Instrument
Cluster Upgrade.
We recently completed a really nice instrument upgrade that can be a great
addition to any 1965 or 1966 Mustang. This upgrade permits you to use ACCURATE
aftermarket gauges in a stock-appearing cluster. It just seemed to fit the theme
of our car - semi-stock appearance, but upgraded...
We had been running the 1965 "Falcon-style" instruments with a
white-face overlay. The 1965 cluster has a long, horizontal speedometer along
with fuel and temperature gauges. We had taken a cue from the 65 Shelby and
added the dash pod which contained a tachometer and oil pressure gauge. It
worked fine, but the stock gauges are not known for their accuracy, and it was
somewhat "pedestrian" in appearance.
We found that there's now a reasonably easy and cost-effective way to upgrade
any 65/66 Mustang to better instruments, and maintain a semi-stock appearance.
The 5-gauge swap can be done under $300 with some careful shopping - I've got
right at $400 in 7 Autometer white-face gauges, the gauge
support, a new bezel, and the Shelby dash pod. Total time involved was ~6 hours,
most of which was spent making up the wiring harness on the gauge set.
The key to the whole thing is the aftermarket
"gauge support" which is available thru several different Mustang
vendors including Mustang Depot & NPD. It runs ~$40. It's the BLACK
vacuum-formed plastic piece in the pictures above.
You need a 1965 GT or 1966 bezel - available in either black or woodgrain. I
snagged a new 65 GT bezel for cheap off Ebay. Gauges are up to your personal
preference - plenty of brands & choices in various colors and styles (white,carbon,cobalt,etc)
- you could even go black and look close to original with MUCH better accuracy.
I went with white-face Autometer Phantoms - fuel level, oil
pressure, 160 speedo, water temp, and voltmeter. The other two gauges are
mounted in a repop Shelby dash pod ($5 swap meet bargain) - a matching
tachometer, and a vacuum gauge. (Boost would also work slick in that location)...
The wiring harness is tidbits from Radio Shack - two sets of 9-pin male-female
harnesses. I can unplug the entire harness with two plugs this way, unscrew the
speedo, then pull the the bulbs for hi-beam (left side) and turn signal (right
side) and it's all out. I did a mix/match with the male & female plugs - one
is male, the other side is female, so you can't plug it in wrong or backwards.
The original sending wires for oil, gas, and temp can all be used. You do need
to change the oil & temp sending units, but not fuel level (as long as you
order the right gauge).
The dash metal did NOT have to be cut - I simply trimmed one little piece from
the bottom of the plastic bezel, and it all clears fine. I did bend the metal
tabs 90* so the bottom screws go right in.
