Stock gauges or new?

[comet_666]

My cluster on my 69 is in pretty bad shape, I think the circuit board works and a few of the gauges work but I think it needs a complete overhaul. At about $80 a pop for the fuel, alt, oil, water gauges not to mention the blank spot where the tac should go do you think I should go with all aftermarket gauges in the stock dash or just replace the current ones and go with stock harness?
I like the new gauges but from what I can tell from these boards they fit in there with a bit of massaging and the stock harness will not work for them.

Thoughts?

[Ghoste]

Personally I love the stock ones.

[comet_666]

Yah I like them too, I have the white face decals and led bulbs which may make it brighter.

There used to be a place that specialized in refurbing clusters, anyone know who they were? I want to say just dashes but I don't think it's them.

[twodko]

My vote is to have the stock dash refurbished. You will love it. More money during this process will get you a sweet new tach. They are pricy as you know so a factory clock installed during the refurb would look perfectly respectable until you have funds for a tach.

Pictures will be required.

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Yah I like them too, I have the white face decals and led bulbs which may make it brighter.

There used to be a place that specialized in refurbing clusters, anyone know who they were? I want to say just dashes but I don't think it's them.

Leds and the white face gauges will make it waaay brighter. 

Rebuild the stock ones but get rid of the alt gauge. Redline Gauge Works can rebuild your cluster and add in a volt gauge and will do it perfectly. Had them rebuild my speedometer, build a custom tach, and added the volt gauge. Great company to deal with and great service.

[myk]

I vote aftermarket:

http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=939/category_id=679/mode=prod/prd939.htm

You're going to spend hundreds on restoring a stock cluster, and then when everything's said and done, you've got a stock cluster.  I've always thought the stock cluster to be boring, although the LED's and white facing might alleviate that issue.  If I'm going to spend good money on my car it has to give me something better than what it is now; I don't see the point in spending money and then just getting the same thing you had before, and that applies to electrics, suspension, drivetrain, etc...

[bill440rt]

Yah I like them too, I have the white face decals and led bulbs which may make it brighter.

There used to be a place that specialized in refurbing clusters, anyone know who they were? I want to say just dashes but I don't think it's them.

Leds and the white face gauges will make it waaay brighter. 

Rebuild the stock ones but get rid of the alt gauge. Redline Gauge Works can rebuild your cluster and add in a volt gauge and will do it perfectly. Had them rebuild my speedometer, build a custom tach, and added the volt gauge. Great company to deal with and great service.

x2
Don't have an aftermarket cluster, so I can't compare it. I guess it boils down to what type of car you are building.
Obviously if going stock or with a stock flavor, you'd want to keep it looking original as possible.
I went the white faced route & had RedLine do my dash as well. Great company to deal with. I wouldn't use the decals personally. I tried them first because they were cheap, and that was the result. Cheap. After Redline screened them properly the look was MUCH better.
Add some LED bulbs and it's a drastic difference. Gauges are recalibrated so they are accurate. My mistake is keeping the repro tic-toc-tach from Charger Specialties. Plastic-filled junk. Tach is OK, but the clock part of it is a POS.
Another vote on the voltmeter conversion as well. 

[comet_666]

I am going with the SE fake metal/wood dash , do you think it will look crappy with white face gauges with SE trim?
What I really wanted was all new indeglo gauges but not sure yet.

[jaak]

I too, like original gauges. But in my 68 build (on a budget), I went with Equus 7000 series gauges because they 'sort of' look like the original ones. Had to modify the housing and bezel both to make them fit....



But I have seen pics of your car, beautiful car! You can tell it isn't a 'Budget Build', so my vote is refurbish the original cluster.

Jason

[bill440rt]

I am going with the SE fake metal/wood dash , do you think it will look crappy with white face gauges with SE trim?
What I really wanted was all new indeglo gauges but not sure yet.

Not at all!   

[comet_666]

I too, like original gauges. But in my 68 build (on a budget), I went with Equus 7000 series gauges because they 'sort of' look like the original ones. Had to modify the housing and bezel both to make them fit....



But I have seen pics of your car, beautiful car! You can tell it isn't a 'Budget Build', so my vote is refurbish the original cluster.

Jason

That looks really really sweet!!

[Ghoste]

I've always thought the stock cluster to be boring,

Really?  Myk you must really hate what nearly everyone else offered in the musclecar era. 

[Dino]

Personally, I don't think the stock setup can be beat, although some better lighting is no luxury. 

I thought about white gauges and aftermarket but I just can't do it.  I remember seeing the Charger dash for the first time and the design was just perfect.  I don't want to see anything else than the stock cluster when I'm behind the wheel. Whenever I see a custom dash I think what a great job they did on the fabrication, and how it totally ruins the dash.   

I'm fine with almost every other car on the planet getting a gauge makeover, but not this one.

All that said, it is only my opinion and it's your car so forget what we say and go with what you really want.  There's no other part of the car you will see more of. 

[Skull-1]

So if Redline rebuilds it with a Voltmeter do I still hook the same wires up to it with no fire hazard or is there more to it?