GM Parts Experts??

i was at the yard today and saw a nice instrument cluster out of an 87 or newer caprice, its the one with the gauges and trip odometer, so i can replace the base cluster in my 85, that has the dummy lights and no trip odo.

will these just swap out, or do i have a project on my hands?

i want to use this one
http://paloneva.freeshell.org/caprice/caprice22.jpg
instead of this one
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r88/mgtair/caprice003.jpg

 

They will interchange.. I think all GM analog instruments will fit the house, and wire. In my nash i have a mix of -92 chevy blazer, -62 chevy nova and -80,s caprice instruments..

 

Take the harness and all the senders. Some of those cost a bundle. Oh! And the computer module harness and the module, if it has one. Just going by the Ford systems. Also, you might want to check your manuals to see if the transmission connects to any of the gauges. I think some GM cars had transmission oil temp sensors. Might be wrong on that.

 

lowlow, i know it will fit the dash. im wondering about the things norm mentioned, the sending units, the wire harness, any computers that are under the dash. so i can go back and pull all that stuff while the car is at the yard before they crush it.

 

Although those should swap out with relative ease (all the connections should be in the dash).....it appears that the one in the yard that you want to put in your car is a kilometer speedo. That may cause problems I am unaware of.

 

good eye Silver, those arent pictures of whats here at the house. I pulled those off the net just for example. The one with the red interior is in the netherlands or somewhere for sale. The one i pulled is for mph.

 

If it's a Kilomiter speedo then take the and install the speedo cable from the parts car also. I can't say for sure with Chevy it could make a difference. I do know friends years back had dash/speedo ishues when doing the intrument cluster swap in mid 70's Ford trucks, they needed the speedo cable.

 

swapping it out looks easy enough, i guess i can just try it and see.


anyone know how add about 14,000 miles to the clock so it will be accurate for my own taste?

im just hoping both clusters used the same harness so i dont have to do any wiring.

 

See a used car dealer??? or use a fast wood router?

Actually, if its using a geared setup in the speedo head, you should be able to GENTLY pry at the casting to free up the main rotating shaft and click the two gears to the position you want.

Any speedo repair shop could do it too.

 

Should pop right in there with no problem. I know that the same years will and I doubt they changed much in those box wagons through the years. Think about it...they aren't going to have different harnesses for different speedo looks. Too costly.
Changing the mileage may be a different story. They have fail safe warning devices built in that will pop up and show a knowledgeable person that the speedo has been tampered with. Norm's speedo shop advice is your best bet. I would just mentally add 14K in my head if it were mine.

 

Why do I like non-puted cars...

 

i figure the speedo will work, the parts i was curious about were the gauges. my original doesnt have any gauges, but the new one has the amp and temp gauges, and the rest dummy lights.

 

Its sad that they don't include vacuum gauges and voltmeters by default. I made a custom bracket to get them in mine:

 

Jase! Red flag on the AMP gauge. Ford uses an instrument voltage regulator that runs at 5.1 volts. To get the AMP gauge to work properly, they throw in a 1.1 ohm resistor wire in between the car's voltage regulator and the output/load wire to the ammeter. GM might be different, but the donor harness should have all the necessary stuff.

 

hell, now i dont know if i got what i need, like i said, all i can do is pop it in later this week if it stops raining. if it doesnt work, ill have to find out whats different. guess i need to start checking with some chevy guys in the chevy forum... guys who only do chevy.


i hate projects that i come up with..