Suggestions for my dash?
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 264
Likes: 0
From: Bozeman, MT
I have the intermittent wipers in my 79 from the factory, but the intermittent is VERY slow. There is no happy medium between the fast intermittent and the low speed (turned one notch to the right). Will the switch from a newer pickup have a few more intermittent speeds to choose from?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,106
Likes: 25
I have the intermittent wipers in my 79 from the factory, but the intermittent is VERY slow. There is no happy medium between the fast intermittent and the low speed (turned one notch to the right). Will the switch from a newer pickup have a few more intermittent speeds to choose from?
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,536
Likes: 0
From: Schweinfurt Germany
I don't screw with electrical so by no means am I an expert but if you can find one that is close enough in design the only problem should be on how to wire it up and place it in the dash.
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More Turbo
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 724
Likes: 26
From: Southeast Salt Lake, UT
I got the replacement instrument cluster rebuilt with the 100 mph speedo. I had to repaint the speedo numbers and I painted all the gauge needles red, the speedo needle looked like it was a red that had faded to a dark orange and the gauges looked like they were an orange that had faded to a yellow. I changed out all the lamps for good measure, just standard 194LLs, I figured most of them had survived more than 30 years so the new ones should do the same. Besides, the shop I went to only had one pair of LEDs and the price was double the 194s. I'll have it back in in the next day or 2.
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More Turbo
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 724
Likes: 26
From: Southeast Salt Lake, UT
What about a tach? I see a lot of pics on here of a tach either added to the left on non A/C trucks above the light and wiper switches or strapped to the steering column. Is it something I should think about? I just intend this truck to be a driver and a light duty hauler, no mudding, crawling or hard core wheeling.
Moderator & parts slinger
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 50,186
Likes: 5,792
From: S/W Missouri, Polk county
What do you really need a tach for, can you not just hear how the rpm's are doing and know when to shift? Turn the damn radio down.....lol
I mean no offence to those that have them, need them, or use them. They have there place in a truck, and there all kinds of reasons to have them bla bla bla, just shift ok?
I am just saying do not put one in to be "cool", besides putting it in a place where you have to take your eyes off the road to see what your rpms are, is not a good idea to me.
Notice why drag racers put them in front of the steering wheel and add a big shift light, they are a little pressed for time to hit the next shift.
I mean no offence to those that have them, need them, or use them. They have there place in a truck, and there all kinds of reasons to have them bla bla bla, just shift ok?
I am just saying do not put one in to be "cool", besides putting it in a place where you have to take your eyes off the road to see what your rpms are, is not a good idea to me.
Notice why drag racers put them in front of the steering wheel and add a big shift light, they are a little pressed for time to hit the next shift.
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More Turbo
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 724
Likes: 26
From: Southeast Salt Lake, UT
What do you really need a tach for, can you not just hear how the rpm's are doing and know when to shift? Turn the damn radio down.....lol
I mean no offence to those that have them, need them, or use them. They have there place in a truck, and there all kinds of reasons to have them bla bla bla, just shift ok?
I am just saying do not put one in to be "cool", besides putting it in a place where you have to take your eyes off the road to see what your rpms are, is not a good idea to me.
Notice why drag racers put them in front of the steering wheel and add a big shift light, they are a little pressed for time to hit the next shift.
I mean no offence to those that have them, need them, or use them. They have there place in a truck, and there all kinds of reasons to have them bla bla bla, just shift ok?
I am just saying do not put one in to be "cool", besides putting it in a place where you have to take your eyes off the road to see what your rpms are, is not a good idea to me.
Notice why drag racers put them in front of the steering wheel and add a big shift light, they are a little pressed for time to hit the next shift.
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More Turbo
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 724
Likes: 26
From: Southeast Salt Lake, UT
Ok, I got the "new" cluster in. The lights work fine BUT when I turn the key to the run position the fuel gauge doesn't move. Can't turn the truck over since the carb is still sitting on the bench and I didn't want to pump fuel all over the engine. I know the truck has about a half tank and the gauge from the old cluster indicated such... I guess this means I'm going to have to pull it back out and swap gauges between the clusters. I'm guessing the other clusters wont indicate anything until the engine is actually running.
Rusty Roller
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,423
Likes: 5
From: Santa Cruz Mountains
The fuel gauge would indicate with just the key on. However there were a few different dash circuit boards. There is a Ford number on the board and it needs to be the same as your original. The gauge may be bad but if the number is different you will need to transfer your board to the new dash. The voltage regulator on the board might be bad too.
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More Turbo
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 724
Likes: 26
From: Southeast Salt Lake, UT
You rock! Good news: it works, Bad news: I only have a 1/4 tank of gas.
I pulled the cluster back out and the circuit boards matched. So I pulled the voltage regulator off the "old" cluster and swapped it on to the "new" one. Plugged it back into the harness then turned the key to "on" and the gauge came up.
Note: the regulator must have a capacitor in it as it takes 5-10 seconds for the lights and gauges to start to work after turning the key to on.
I pulled the cluster back out and the circuit boards matched. So I pulled the voltage regulator off the "old" cluster and swapped it on to the "new" one. Plugged it back into the harness then turned the key to "on" and the gauge came up.
Note: the regulator must have a capacitor in it as it takes 5-10 seconds for the lights and gauges to start to work after turning the key to on.
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