WEll that the "top speed" on my gauge cluster in my 82' GS...i know it goes faster than that (because i've tried it)....I've tried searching for this answer but no go...why does my gauge cluster only top out at 85 while i have seen other 7's that go up to 120......Also can i put one of thse 120 mph clusters in my 82?

 

the 83 gauge cluster goes to 130 and can fit into a 82 just fine. The thing I'm not sure about is the gear on teh tranny, you might have to change that for the speedo to be accurate.

 

It is because during the early 80's the speedos were limited by the federal government in hopes of keeping people from speeding. Basically, it didn't help at all, so the speedos went back up a couple years later. You can drop a cluster out of a '83 as a direct swap. I believe they go to 130 mph.

 

All US cars in 1981 and 1982 have 85mph speedometers. It was the law. The '83 guage is a direct bolt-in. No recalibration required. You don't need to change the entire panel, just the guage can be swapped.

 

SWEET!!....thanks guys

 

I have a 82 and it goes to 120

 

I think my '85 goes to 140........Pretty sure anyway..........

 

Check this one out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...946877571&rd=1

 

yeah thats me ...who just bid on it... i didnt want to post the link seeing that maybe someone else may be looking for one....but oh well thanks anyway...lets see how long i will be the highest bidder now

 

Not stock.

 

The 85mph speedos rule.

Seriously. If you're going faster than that, you're not going to be looking at the speedo. And the rest of the time, it's nice to be reading across most of the gauge's sweep, instead of only 1/3rd or 1/2 of the sweep.

Prime offender of this is all of the DSMs that had 170mph speedometers. Even the SOHC 1.8l turdboxes. 60mph was around 10 o'clock on the gauge.

 

^^ Its only 85 mph, not 185 mph!

The official name is the "Joan Claybrook Memorial Speedometer." Mrs. Claybrook was the misguided bureaucrat also associated with underposted speed limits and chronic lane blocking. She believed it was somehow safer to not know how fast one was going. Even more fun with a digital speedometer, where you could not see the needle pegged. (Contrary to the popular belief, there is no official record of her membership in the **** party.)

 

Does any one know if the guage cluster from the 81 like onlyonthurs is bidding for on ebay will fit into the dash of a 79-80? I sure would like to update mine i have always hated the fact that the tach and the volt meter are combined into one guage.

 

Uh oh, this would affect the synchronizing of the needles in 3rd gear, would it not? OH, DREADFUL DAY. ...

 

I think I got mine for my 81 from RB but its been a while. Just got the speedo. If you notice, the color of the lettering is more yellow than on the stock tach.

 

Sorry about that Onlyonthurs !!!


Hope you win!

 

Well, seriously though. Nowhere in the US on public roads where you can be driving 85+ and not be speeding, so a speedometer is merely academic. And on the track, the speedometer is a totally useless gauge.

 

The cluster will fit, but I don't know how easy/hard it would be to wire it up so the volt meter works properly. The dash designs didn't change between '79 and '83.

 

The cluster will fit as the outer dimentions are the same. The speedometer can be directly swapped out of the cluster however the gauge face colors are different. 81~83 are amber (illuminate amber) 79-80 are white (illuminate green). The wiring plugs on the back are different, SA's are male plugs, if memory serves me, and FB are female. Also the FB clusters have two lights on top of the cluster infront of the gauge faces which help with the SA low light problem. I tried to swap the front half of the clusters but the plastic is keyed differently and won't directly screw together without modification.

I have both and can take pictures tonight.