Gauge Cluster--73 to 87 (100mph speedo, clock, no O.D., no tach)

[AyWoSch Motors]

Also have all these little plastic warning light covers.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[K5ride]

Heres the one I have. Solid black, no words, just the white circle.

You must be registered for see images attach

The one I'm looking for is a lens. It allows the light to shine through if there is a brake problem. This one may be for deleting a gauge spot. I don't think the light could shine through if it is solid black. Not sure??

 

[K5ride]

@AyWoSch Motors... Where did you find the white gauges? Those would look pretty good.

 

[75gmck25]

K5 Ride - I assume the cluster you are trying to make work is not the original '75 cluster?

My '75 GMC cluster has a brake warning light inside the face of the speedometer, and that lower left pod was either blank or it was an electric clock. There was never any brake light there. If you had a tach cluster it moved the fuel gauge to the lower left pod and the tach replaced the large fuel gauge. I am currently using a tach cluster from a '74 Suburban, and it fit my '75 with no modifications.

My truck had an ammeter, and due to deterioration in the wiring they are notoriously inaccurate/inoperative. I bought a new voltmeter gauge from LMC, and followed some simple directions I found on how to replace the ammeter with a voltmeter. The orange is needle is not a perfect color match, but it works fine.

I also made a minor upgrade to the brake warning light - My '75 brake warning light was only connected to the proportioning valve, so it only came on if there was a problem with pressure in the braking system. I added a switch to the emergency brake pedal assembly and tapped into the wiring so that now my brake warning light also comes on if I leave the emergency brake on.

 

[AyWoSch Motors]

The one I'm looking for is a lens. It allows the light to shine through if there is a brake problem. This one may be for deleting a gauge spot. I don't think the light could shine through if it is solid black. Not sure??

Ah, okay. Yeah this one is solid black, no light would shine threw. That one is just for when there's nothing there at all. There is a truck that the junkyard that has a gauge cluster with that clear red one that says brake. Next time I go, I'll pick it up.

 

[AyWoSch Motors]

@AyWoSch Motors... Where did you find the white gauges? Those would look pretty good.

They came in my 78 when I bought it.
You can have those if you want them, but they're horrible, you wont want them. They're regular black gauges that someone painted white, and then hand painted the letters back on. They didnt do too bad of a job considering, but they're pretty ugly.
And the volt gauge doesnt work, the temp gauge is broken. Oil and gas work, but they're just ugly. Dont have the speedo that matches. I was just holding on to them, because I can't bring myself to throw them away.

 

[K5ride]

K5 Ride - I assume the cluster you are trying to make work is not the original '75 cluster?

My '75 GMC cluster has a brake warning light inside the face of the speedometer, and that lower left pod was either blank or it was an electric clock. There was never any brake light there. If you had a tach cluster it moved the fuel gauge to the lower left pod and the tach replaced the large fuel gauge. I am currently using a tach cluster from a '74 Suburban, and it fit my '75 with no modifications.

My truck had an ammeter, and due to deterioration in the wiring they are notoriously inaccurate/inoperative. I bought a new voltmeter gauge from LMC, and followed some simple directions I found on how to replace the ammeter with a voltmeter. The orange is needle is not a perfect color match, but it works fine.

I also made a minor upgrade to the brake warning light - My '75 brake warning light was only connected to the proportioning valve, so it only came on if there was a problem with pressure in the braking system. I added a switch to the emergency brake pedal assembly and tapped into the wiring so that now my brake warning light also comes on if I leave the emergency brake on.

I never checked out the dash as it was in the truck when I got it. I looked in the owner's manual and you are correct, the light should be in the speedometer. Who knows, the truck has been through a few owners before I got it. It may be a compilation of parts from different years. The truck came with some extra parts, one of which is an instrument cluster. The spare one has the brake warning light in the speedometer but it has a voltmeter and a clock. Still has the oil line for the oil pressure gauge. It is probably a bunch of years too. Are the different years wired the same? If I got a different year would it just plug and play or would I have to re-pin the connector? I like the parking brake idea and I would like to eventually convert over to a voltmeter. Did you use the same wiring or have to rewire? Thanks for your input and sharing your dash knowledge.

 

[AuroraGirl]

You must be registered for see images attach

\I think he is referring to the non-gauge dummy lights

 

[AuroraGirl]

You must be registered for see images attach

Im not sure what the space under the speedo did in these clusters but this is a better representation of what hes looking for I believe

 

[K5ride]

You must be registered for see images attach

Im not sure what the space under the speedo did in these clusters but this is a better representation of what hes looking for I believe

That's the one!! Somehow I ended up with 3 gauges and the big dummy light for the brake. Everything else works so I was going to install the brake lens to complete the cluster. I may change the Amp meter to a volt meter once I figure out how to modify the wiring.

 

[AuroraGirl]

That's the one!! Somehow I ended up with 3 gauges and the big dummy light for the brake. Everything else works so I was going to install the brake lens to complete the cluster. I may change the Amp meter to a volt meter once I figure out how to modify the wiring.

I think that means your cluster started life as a dummy cluster with no gauges. Unless the brake light under the speedo was oddly here or there depending on the year. My dads 75 has a blank circle on the corner, the 3 gauges (ameter, oil pressure, coolant) and under the speedo is the brake light.

But if you want to have another "brake" light cover you could look for reproductions for a non-gauge cluster to see if you can find some otherwise you can have mine.. but its been sitting in the weather as you see it for many years and sun etc. Not sure if they get brittle or something.
Also mine appears to be somewhat "faded" on the white letters and circle unless its above it.. but it almost looks smeared kinda.

 

[AyWoSch Motors]

You must be registered for see images attach

Im not sure what the space under the speedo did in these clusters but this is a better representation of what hes looking for I believe

Yup. Theres a truck at the junkyard right now with that same light. I will probably end up getting that next time I go.

 

[AyWoSch Motors]

My 84 miltary blazer has an interesting setup. You can really see until it lights up, but the top 2 say GEN 1 and GEN 2, because it's a 24 volt system, and the bottom 2 say 4 Wheel Drive and Low Oil.
Then over on the other side of the cluster, where the air vent would usually be, theres a 24 volt, volt gauge.
Then in the top middle between the speedo and fuel, theres a Wait to Start, and Water in Oil lights.

No oil pressure, no temp, no tach. Pretty simple.

 

[AyWoSch Motors]

Picked these up yesterday. Complete gauge sets from a 74 custom deluxe and a 79 custom deluxe.
Both are in excellent condition other than being a bit dirty.
The lenses, not so much. One is just foggy and could be fixed with some polishing compound, the other is broken.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

@K5ride got the clear red brake lense.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[78C10BigTen]

Picked these up yesterday. Complete gauge sets from a 74 custom deluxe and a 79 custom deluxe.
Both are in excellent condition other than being a bit dirty.
The lenses, not so much. One is just foggy and could be fixed with some polishing compound, the other is broken.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

@K5ride got the clear red brake lense.

You must be registered for see images attach

Oooohhh a 100mph!