<April, 1998>
I really like having a tach in my car. I can't believe Ford didn't put one in the standard guage cluster. My solution of using a mini-tach in the clock hole is OK for now, but I want everything to look really sharp when I get done, so I decided to get a genuine tach cluster for the pony.
I found one from Mustang Larry (Larry Foord), in Canada, over the net. He assures me it will work (unless I plug in the tach backwards, which is the number one cause of fried tachs). He seemed very honest, straightforward, and professional, so I shelled out the $200, and he sent me this grungy '67 tach cluster, along with wiring and a back piece for a '68 that I can fit the guages into. No clock, but that's OK. I didn't realize that the speedo also had a trip meter in the delux cluster. Very cool.
Here's a look at the backside. The wiring doesn't look too scary. I hope I get it all plugged back in right. You can see the tach leads hanging down off the back of the tach. I will have to figure out which wiring harness needs to be replaced to accomodate this. Most of my car's wiring has been spliced so many times over the years, it's probably a good idea to replace it all bit by bit anyway.
With the cruddy bezel removed, you can see the guages, the wiper control, and the bulbs. Inside the cruddy bezel were five metal rings that hold the lenses in. They were rusty and peeling so I stripped them and repainted them semi-gloss black.
Some of the instrument bulbs have little blue plastic covers. These are VERY fragile. Mine were held on by tiny bolts, and they were very hard to get a hold of and turn. I broke several of the covers getting them off. I went to Del Pro and he provided me with enough blue covers to finish my cluster, and screws to hold them down with.
I also bought a woodgrain '68 Bezel, new lenses, a clock blanking plate, and a fuel guage from Del Pro. Although it's hard to see, the fuel guage on this cluster was rusted. There is also a little bit of wear on the speedo, but it cleaned up real nice. I also bought some florescent red paint for the needles, and new bulbs.
All I need to do now is install it ... (lookin' sharp)
and plug it in. The end is near...
Final Update...
Actually the end was nowhere near. I opted to sell the guage cluster to someone who needed it more than I did for his California Special restoration. I plan to put VDO vision guages in my car now. But I still enjoyed playing around with the tach cluster while I had it.