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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Interior & Equipment => Instrumentation => Topic started by: blakesgreyghost on September 19, 2014, 07:10:49 pm
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Hello, I'm new to this forum. My son has a 85 short bed Silverado. I know its already been talked about but I've been looking for over an hour now and cant seem to find my solution. My son's 85 speedo is not working. He wants to replace his gauges with some sort of outer flush mount style gauges. The question we have is everyone who upgrades uses the back instrument cluster housing. I don't know the correct name but its white plastic and its used for the screws that the bezel mounts to. They cut out all the old gauge mounting plastic to make room for the new gauges but keep outer edge for mounting cluster back into dash. I was wanting to know if they do this because they need the old housing so the bezel has the correct distance from the dash? Is it possible to measure all the screw posts on the white plastic housing and maybe making some kind of spacers for each individual screw that holds the bezel in place. I was thinking of finding some thin walled type tubing for each screw so the distance matches the old housing, then buy a billet bezel cover, mount the new gauges to the aluminum bezel, place the spacers behind the bezel and attatch to the spots that the cluster mounted to. The reason is everyone says its pretty difficult to cut plastic housing and his is already cracked in several places. we looked for used ones and they had cracked places as well. Just a thought any ideas would be great. Thanks Blakesgreyghost..
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Welcome to the forum. I will give you a link to the tech section on how to test the gauges. I know you posted about replacing it, but maybe you will not have to.
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=25339.msg211241#msg211241
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This is a recessed how to:
http://73-87.com/7387garage/interior/gauges_recessed.htm
This is surface mounted how to:
http://73-87.com/7387garage/interior/gauge_surface.htm
Only one company used the original housings that I know of and that was Dakota. They are no longer using them as GM stopped making them about a year ago. I sold them the few I had left so they could continue production until the new sets were read to go...
Not sure what you are specifically asking though.
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This is how I did my gauges....no using white plastic, but kept outer for angles and distance. However I did not replace my speedo or fuel, but it would have been same concept.
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=24709.msg206096#msg206096