I had ankle surgery and could not walk for 6 weeks. I had the instrument cluster brought in and went to work on the kitchen table. First step is to disassemble and clean up the housing.

Gauge Replacement

The gauges were repairable but the cluster did not have a tachometer or an oil pressure gauge. I looked into the Dakota electronic instrument package but could not bring myself to digital into my classic. I opted for Speed Hut Gauges they had sizes close to the openings in my stock cluster. They also came with all of the wiring and sending units. The speedo has a GPS option but I decided to go with an electronic pulse unit that mounts to the speedo cable connection on the Transmission as I did not want a GPS antenna on the dash. It also came with a pulse output to connect to a digital cruise control.

Installing The Speed Hut Gauges

The small gauges were slightly larger than the holes in the cluster. I had to use a Dremel tool to grind out the holes to fit the new gauges. I did not notice that the holes for the Tach and Speedo were eliptical and not round. Using the ABS sheets that I sell with my Easy ABS Repair products I cut an elliptical piece to fit into the holes. I then cut out a round hole to fit the gauges and using the Easy ABS Repair resin I bonded the pieces into place. I had several screw holes that were split open and striped. I used the resin to repair these as well.

Indicator Lights

The foil trace plastic overlay was in bad shape so I did not re-use it. I soldered leads onto the twist in bulb holders and installed them in the signal light, high beam, brake warning, and tailgate ajar indicator lights. To give better access to the new gauges I used a hole saw and cut out the back of the housing. I added the dimmer knob next to the headlight switch,

Radio Installation

I bought a Retro Sound vintage radio from Summit Racing and installed it into the cluster. This radio has the same push button design and has the same knobs as a stock radio. However it is a modern radio with Bluetooth and hands free connection capability and is available with satellite radio.