If you do not want to read my story i'll get to the point
Has anybody put an 85 gauage cluster in an 81-83 car?


Alright here is the story I bought my first car an 81 Rx-7 the dash was badly cracked and I did not know about the dash cover you can get so I went to the local junkyard and saw three fb's their dashes were also cracked (ones like mine). I looked around some more and then I found an 85 with a good dash and took the dash out of it thinking it would fit mine (just got the car a week ago being stupid did not look things up before then) got the dash home and finally realized wiring harness was different so I rewired the new dash and put it in and have been stuck with the old gauage cluster with the different dash a year now. I have the newer gauage cluster and tried to wire it up a few times now and have been unsucessful.

P.S. If you don't have to do this I would advise not too.

 

Hang in there you can do it. You need the wiring diagrams for both models and it can be made to work by changing the connections around in the harness. I don't remember all the details since it was about 15 years ago, but it took a few days on and off, and I used spare connectors in a couple places to avoid cutting the harness. It was a little tedious. Nevertheless in my opinion the series 2 gauge cluster from the 81-83 is better ergonomically; the colors are easier to see and the tach is in the centre where it belongs.

 

thanks. I would leave the 81-83 in there but it is a different shape than the 85 dash.

 

Can u take a pic of the current setup, and of the '85 cluster please?