How To Restore and Detail an Original Gauge Cluster

[theastronaut]

To restore the individual gauges, remove the screws and nuts that mount the gauges onto the gauge mount.




Remove one at a time so you can keep up with which parts go with which gauge.






Put the screws/terminals back on the gauge so they don't get lost.






With the gauges loose, clean the faces and needles with a light solvent like 3M Adhesive Cleaner.




I use a pinstriping brush and Florescent Red model car paint to repaint the needles. The color match is very close. It usually takes two coats depending on how faded the needles are. No need to mask the gauge faces since I'll use decals to cover the original painted faces.






I use decals made by Jason Wilson at Greenback Decals. They're a 100% copy of the original gauge faces and include the optional tach, vac, or air gauge decals. He also includes both 64/65 and '66 style water temp decals so you can correctly restore either style gauge.

Here's his website.
http://parklane410.wix.com/home





To apply the decals, lightly wetsand the gauge face with 1000-2000 grit to remove any roughness or embedded dirt/dust. On the speedometer you'll need to bend up the tabs that hold the "bright" indicator filter and remove it.







Clean the face and spray it with glass cleaner so the decal can be positioned.




Apply the decal and use a soft rag as a squeegee out air bubbles and excess glass cleaner.




Once it's dried cut X's in the odometer and bright lights indicator openings and fold the decal over to uncover the opening.






On the small gauges, you'll have to cut a slot to clear the needle.




Ready to install in the cluster.




The decal on the air gauge (and probably a vac gauge too) will have to be punched for the needle stem and stop pin, and slit to fit around the needle's stem.




Clean all the hardware and terminals with a wire brush.




And reassemble the gauges onto the blasted and painted gauge mounts.




The gauge mounts bolt back in the main housing.




(Aftermarket tach, wiring is different than stock)




To reset the odometer, take the speedo face off by removing the two screws at the bottom of the face, and the inner silver colored plate will come off too.






Remove the brass clip.




Slide the odometer roll all the way to the left.




And pull the roll out sideways.




There are metal "legs" that fit in a channel in the speedo housing, hold the first (left) leg and rotate the second wheel around until the "9" is facing up. Work your way down, holding the next leg over until all the wheels have 9 facing up. It's easy slip and let a digit roll over one too many so it may take a few tries. With all the digits and legs aligned you can apply the decals to each of the wheels then put it back together.






Put the face back on the speedometer, put the rubber pad on the back, and install the speedometer in the housing using the three longer screws that have rubber bushings.







That finishes the gauge restoration.

[theastronaut]

To clean and detail the wiring harness I like to remove the wrapping and clean the connectors and wires with 3M Adhesive Cleaner. That removes all the grime and stains and makes the new electrical tape stick better.

Before cleaning:




Make note of the way the factory tied the end of the wrap and also how they wrapped the tape around the clip.






Sometimes there will be cuts or modifications that will need to be fixed. I have a spare bulb holder from another junk harness to take care of this. A crimp-on butt connector can be used to fix cuts like this.






Wrap removed, wires and connectors cleaned.




After cleaning, rewrap the wiring with electrical tape, starting at the end away from the harness plugs. To make the knot at the end, clean the adhesive off the last few inches so the knot won't stick to itself.






Some harnesses had cloth friction tape instead of electrical tape. I like this better than electrical tape since it has more of a vintage/classic look. It goes on the same way as electrical tape does, except you can't remove the adhesive for the knot. Use glass cleaner as a lubricant when tying the knot.








For the final detailing, I like to use Duragloss on the wires and connectors to bring out the color and add a slight sheen. It isn't alcohol based so it won't dry out the material.






If you have any other wiring you can also wrap it for a more detailed look. There were three wires for the aftermarket tachometer so I braided them first to make them easier to wrap. I tied one end to mimick the factory wrapping style. I'm just a little OCD if you haven't noticed by now.






To clean the bulb holders take 0000 steel wool and Nevr-Dull wadding and mix them together. The steel wool will cut the oxidation off without scratching the plating much better than polish alone will.






Before and after.




Ready to install back on the cluster with new bulbs.

[grs]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

To restore the individual gauges, remove the screws and nuts that mount the gauges onto the gauge mount.




Remove one at a time so you can keep up with which parts go with which gauge.






Put the screws/terminals back on the gauge so they don't get lost.






With the gauges loose, clean the faces and needles with a light solvent like 3M Adhesive Cleaner.




I use a pinstriping brush and Florescent Red model car paint to repaint the needles. The color match is very close. It usually takes two coats depending on how faded the needles are. No need to mask the gauge faces since I'll use decals to cover the original painted faces.






I use decals made by Jason Wilson at Greenback Decals. They're a 100% copy of the original gauge faces and include the optional tach, vac, or air gauge decals. He also includes both 64/65 and '66 style water temp decals so you can correctly restore either style gauge.

Here's his website.
http://parklane410.wix.com/home





To apply the decals, lightly wetsand the gauge face with 1000-2000 grit to remove any roughness or embedded dirt/dust. On the speedometer you'll need to bend up the tabs that hold the "bright" indicator filter and remove it.







Clean the face and spray it with glass cleaner so the decal can be positioned.




Apply the decal and use a soft rag as a squeegee out air bubbles and excess glass cleaner.




Once it's dried cut X's in the odometer and bright lights indicator openings and fold the decal over to uncover the opening.






On the small gauges, you'll have to cut a slot to clear the needle.




Ready to install in the cluster.




The decal on the air gauge (and probably a vac gauge too) will have to be punched for the needle stem and stop pin, and slit to fit around the needle's stem.




Clean all the hardware and terminals with a wire brush.




And reassemble the gauges onto the blasted and painted gauge mounts.




The gauge mounts bolt back in the main housing.




(Aftermarket tach, wiring is different than stock)




To reset the odometer, take the speedo face off by removing the two screws at the bottom of the face, and the inner silver colored plate will come off too.






Remove the brass clip.




Slide the odometer roll all the way to the left.




And pull the roll out sideways.




There are metal "legs" that fit in a channel in the speedo housing, hold the first (left) leg and rotate the second wheel around until the "9" is facing up. Work your way down, holding the next leg over until all the wheels have 9 facing up. It's easy slip and let a digit roll over one too many so it may take a few tries. With all the digits and legs aligned you can apply the decals to each of the wheels then put it back together.






Put the face back on the speedometer, put the rubber pad on the back, and install the speedometer in the housing using the three longer screws that have rubber bushings.







That finishes the gauge restoration.

Why do you paint the inside of the cluster green? Would the lights be brighter if it was painted white?

[theastronaut]

Green was the factory color for the inside, no other reason than that. I personally don't like bright gauge cluster lights, too bright and your eyes will adjust to the brightness of your gauges instead of your headlights at night. I usually have mine dimmed down just enough to see where the needles are so that the headlights are the brighter of the two and my eyes don't have to strain over the glare of bright gauges.

[grs]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

Green was the factory color for the inside, no other reason than that. I personally don't like bright gauge cluster lights, too bright and your eyes will adjust to the brightness of your gauges instead of your headlights at night. I usually have mine dimmed down just enough to see where the needles are so that the headlights are the brighter of the two and my eyes don't have to strain over the glare of bright gauges.

Thanks