Another $24 project that will take the 'Bird off the road for months - fixed!

[70Sbird]

 Well the weather is finally starting to break here in the midwest and I got out into the garage last week to see what I felt like doing to get the Superbird out of hibernation.
I looked at my dash and thought to myself "Gee self, those small gauges sure look crappy with the white lettering all browning with age, I remember PettyBird used those decals to reface his gauges and they turned out pretty good looking" besides I'm still trying to get my fuel gauge working as designed, maybe I should pull them out for decals and have the gas gauge checked out. I went on-line and found the decal set for about $24.00 and was ready to go.
Anyone that has been down this road before before please stop laughing at me now!
Since the tach quit on me halfway to Talladega in 2004, I might as well fix that too.... and my speedo has 99,750 miles on it , it looks faded too, and probably needs a service.....
Before the day was out I had my cluster out and stripped to the bare housing, where I found a burned ammeter repaired with a piece of a manila folder and a host of other substandard repairs. It was about then that I realized $24 really meant about $500
I then tried to fix my "bent" cluster attaching points an promptly broke off the lower right hand mounting ear (I did fab up a pretty cool little bracket for it though- see second photo)
now for the point of this rant,
I wanted RT Engineering (or someone else reputable) to repair my tach and check out my gauges. I e-mailed them over a week ago and have left phone messages, but have not gotten any response! Are they still around, and does anyone have any other recommendations of someone that  could work some magic on my tired looking gauges?
Thanks in advance for the advice!
Scott

[hotrod98]

Greg Garner with RTE is pretty busy at times. I have known him for several years and I'll vouch for his honesty and integrity.
Keep on trying to contact him. He does great work.

[Dave Kanofsky]

Scott Erickson in the north suburbs of Chicago does GREAT work at very reasonable prices.  He did the gauges in my Daytona.  His process is amazing, he even has a complete dash set up as a test stand in his shop.

His number is 630-372-7648, his Email is gsdd@ameritech.net.

If you talk to him please tell him I sent you!

[Dave Kanofsky]

Also take this opportunity to put LED's in for the dash lights/turn signals, etc.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/instrument.html has everything you need, they work great - in mine I especially like the turn signal indicator that you can actually see light up really bright!

[hemi68charger]

Also take this opportunity to put LED's in for the dash lights/turn signals, etc.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/instrument.html has everything you need, they work great - in mine I especially like the turn signal indicator that you can actually see light up really bright!

Dave..
Which bulb socket did you buy; B8 or BAX? This sounds like a good idea for my 2nd gen's....................  Sorry to hijack there 70Sbird

Cheers,
Troy

[moparstuart]

Also take this opportunity to put LED's in for the dash lights/turn signals, etc.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/instrument.html has everything you need, they work great - in mine I especially like the turn signal indicator that you can actually see light up really bright!

dave do you know how many and what bulbs I would need to do a whole cluster ?

[pettybird]

Scott--

just send them my way.  I'm pretty sure I even have another housing.

[hemi68charger]

Scott..
I would think about the amp-gauge-2-volt-gauge conversion...... I did it on Dana (my C500). Redline Gauge Works took care of me on this and the face was restored with the silkscreen of the amp gauge, not voltage. I wanted to the face to look original and regardless, the needle still moves in the proper direction. Voltage and amperage are proportional........

Troy

[charger490]

i also have a houseing if you need it plus some other parts for the dash don
instant@frontiernet.net

[pettybird]

Also take this opportunity to put LED's in for the dash lights/turn signals, etc.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/instrument.html has everything you need, they work great - in mine I especially like the turn signal indicator that you can actually see light up really bright!

the LED's look killer in the gauge cluster--i put super bright white ones in and the gauges are bright blue like I'm in an airplane...
don't just get the ones that point straight up

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/5-LED-Super-Bright-2pc-Bulb-Set-BA9s-53-57-1895-T4W_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem260354057407QQitemZ260354057407QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/10x-194-168-W5W-5-LED-BLUE-Refractor-Wedge-Bulbs-Lights_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem200318892344QQitemZ200318892344QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

[Dave Kanofsky]

I used p/n WLED-4 LED (white) for the wedge based bulbs and BA9s-W4 (white) for the bayonet based. 
I don't remember the quantity for each but it's more than you expect - there's the brake system light, the turn signals, the high beam indicator, and all of the dash lights.

