The other item that we’ve focused a little on recently is the dash. I’ve never been a fan of the dash on the first generation Novas. The stock dash offers little in the way of information and I don’t like the look of the oblong dash pod.
There are a number of after market options available, but they all fit within the same oblong pod. That oblong pod is not very large, so the plastic gauge clusters that you can purchase to fit within the pod are limited to 3 3/8” speedometers and tachometers with one other 2 1/8” gauge, typically placed in between the speedo and tach. . Again, not a lot of information presented and not a great look in my opinion (though certainly a step-up from the stock gauges).
Dakota Digital recently came out with a new VHX gauge for first gen Novas, which is a nice looking unit offering much more information than other options, but it it still fits within the same stock oblong dash bezel.
The Dakota Digital units is clearly a step-up, but I wanted something different that didn’t rely on the stock oblong dash bezel.
I’ve always liked the DSE dash insert they make for first generation Camaros, and the fact that you can put in 5” analog gauges. Love that look, but the Nova just doesn’t have the real estate in its dash to fit 5” gauges. I started looking at other options, including LCD dashes (e.g., the Holley 7” dash, the Aim Sports MXD Strada Street dash, etc). The LCD gauges are intriguing to me because they offer such an unbelievable amount of information when they’re connected directly to the ECU - data that can be customized and presented in various formats in the digital dash displays. However; the LCD dashes don’t have the same look of the analog gauges that I really love, so there were clear trade offs using an LCD dash.
At SEMA 2018, Holley unveiled a new 12.3” digital dash with touch screen capabilities like your smart phone (touch the screen to make changes to the data presented, to access all tuning parameters of the Holley ECU, swipe to the side to scroll through various pages of data monitored by the ECU, swipe up to close out screens, etc). The new dash connects to the Holley ECU and gets the majority of its information directly from the ECU. Additional information can be uploaded into the ECU or monitored via other attachments or wire feeds directly into the dash (e.g., turn signals can be connected to the dash so that lights blink on the dash as the turn signals signal on and off). Also, the dash can be displayed to look like Holley’s analog gauges. To me, this product is the best of both worlds in that it allows you real time access to all of the information being monitored or calculated by the ECU, while, at the same time, allows the user to configure the screen of the dash in manner that suits their personal taste (which, for me, is an analog looking gauge presentation). Here’s a photo of one of the gauge display options on the new Holley 12.3” digital dash that looks similar to analog gauges in the first gen Camaro with a DSE dash insert.
As it turns out, the dimensions of the rectangular Holley 12.3 dash are similar to (though slightly larger than) the stock oblong gauge pod. The Holley dash is a little larger than the stock bezel, so it requires a little bit of fabrication work. Kurt and his team used the supplied template to build a rectangular box that will be recessed into the dash and into which the new 12.3” dash will be mounted. I really like the result and think the new rectangular LCD touch screen dash will look awesome and provide me with substantial amounts of data that can be accessed real time from the driver’s seat.
Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!
Brian
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