Custom Dash For My Fairmont Squire

For the brave of heart, this Dash Changing trip really requires that you have some patient ability to read Electrical Schematics. I saw one 1979 Fairmont guy start off with stripping it out, sending a T-Bird dash to get refinished ($$$$$$$) and lose heart when he couldn't figure out a few changes to the circuitry.

Very informative How To Thread, but somewhere by Page 5 of 10, he swapped back to the stock Fairmont setup.

http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthread.php?t=50729

http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthread.php?t=50729&page=5

You need the circuits from all the vehicles you scrounged parts from. Luckily the Public Library has most of them (Chilton. Motor, Haynes, etc.) and the online vendors usually offer downloadable installation files.

DON'T GIVE UP! Plan your work and work your plan. As an old highschool buddy said "If you don't have the time to do it right, when will you do it over?"

By the time I spotted the thread, the guy was done. He's racing it now.

Heck of a rear swaybar installation process in that thread, and lots more, for the Fox folks.

 

stormin heres and idea back when i had a 1979 fairmont 2dr coupe with a 200 six i found a 1983 mustang gauge cluster and it had a 200 six. i got the cluster and the plastic trim that covers it but i never wired up the tach the other gauges worked tho. heres a pic of one with white gauge faces

 

It's kinda what I want too, but I've got the AC vent, and the Tranny shift indicator is right between the Tach (gas gauge, in mine) and speedo.

Like this:


I may get brave and build something from scratch, from the firewall/heater. I really like the way the 1983 Fox-bodied Marquis dash goes to the floor in the centre, like this:




I could beef up the Dash body structure (rather than have it crumble into broken plastic chunks, and get more gauges/switches in there.

 

the mustang one i used had the 2 vents and i took the indicator off

 

I had an image of one of those, I noticed yesterday. I'll keep an eye out for one.

The other thing I noticed on mine is that I've got the 110 MPH/ 180 KMH speedo. Most of them went to only 140 KMH. hehehe, tsk, tsk...

 

Gauges Not visible

I've got nice, almost Recarro type reclining bucketseats going into my wagon. I'll sit up loud and proud. I was sitting behind the wheel on this Fairmont wagon recovery trip with Andy, and checked out the layout and visibility of the gauges IF I INSTALLED THEM like the Mustang dash:




Or this custom setup:


I'd be craning my neck to see the darn things!

They have to go higher. I've got a 1978 Fairmont Futura Sport wheel from the donor (black -3 spoke wheel) to put into it, but unless you had an 18" diameter wheel, you'd be bobbing along like the swinging head rear-shelf doggy.

Since I'm not using the front centre speaker, I think I can leave the old instrument panel alone, and build a new dash top for the gauges to sit up top on a new dash, and just below the height of the wipers. Much simpler. I've got the old donor dash board to play with. Heck, might even make it like a flip-up panel - hidden when I have to get the car inspected. Can't have any obstructions in your line of sight, right?

 

Way back in the day of steel framed dash structures, the luxury cars came out with deep sunk instrument panels and deep padded dash pads. You could load up the dashboard with last weeks stock broker reports and the New York Times!

How many people were maimed or trapped in the car because of a metal framed dash?

Put it in context. The plastic framed dash structure is only 3 inches from the stiff heater box (heater core runs front to back, as does the huge AC heat exchanger core) Your knees would be mush. The top part is barely 8 inches away with 2" metal brackets coming off the cowl, leaving a collapsible depth of about 6" of theortically shock absorbing plastic to cushion a major frontend collision of 50 MPH.

Maybe I'm all wet here, but it makes sense that the sheetmetal dash will collapse, but not necessarily splinter and let other components rip your guts out. Airbags are supposed to take the big blow first, but before unibody frames, the cars offered more protection from internal organ damage. The deep moulded foam dash pads kept the same hardness even by today's standards, so head injury was no more or no less. Right? Or not?

My argument is that I could build a custom dash out of aluminum 1/8" sheet metal, and acheive a stronger structure, that would not allow all the junk behind it to perform surgery on me, and add my gauges in a visible layout. Then I could build a better dash pad with the right amount of density and durability.

And do something slick. like make it easier to change flashers and fuses, hideaway gauges and radio/dvd player and better speaker arrangment. Maybe a diamond tufted naugahyde dash pad with those snap on buttons to change between car shows!

 

Hey! Good buddy. Finally made progress and got down to it.

Here's the latest news and pics.
http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=34759#post34759

 

The circuit differences for INSTALLING A 79-86 Mustang 'Gauge' Type Intrument Cluster In A 78-83 Fairmont/Zephyr. One hobbyist actually documented it.

http://jpkvideoonline.com/jpk_video_online_032.htm

 

Gonna play today. I'll post pics later.

 

Interesting stuff! Got me thinking about my '89 Mustang (asc/McLaren), I wonder if I could swap a dash from a 87 Thunderbird?

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

 

The reverse has been done. Four Eyed Pride guys have swapped T-Bird dashes into Fairmonts - same substructure (fastening points, width, etc.) but wiring has been an issue for the Fairmont owners. After you register, the site will return you to this section. Mustangs and Capris are further up, but the best Dash Swap threads are in the Other Fox sections, here.
http://vb.foureyedpride.com/forumdisplay.php?f=43

You might also enjoy the White Face DIY at the Cool Cats site:
http://www.coolcats.net/modifying/gauges.html

And the Interior... section at the bottom of this page:
http://www.coolcats.net/tech/advanced/

 

The one thing you should try to get are the wiring schematics for both your cars. The T-Bird's usually have more idiot lights and your 'stang has newer electronics.

EVTM's abound:
http://www.vehicle-db.com/parts/search.pl?part=Ford+Vacuum+manuals

That site links to many online stores and vendors, a lot of EBay stores, but others as well.

 

More precisely:

1987 Mustang is listed here:
http://www.vehicle-db.com/parts/search.pl?part=Mustang+Vacuum+manuals

1989 T-Bird here:
http://www.vehicle-db.com/parts/search.pl?part=Thunderbird+Vacuum+manuals

And reverse on the same pages. I'm not dyslexic really.