Cockpit Components

The Bronco has been modified by putting in bucket seats and removing the rear seat. Room was needed in the rear to mount all of the electronics. A roll bar has been added and RCI racing harnesses have been installed. The Bronco cockpit has been modified with gauges to relay important engine and operational information along with several command consoles to activate the various on-board devices.

This page describes the main gauges and control consoles. The Electronics page describes all of the on-board radios, computers and GPS systems.

Main Gauges
The original instrument cluster was removed and I built a custom Gauge panel using all Autometer gauges from Summit Racing. Dash being assembledCustom Dash Completed
The gauges include:

  1. Speedometer
  2. Oil Temperature
  3. Oil Pressure
  4. Water Temperature
  5. Transmission Temperature
  6. Voltmeter
  7. Vacuum Gauge
  8. Fuel Gauge
  9. Clock
  10. Blinker & High Beam Indicator
An amperage meter was not installed due to the high output alternator. This would have been a fire hazard. I do not recommend installing ammeters with today's high output alternators.
Replacing the wiring harness
Tachometer & Warning Lights
Again, an Autometer SuperComp Tach was installed. The tach provides RPM shift points and RPM recall. The tach is outfitted with a bright yellow shift light. Also attached to the tach are two Autometer warning lights that are connected to warning sensors, one for low oil pressure and one for high water temperature.

Lights & Strobe Controls
The Light Control Panel was custom built and provides access to 18 different devices. The first 10 switches control different off-road lights; including front, rear and side facing lights. The lights range in power from 50 watts to 210 watts. The remaining 8 switches control Whelen warning lights, a combination of comet flash strobe and rapid rate flash halogen lights. There is also a Whelen control head to manage the warning bar light. There are 4 whelen power control units mounted in the back where the rear seat used to be.

Also attached to the Light Control Panel are two Autometer fuel pressure gauges. The first fuel gauge monitors the primary Barry Grant fuel delivery system and the the second fuel gauge monitors the Holley fuel pump pressure that acts as a backup and provides fuel for the nitrous system.

Console Controls
The center Control Console was also custom built and is divided into two sections. The first section houses the remaining gauges. There are five gauges:
Center Console Control Panel

  1. Winch Pressure Gauge
  2. Front Brake Pressure
  3. Rear Brake Pressure
  4. Right Fuel/Air Mixture
  5. Left Fuel/Air Mixture
The Fuel/Air Mixture sending units are mounted inside the headers and monitor the carb settings for optimal performance.

The second part of the Control Console holds the rocker switches that control the following four systems functions:

  1. Starter Control System
  2. Nitrous Arming Control System
  3. Emergency Brake Controls & Low Pressure Warning System
  4. Winch Control System
Each of the major functions above has an arming switch and a system engaged switch. The nitrous system also has a system activation switch built into the B&M truck shifter.

Overhead Console Controls
There is a Light Intensity and Radio Function Control Console mounted on top of the roll bar, next to the radios that control Whelen intensity lighting functions, flash patterns and control radio signal output locations, such as connecting the CB and/or scanner to the intercom system or to the internal speakers. The intercom system is also mounted in this console.