70 B body Rallye Gauge Cluster

[steve817]

Just finished another 70 rallye cluster for an B body member! All OEM parts with tach and clock conversions. This one turned out awesome! Show and go

 

[70chall440]

Very nice!

 

[Kern Dog]

Is there a way to slip a voltmeter behind the face of the Ammeter ?

 

[Demonic]

Did you redo the gauge faces yourself? Looks great!

 

[steve817]

Thanks 70chall440! Kern Dog, I have not found a good match to make the amp to volt conversion work yet. I know others have sent their Amp gauge to I.S., A.I., Redline, etc for the conversion. Mopars I restore get the MAD electrical treatment http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml. Anyone have a solution to converting amp to volt gauge? Thanks Demonic! I've built many 1st place winning Mopars over the years and early on, was skeptical using vinyl overlays. Now, with perfect computer generated #er/letter detail, excellent contrast, crisp lines, accurate cuts and UV protection, these gauge faces are STUNNING! Thanks again everyone!

 

[steve817]

Quarantine
Time for some 68-70 B body Rallye Gauge Cluster restorations! I have been collecting Mopar parts for 40 years and have thousands of gauge cluster pieces. Organization and cleanliness is my moto! Better get off
here and get to work!

 

[70chall440]

Again, very nice work. I am building a 70 Roadrunner which is a bit of a hot mess, has a tilt front end, snout bars, etc. I am pretty convinced this was a parts car that someone had big dreams for and they eventually had a 68 Charger parts car because I have a 68 Charger (probably an RT) instrument cluster (with Tic Toc Tach) and steering column. I don't intend to use the cluster and am trying to decide whether I want to make a custom cluster or use something more stock appearing. If I make a cluster, I will do it in such a way that it appears pretty stock at first glance, I don't like just stuffing gauges into a bezel, I will build a substructure and mount the gauges behind the bezel, angle the smaller gauges like the original, etc. I did this with my 73 Cuda using Speedhut gauges and am very happy with the results.

 

[steve817]

Hello 70chall440, Great work on your converted 73 dash! I actually just sent a cluster housing to "hemirunner" who is converting a B body dash over to new gauges. He was able to cut up a "not perfect" cluster housing to do the conversion. Like you he didn't want to cut up a good restorable cluster. How much for your restorable gauge cluster? Thanks, Steve

 

[70chall440]

Steve - thanks for reaching out and your kind words. I haven't given a lot of thought to what the cluster is worth to be honest, I have so much to do before I get to that point. Since you are in this business, perhaps you could give me an idea? I am not trying to retire off of it but I also think it has some value, I can post some pictures to give you a better idea which I am sure would be helpful. I have no idea what works or doesn't work so there is that, nothing was hooked up when I got the car not to mention the car had no drive train or was really anywhere near operational.

Like I said, my intent is to do one of 2 things; either put together a stock cluster (least likely) or build a custom cluster (most likely), the unknown for me is if the gauges will sit well behind the bezel and be visible. I have some Autometer 2 1/6 ultra lights left over from another project that I am thinking of using, but I have not measured the bezel holes to see how they would align. The intent is to make it look relatively stock from the outside.

 

[66383]

Beautiful.

 

[70chall440]

So here are the pictures, it is what it is.

 

[steve817]

Hey 66383, Thanks. I really like restoring these clusters. I just got a message from my last purchaser who received that very cluster today. He said in a text "Well...This cluster looks amazing! It really looks better than I had imagined it would" Also he texts "I was hoping to just shove cluster in to check that everything worked, but I see no reason to believe anything isn't perfect". Positive feedback is the BEST! I just finished with more switches and calibrating another tic toc tach.

 

[70chall440]

Seems you have found your niche, very nice work.

 

[steve817]

ODO and circuit board day! I re-number each odometer with the bright, high contrast, high quality and UV protected vinyl overlays. Setting the ODO to any number can be done(of course between 0 and 100K. The circuit boards always have some issue that needs to be addressed like the pin setting and torn or rubbed off copper connections. I always reset pins, solder front AND back as well as solder the 3 connectors where the voltage limiter connects to. That way the continuity is always good.

 

[70chall440]

Very clean!

 

[steve817]

Seems you have found your niche, very nice work.

Hey 70chall440, My niche is definitely B body and E body restorations. I enjoy restoring all subassemblies of cars including engine compartment, trunk, window regulators, vents, power window motors/switches, wire harnesses, heater boxes, complete dash assemblies, steering columns, etc. I send out radios for upgrades, seat upholstery and headliners. This is just a hobby and have been into Mopars since the early 80's. My first car was a 68 Charger R/T and I still own it today.

 

[steve817]

Another bulk shipment of original hardware off to the Platers. These are mostly Gauge cluster pieces.

 

[steve817]

Another group of 3 speed wiper motor switches complete. Each one disassembled, inspected, cleaned, polished, fixed, assembled and tested. It is always recommended to connect a ground wire from the wiper switch to a known good ground such as the steering column support bracket bolt. A non-grounded (intermittent) wiper switch will cause unwanted problems.

 

[70chall440]

Steve - aren't those switches crimped together? How do you recrimp them?

 

[MGKelly]

Steve817 do you have a website or can you send prices?
Thanks Joe