Just like pettybird said - it lights up kinda blue and is super cool.

[pettybird]

Scott--

just send them my way.  I'm pretty sure I even have another housing.

I'm serious.  I still owe you for the stay in Milwaukee.  Besides--it would force me to go out to the garage and pull the cluster out of the Petty car.  I could do them both on the same day.

[moparstuart]

Scott--

just send them my way.  I'm pretty sure I even have another housing.

I'm serious.  I still owe you for the stay in Milwaukee.  Besides--it would force me to go out to the garage and pull the cluster out of the Petty car.  I could do them both on the same day.

your the man doug 

[pettybird]

FYI a rallye cluster takes 3 194 bulbs and 7 57's with a clock or tach, and six with the block off plate. 

[moparstuart]

thanks i'lll be placing my order


  i ordered minetoday got two sets to do two clusters   , thanks dave and doug for the info   

[moparstuart]

thanks guys for the help  dave and doug

  I love the LED's
  3 and 7 are correct numbers of bulbs for 70 but my 69 cluster  has one more you need 8 of the twistin style bulbs   

[Dave Kanofsky]

Cool!  Thanks for the update on the number of bulbs.

[pettybird]

where does the eighth bulb go?  the housings are identical for 69-70...

turn signals (2)
high beam indicator
brake warning light
clock/tach
speedometer (2)

[moparstuart]

where does the eighth bulb go?  the housings are identical for 69-70...

turn signals (2)
high beam indicator
brake warning light
clock/tach
speedometer (2)

my 69 cluster is at home , ill get  a shot of the extra hole .  it's in the middle top next to another hole.   

[moparstuart]

found a picture doug , it was in my daytona clone thread

  the two holes right about the speedo cable plug, My 70 cluster only has one if those holes


   the LED's with my white faces should really brighten up and POP

[pettybird]

i've never seen that hole punched out.  anyone know what it's for?


it goes in a "tunnel" like the high beam indicator...

[pettybird]

And HEY SCOTT THE DECALS ARE IN

send me the gauges!

[moparstuart]

i've never seen that hole punched out.  anyone know what it's for?


it goes in a "tunnel" like the high beam indicator...

it's the exact same size as the other hole and has scratches on the housing like the harness has been plugged in ?      got this cluster out of a 69 charger years ago and had it rebuilt recently to go i the 69 tona clone , so i can just swap them out . 

[pettybird]

i believe you, but I've not had one punched out before...

i've gone through better than a dozen clusters here and have five housings at home.  I've always wondered why the casting is what it is. 

the $64,000 question is whether or not you have another bulb socket in your harness 

[moparstuart]

i believe you, but I've not had one punched out before...

i've gone through better than a dozen clusters here and have five housings at home.  I've always wondered why the casting is what it is. 

the $64,000 question is whether or not you have another bulb socket in your harness 

or if someone had the wrong socket slid in there because there was a hole ?
   I bought it at an auction and never saw it in the car .

[pettybird]

ah ok. 


I know from the 4 '69 clusters I've had out of cars at work, the cluster from the disaster Daytona at work and the spare I have that nothing's punched out, and I've not seen a wiring harness with the extra socket. 

It wouldn't help to put a bulb in there, either--it's "sealed" to the back of the speedometer with that foam gasket.  you'd have to Dremel out the wall of the tunnel to get extra light.  it'd be cool to do, though.

[moparstuart]

this cluster did originally have the wood grain face? not sure if that means anything

[pettybird]

this cluster did originally have the wood grain face? not sure if that means anything

nope!

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Heres behind the dash on a 68----69 is the same.  Nothing goes in that extra hole....

