue steering wheel.

I installed all of it myself and found it to be very easy.

yzbert

doc, what are the two gauges above the trim switches? in the before both look like depth, and the after the one on the left still looks like depth and the one on the right has some sort of needle on it?

Dock Holiday

Depth gauge on the left and clock on the right.

The clock is offered by Livorsi.

It does not draw much power at all so I have it wired directly to the battery.

Sydwayz

Doc,

I just got the same Livorsi controls. Any pitfalls I should be aware of switching from the stock setup? Did you utilize the adapter plate from Livorsi, or skip it?

THANKS!

Dock Holiday

Brian,

How you doing buddy?

As for the controls they are very straight forward and easy to install. If you have the Merc controls like my boat came with you will have to enlarge the opening slightly and drill a couple of new mounting holes for the screws.

I really do not understand the adapter. I ordered it and could not use it. It seems to be more for an application where the opening is already larger then what the footprint needs to be.

The throw on the throttles is different. I get about 3/4 up on the sticks and I'm at full throttle.

You will have to play with the cables a little for throttle and shifters to get them set right. There are three setting (positions) they can be mounted in and it took me a little while to figure which was best for my application.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Dock

Moses

I have to aggree with Doc. When my hatch would'nt open at the lake one sunny afternoon. I was cursing some guy name Scott, ha ha LOL. I came home posted the question on where to get the parts and wala three days later I did my first repair on my new boat. It felt good and now I know how it works. I would say do your own gauges. As for the dash you can take your old one off have a new one cut by a machine shop and then have it painted or anodized to your liking. But I would bet they sell those too.