StuntmanXero

I have the speedometer that goes to 85 mph, my friend told me that I could simply swap the entire encloser with the one that tops out at 130, but in my mind, it wouldent make much sence for it to work, I keep thinking that it would be reading like 90 something when I was going around 60, has anyone done this, or know if it would work or not? Thank you for your time.

neektar

iTrader: (2)

I'd like to know the same thing. Maybe even getting one of those 83guage clusters and swapping them in. Will that work?

I was also thinking of getting one of those fb white faced gauge cut out thingies and getting the 130mph one. What would need to be done to make the speedometer read the acutal speed with the new face?

StuntmanXero

I wanted to get the rotor faced gauges as well, which is partially why I wanted to swap it for a 130 hp one, and just so that my car dosnt look so slow by the speedometer topping out at 85.

Abyss

Well, your best bet is gauge faces. The whole cluster swap could turn out to be a pain, I dunno.. But with the faces there's no 'ifs' to be worried about. Though in questions of it working.. I believe it would be possible to swap to a different gauge cluster, but you'd have to do a lot of rewiring from what I know. But, good luck man.

StuntmanXero

but if I just bought the new faces, then it wouldnt read right at all.

Mazda12AGS

if you just covered up your existing guage faces (85 MPH) with a guage the said 130 MPH, then no it would not read right. It would still be reading like the 85 MPH one was still there.

nickj

If I could retrofit my 85 with an 81 cluster I'd do it in a heartbeat. Nothing beats having that big tach in the middle. When I had my '81, I never paid a lot of attention to the speedometer.

JoseReyes

You can install the complete 81 or 83 cluster... it is a bolt on type no special connections required. I am currently using one on my 1982 myself..... I am using the 125-130 and converted it to 140mph.... swaping the cluster should be straight foward thing....

or yo could just swap the speedo mechanism and the speedo face only into your cluster.... that will also work....

nopiston_racer

iTrader: (2)

alright well say that u dont want to swap out for the 83 cluster.....what would u need for a speedo adapter to connect an autometer speedo?....reason i ask is that i have a turbo FB and i know for a fact that 130 or 140 is no longer top speed...and i would like a more accurate reading....thanks

Parker

StuntmanXero

Thread jacker! just kidding.. So as long as I can get ahold of an 83' cluster then it should be plug and play pretty much right? I guess once I get my new engine installed I will start searching the salvage yards around here.

neektar

iTrader: (2)

ok what spedo mech. Where is it located. I'm a bit moreintrested in this as a winter project so I'm surte I'll have the timepatience to do so. Has anyone personaly done this? What were the results? Sorry for all of the questions I'm just really curious.

JoseReyes

Okay,
When you take the cluster out, you have the three major parts, the cluster with the oil, water, fuel gauges, the rpm, and the speedometer...

You can either, replace the complete instrument cluster or you can take the speedometer mechanism, that's the speedometer guts... the speedo face, and the mechanism under the face... it comes out pretty easy and you can just replace that only or like I said earlier, just replace the whole thing. That's what I did....

you will have to take note on the mileage, if you want to keep track of it... because it will be different from your's...

Unless you are lucky and find one that was pretty closed to your mileage...

nickj

This is an afternoon project, not a winter project. I've had my cluster out a couple of times, and it takes no more than a couple of hours. The hardest part of the whole operation may be pulling your seering wheel. Once the cluster's out, you'll see how easy it is to swap the speedo.

Midwest 7's

iTrader: (4)

find a complete cluster out of an 83. simple as that. exact replacement with higher speedo.
i have one for sale but its not at my house, could get it christmas time. somebody pm me if they are interested.

Unsupa

iTrader: (2)

thread resurrection! I got a buddy who wants to swap his 83 cluster for the 84-85 cluster, could it be a plug and play affair or would he need to rewire?

GatoEnFuego

third resurrection, i need to know if i can use the cluster from 81-83 with my motor/tranny from an 89-91. basically just need to know if the speedo cable is basically the same...

mckinneyml

The speedo cable is keyed on both ends and is surrounded by a protective jacket. The transmission turns the cable which turns the speedometer. The speedometer displays the speed on the guage face based upon the rotation rate of the cable and the ratio that the gauge has been calibrated for. The ratio is stamped on the back of the speedometer. (Have to remove it from the cluster to see it.) If you get a new speedometer with the same ratio, it will work. If it is different then you will need a speedometer ratio converter to compensate for the difference.

1979 - 125mph speedo, green gauge face, backlit only, voltage meter on tach, clock in cluster
1980 - 85mph speedo, green gauge face, backlit only, voltage meter on tach, clock in cluster
Both are very dimly lit. Changing the lights to the higher wattage, or possibly LED bulb helps. I don't remember the bulb number so look at the following bulb chart. Or I think a 81-83 cluster front half with the two front mounted lights will match up.

No. Watts
161 2.66
158 3.36
194 3.78
192 4.62
168 4.90


1981-1983 - amber gauge face, voltage meter is seperated from tach, no clock, rear and front lit (The front half of the cluster has two lights mounted on the top.)
1984-1985 has a physically larger cluster and the top half of the dash is different.

The speedos from 79-83 all have the same ratio and are swapable. The clusters from 79 & 80 are swapable, 81 & 82 and 83 are swapable, and 84 & 85 are swapable in these ranges only. That is without custom work.

Not without lots of work, 84-85 clusters are larger and the top have of the dash is also different.

Verify the speedometer ratios. If the ratios are the same then it will work. If they are different then you will need a speedometer converter box, or different speedometer gear to compensate for the difference.