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Also have a handy bulb chart I made up here for 1969

http://www.1969chargerregistry.com/gallery/facts/chart_pic_001?full=1

[moparstuart]

Heres behind the dash on a 68----69 is the same.  Nothing goes in that extra hole....

cool had the same hole punched out   

[70Sbird]

Hello everyone,
I'm back after being offline for over 3 weeks.
I have had some work issues , computer issues and all of the other reasons for not checking in here! ( I'm actually in Mexico now waiting for a trip to the airport back to Illinois!)
Thanks to all who have kept this thread going, I have actually been able to get some work done on the car in the last few weeks.
Thanks also to PettyBuird and Dave K for direction on the gauges. I ended sending the ammeter off to RTE since it came out of the cluster in two pieces and had burn marks around the mounting holes, I also have them doing the tach kit. I should be putting the whole thing back together in hopefully a few weeks. In the meantime, I replaced the leaking wiper seals, the rotten speaker (thank again Doug for the tip on cutting an Autozone speaker to fit). I also took out the dash wiring harness and found 40 years of cuts, splices and wire nuts holding everything together (no wonder I kept blowing fuses). The heater controls are also out and being serviced as well. I'm getting pretty itchy to see this project running again as I also replaced the lower control arm, strut rod and link bushings a couple of weeks ago. I still need to sort out some internal steering column issues while it is out of the car, but that will likely wait until I have some more of the dash together as the parts removed from the car are now beginning to take up significant workbench space. I have a couple more pictures as well but they are still in the camera about 1500 miles away from me right now.
Looks like the hotel info is out for Talladega, need to get that going as well!

[70Sbird]

Well the 'Bird is alive again!
it only took five months, three cluster housings, two fuel gauges, much more $ than I intended, many hours of frustration and countless Miller Lites!
The cluster went back into the car this past week and I actually got to drive it around the block this weekend.
Now I just need to get the windsheild back in place and I'll be in good shape. (except that my fuel gauge still doesn't work but that is a sender issue).
Thanks for all of the help and direction from everyone, and I can't wait to get some miles on the car this year.
Scott

[nascarxx29]

You can test the gauges.Excluding the amp gauge before cluster is in the car .A pair jumper leads and 2 flashlight batterys with wires hook in the right polarity .These gauges work on 5 volts .But will show movent going by the way I test them

[70Sbird]

You can test the gauges.Excluding the amp gauge before cluster is in the car .A pair jumper leads and 2 flashlight batterys with wires hook in the right polarity .These gauges work on 5 volts .But will show movent going by the way I test them

Thanks,
I am positive that gauge isn't the problem as I have never had an accurate fuel sender. I replaced the sending unit back in 2006 when I put in a trunkfloor and new tank, but it read the same as the one I took out, when I filled the car up it read about 2/3 full, when it read empty I could only put about 12 gallons in it.
Now I have nothing at all on the gauge, always reads empty and the tank is nearly full, but if I ground the pin on the sending unit with the key on, the gauge reads full.
I guess I'll pull the sending unit out again and check it out. And before anyone asks, yes I have  verified that the housing of the sender has a good ground
any other ideas?
Scott

[XS29J8]

You can test the gauges.Excluding the amp gauge before cluster is in the car .A pair jumper leads and 2 flashlight batterys with wires hook in the right polarity .These gauges work on 5 volts .But will show movent going by the way I test them

Thanks,
I am positive that gauge isn't the problem as I have never had an accurate fuel sender. I replaced the sending unit back in 2006 when I put in a trunkfloor and new tank, but it read the same as the one I took out, when I filled the car up it read about 2/3 full, when it read empty I could only put about 12 gallons in it.
Now I have nothing at all on the gauge, always reads empty and the tank is nearly full, but if I ground the pin on the sending unit with the key on, the gauge reads full.
I guess I'll pull the sending unit out again and check it out. And before anyone asks, yes I have  verified that the housing of the sender has a good ground
any other ideas?
Scott

This discussion on MOPARTS may help......

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=5378886&an=0&page=0#Post5378886