There’s a lot you need to account for when pulling off an engine swap on your project car. An instrument cluster solution needs to be high on the list, especially on a modern vehicle when you’re using an engine with a totally different ECU.

Modern vehicles can be very complex, with countless systems all interacting with each other through different body control modules. Introducing a totally different engine ECU during an engine swap project can present a challenge, since not all vehicles use the same protocols for their electronics. You need to find a way to have gauges that will work in the vehicle so you can see what’s going on with the engine.

The OEM Volvo gauge cluster and ECU wasn’t going to talk to our LS engine. That meant it was time to figure out a gauge solution for this project.

Project Swedish Meatball’s LS engine is going to be controlled by an OEM GM ECU that we got from BP Automotive as a part of the wiring package. AutoMeter’s InVision Digital Dash and CAN Bridge make it possible to give any LS-powered vehicle a nice digital dash. This universal dash is great for those who have an LS-swapped vehicle that are still using an OEM GM ECU and need a gauge solution.

The InVision Digital Dash And CAN Bridge

A gauge cluster’s job is fairly simple, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have some style. AutoMeter’s InVision Digital Dash has everything you need to update your vehicle’s dash, and offers readouts for everything you need to monitor. Having all of this in one package removes a lot of the guesswork out of an engine swap project.

The InVision dash has a robust 12.3-inch LCD display, and offers four different programmable screens. AutoMeter armed the InVision dash with readouts for the speedometer, tachometer, fuel level, oil pressure, water temperature, and voltage. Since most users are going to use the InVision dash in a street car, it has high beam and turn signal indicators available to be shown on the display.

AutoMeter’s InVision dash isn’t small by any means, but it’s the right size to fit in most vehicles’ dashboards.

A joystick that’s a part of the InVision dash is used to adjust the RPM range, and it allows users to toggle between imperial or metric measurements for all the information on the screen. The InVision dash has both visual and audible alarms that will alert the driver when there are issues with the oil pressure, voltage, and water temperature. AutoMeter designed the speedometer to calibrate to OEM or aftermarket speed sensor.

Cory Villani from AutoMeter explained what makes the InVision dash perfect for a project like our Volvo.

“The features and benefits of a universal dash like this InVision unit are a great match for a custom project like this. You’re getting a dash that’s easy to program, and has different options for monitoring the engine’s vital functions. It’s also an easy unit to install, and you don’t need to use a computer to program it. When you combine it with the CAN Bridge, it really becomes a plug-n-play solution for any gauge cluster swap application.”

The CAN Bridge is what makes the magic happen. It allows the ECU to seamlessly work with the InVision dash.

The CAN Bridge that AutoMeter created to work with the InVision dash is a slick piece of technology. This bridge allows a 2008 and newer OBDII-based engine to communicate directly with the InVision dash, thus making the gauge cluster solution for your swap vehicle much easier. You can also use the CAN Bridge with AutoMeter’s traditional short sweep electric gauges, tachometers, and electronic speedometers.

The CAN Bridge uses an OLED display for all of the available menus. You have five different buttons to use that navigate the menus, and allow you to program the CAN Bridge for your application. The entire system is designed to be plug-n-play, so you don’t have to try and find a way to make the wiring from the engine work with the gauges you’re using.

Making A Gauge Cluster Swap Happen

We had zero interest in trying to make the OEM Volvo gauge cluster work with our turbocharged LS engine. A good amount of research went into finding a solution for our specific application.

“You need to do your homework and see what it will take to install a new cluster. Take a lot of measurements, and think of the problem three-dimensionally so you find a cluster that will fit. You also need to be realistic if this is something you can do yourself, or if it’s better to find a shop that has experience with gauge cluster swaps to take care of the job. It’s more than just making some gauges fit, there could be extra wiring or fabrication involved, and that can get tricky,” Villani says.

The InVision dash comes with a wiring harness from AutoMeter. When you pair it with the CAN Bridge, you have a great combo.

Now, you could get lucky, and your vehicle could have kits available for gauge clusters. These types of kits will have the bezel needed to make the gauge cluster fit directly in your dash. Well, these types of kits don’t exist for a 1994 Volvo wagon, so it was time to do some old-school hot rodding to make the InVision dash fit.

We knew going into this that some custom work would be required, thankfully, the team at Big 3 Racing has attacked projects like this before and was ready. They made sure that AutoMeter sent all of the extra NPT fittings we needed for the engine to work with the sensors. When you mix all the right fittings with the sensors and the BP Automotive harness, you get a seamless setup for the InVision dash plus the CAN Bridge.

The Volvo’s gauge cluster area would have plenty of room for the 12.3-inch InVision digital dash. What we didn’t know was what type of structure would be behind that OEM gauge cluster. Chuck Stefanski from Big 3 Racing tore into the Swedish Meatball to see what we were working with and what it was going to take to get the InVision dash to fit.

You never know what lurks behind an OEM gauge cluster. Thankfully, when we pulled the Volvo’s stock gauge cluster out, we were greeted with plenty of space and some mounting points for the InVision digital dash.

“With unique projects like this, you never know what you’re getting yourself into until things are taken apart. The plan was to use as much of the OEM dash structure as possible to hold the digital dash. It can be a real time-suck if you have to create an entire mounting system, but you still need the display to fit properly and look good inside the dash,” Stefanski says.

Once Stefanski had the OEM Volvo gauge cluster out, he discovered it had a steel bracket that held it in place inside the dash. After a quick mock-up, we found the InVision display would fit perfectly inside this bracket with only minor modifications. This would put the InVision in nearly the same place as the OEM gauge cluster. The only thing that will need to be added are some trim pieces to each side, then it will look like the InVision came in the Volvo from the factory.

After we add some trim pieces, the InVision dash will look like it came in our 1994 Volvo 940 wagon.

The wiring harness that AutoMeter provides with the InVision dash was the perfect length. We were able to mount the CAN Bridge inside the dash below the HVAC controls, thanks to its small size. Since the CAN Bridge plugs directly into the ODB-II port of the OEM ECU’s wiring harness, it made tying the whole package together much easier. All Stefanski had to do was plug in a couple of connections, and all of the wiring for a gauge cluster was ready.

Engine swap projects are complex, but making a gauge cluster work doesn’t have to be. You can do research up front to see what options you have in the aftermarket gauge cluster space to make it easy to create your own display.