I am building an MGB V6 with a T5 and plan to use this type of setup if they fit into the dash

Have any pictures?  I'm looking at purchasing some and not sure how I want to arrange them. Thanks in advance.

I just finished putting in a full set of gauges in my Mini. Voltage, oil pressure and water temperature in the center holes, and 4" combo GPS speedo and fuel gauge with indicator lights as well as 4" 6,000 RPM tach in a custom made 1/4" thick aluminum panel fitted where the stock speedo/tach were. I mounted the GPS antenna on the dash. I had to program the tach for 4 cylinders, but the default fuel gauge setting of 240 empty and 30 full already applied to the Mini. I love the new gauges, I got the Legacy series in white with blue backlighting. The GPS speedo is great, but it zeroes under a cover just like satellite radio.

Yes, inside the windscreen and it is very discreet.

Looks nice. I assume you have to mount the GPS antenna somewhere that it see the sky. Do you plan to put it on the inside of the windscreen?

New Speedhut gauges have arrived for MGB.  As advertised!

Speedo - 120 mph with kms inset:

Tach - 6,000 rpm for low reving Buick:

Hunter2,

That's the route I am leaning more towards now. I already picked up the stuff to install a power port into the current Mini. (For being able to maintain phone charge during longer - all day - club drives.) It is a 3-socket type, so can handle GPS along with phone or iPod.

Time to go play "hands-on" with a few GPS at local Best Buy or such.

Garmin or similar will give you that portability.  Just need a plug in.

Kits are <$15 at Canadian Tire and take a few minutes to connect to fuse block and ground...IF you do not have a cigarette lighter or similar available in the vehicle.  Put a kit in my Mini sedan and took another one to Oz with the Garmin I use here.

Garmin does not care a whit about make/model of vehicle, tyre size, gearing...can be moved from vehicle to vehicle in moments.

Mine tells me the posted maximum speed as well as my actual speed.  Posted speeds would be updated with any new mapping installed.  The new mapping can cost a bit but will cover all new road/bridge construction etc.

So with Mini speedo in mph and Oz speeds in kmh, I don't care what the speedo says or worry whether its accurate or not.  I have a heads up display with automatic night time back light that comes on at dusk (but don't drive in the outback after dusk and before dawn).

I guess I should clarify my full perspective of the "portability" desired.

I would like to not just swap between my existing cars, but also accommodate the scenario of selling one car, buying another. I would want to move the accessory from old car to new car as well as still be able to use in the daily driver. (I tend to wander through different classic Minis periodically, owning only one "toy" at a time.)

That is true to a point.  With the Sigma computers, most models are designed to move between two bicycles. and have duplicate settings for each.  What would be required is to buy a second wiring kit.  The computer part itself simply twists onto a mounting base as part of the kit.  To change the speedo from one installation to another simply means twisting the unit off one car and twisting it onto the mounting base in the second car.  Of course you would also need to push a couple of buttons to tell the bike computer that it is now installed on the second "bike". 

To me the biggest problem with the bike computers is the lack of a built-in 12V backlight for night driving.  Some have backlights but they are only on for a few moments when a button is pushed and they run off the computer's battery.

Off the top, I can't tell you the Garmin model I bought for the Mini and took to Australia for use in the Van there.  Now home again and in the Jeep.  (Has North American, Australia and New Zealand maps loaded - these need to be updated periodically at a cost.)

Simply wire in a power supply if cigarette lighter or other like take-off is not installed and it's plug in and play.

SPEED is there as you go, also trip details, elevations etc. depending on the model you have.  It could have recorded in downloadable form the entire 17,000 miles of driving in Australia.

Biggest worry is smash and grab theft so you must lock it in the glove box, boot or similar.

Which model NUVI? The whole Garmin "Automotive" lineup are titled as NUVI and broken down into series and models - about 17 models for 2012 and about 39 models for 2011!

Too much feature and model overload! I guess I may need to drop by a store with a few models and due a little "hands on" research at this point.

The Garmin NUVI has that screen view. I use that more than the map view since it also has a compass and I like to know whicha way I'm headed.

The drawback to the Autometer product is you also have to add in the cost of an electronic speedometer. Then you have basically the same thing as the Speed Hut products in two pieces, versus their one piece solution.

A bit more research on the Garmin site seems to show most of their products have a simplified variation of the screen JohninCM posted. Speed with turn prompting instead of odometer data.

I really like the idea of having the odometer data as I also lead "club drives" and usually develop "pace notes" in my daily driver based on odometer readings. (Example: "scenic overlook stop about mile xxx")

Just to add into the mix, Autometer sells this:

Auto Meter 5289 - Autometer Universal GPS Speedometer Interface

It's supposed to covert any electronic speedo into a GPS speedo.

Which model Garmin? That is very much the kind of data/screen I am looking for. I know the bike computer (Garmin Edge 200) has basically that but no maps for about the price you quoted.

My thoughts are: if I can find a standard car GPS with that data screen, then I have a total package - maps if ever needed as well as the dedicated speed/distance screen.

The Garmin I picked up for $150 a few years back has this speedo / trip screen built in. Really comes in handy with the Mini since the speedo seized up.

 

I've been doing a bit more research into the options already discussed and weighing in consideration of my desires for this route.

Strictly on a "cost" basis, the "wired" bike computer would be the way to go. However, one of my desired requirements is easy portability between cars. The wired computers aren't very portable because of the magnet and sensor.

For the portability, that means one of the GPS based options. The Speed Hut speedometers are nice, but basically only provide speed. At the same price-point as either a standard car GPS or the entry level GPS bike computers, the Speed Hut speedometers kind of drop out as well.

The decision comes for me comes down to either a standard car GPS or a GPS bike computer. The standard car GPS models of course are all focused primarily on maps and giving directions with speed/distance data secondary. The bike computers are focused more on speed/distance (and other fitness data) over maps. Leaning more towards the bike computer as the speed/distance data is more my current focus. Not had any need for the maps/directions features (yet). Those are only available in the high-end bike computers, which tend to be expensive because of the various fitness monitor interfaces included.

The model bike computer Joltfreak has seems to be NLA. There are some other "budget import" models listed around various sites, but most are "sold out" and "next availability unknown". Garmin does provide one that is a current model and seems readily available.

Anybody familiar with the standard car GPS systems and know if there are some with a mode for having speed/distance data as the primary display versus the maps?

//www.mainnav.com/product/md-950dm.htm

this is it. i've been using it for about 5 years with no issues.

 

Since my car uses yoke outputs from the gearbox my magnet and pickup are handled similarly to what Willie_B did but different at the same time.

Night vision of a bicycle computer is poor without adding an external light.  I used a small LED on a bracket aimed at the face of the gauge.

Rick, I'm not suggesting the bicycle speedo for your car.  I remember your B had an engine transplant and with the effort you put into it, the car deserves really nice gauges.

EDIT:  Pictures.