Today I just installed a set of scotthrbacek gauge faces in my SA, and wow do they look awesome. I suggest anyone who hasn't gotten' them yet for their 1st Gen to order them. They went on without a fuss, and arrived promptly.. The installation took about 20 minutes, and wasn't all that difficult. So for anyone out there who wants to fix up your 1st gen's gauges, here's how you can do it..

Tools: 1 Phillips head screw driver
1 Flashlight

First thing you do, is remove the screws from the upper lip of the gauge clusters. There should be two on each side, then once they are removed, carefully pull out the black lining infront of the gauges. Once that is removed. There will be two more screws that hold up the actual gauge cluster located under the dash lip.
Then there will be two more screws located under the steering column.. Once these are removed, you need to remove the harnesses from the back of the gauge cluster, which is a bit frustrating.. But once that is done, and it is out of the dash. You will need to un-screw the bolts that hold that screw onto the clear cover.. There should be a total of 4 screws there... Next, you will need to unscrew the needles off of the tachometer, and speedometer, than if you are doing the install on an SA, you will need to pull off the hands of the clock, they are very tough, but require a bit of brute force.. But be carefull not to break them. Then, unscrew all the small screws , then you're ready to put the new ones on.. They should slide right on.. Once you get everything back in place, be sure to check that the harnesses are in-fact connected fully, because it'd suck being on the road without a working speedo/tach.. And, I'm sorry that I don't have pictures of all the screw locations, but the camera went dead when I began to install them. But here are some before/after pictures..

Before


After

 

looks real nice!

 

No more volt meter on the tach now thouh lol. But seriously, looks fantastic i think!

 

It looks pretty good. I was thinking of doing the same thing with my 85, but my needles are white and they wouldn't show up very well with the white background. I could paint them florescent orange maybe?

 

Well, there's no voltmeter on the SA to begin with.. And I believe the gauges also come in a black background, you'd have to ask scotthrbacek.

 

The voltmeter is part of the tach. It works when you're cranking the engine. Looks pretty good, but white faced gauges aren't for me. And slightly turned rotor would drive me CRAZY!

 

looks nice. i plan on installing a black set on my SA. do they light up good in the dark?

 

Here's a pic of mine.
I like the rotor in the middle of the tacho!

 

Well, that's the minor problem with the gauges.. They do not go flush with the cluster, so the light escapes.. So I'm either considering fabbing' something to fix this, or using stronger bulbs.

 

thats the only reason i havent bought a set yet. trying to fgire out how to fix that problem. but someone on the forum had a solution(cant remember screen name). he wanted to get some kind of material off ebay and put it on the back of the gauges.

 

Well, as long as the material is obviously transparent, and about 1 1/2" thick, it'll work I believe. I was considering possibly going out and buying a sheet of plexiglass, and making some sort of "seals"..

 

post a pic, I would like to see how much they bleed on your's. I've already seen the others, but I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing.

 

Ha, I was thinking the same thing. Sooo close, but still a stupid little eyesore! otherwise, very cool.

 

Have they upgraded these guages yet i want to know if they have made them yet with the voltmeter yet ? will check back with you guys for the site that sells them too.83rx7bitch from My space has a set with the voltmeter on them so im wondering if there ready by now. Hit me up & let me know MaxBoost13brx@aol.com/http://www.myspace.com/maxboost13brx

 

I like the reverse glow gauges for my 85 from makoto auto trends.

http://www.makotoautotrends.com/stor...=onlinestoreDB

 

I like the ones in the link above. I know Ive seen them around, but where can you get the ones for the 83 cluster?

 

I've been wanting to do something with my gauges, but I didn't like the "almost fits" problem when I tried. I've also got a great black and red setup, I'd really just like to have rehabbed. I've found folks who rehab gauge clusters for just about everything but my rex, can you guys direct me to website for someone who does that?

 

Im also looking for them for a 83rx but i want the voltmeter on it cause thats important to me you know when your alternantor isnt performing well just by seeing that guage and when the belt pops you like to see that guage too

 

If you have a problem with the design, tell Scott. He'll change it for you for free for your order. Personally, I had him do about 15 subtle changes over about 20 PM's, and he was very patient.

Great product. Only trouble I've had so far is the edges rattling against something at high speeds. A thicker backing like a piece of clear plastic as previously mentioned would definitely fix that though.

 

Oh and to the questions regarding Speedometers.

You can just buy a Speedometer and the manufacturer will tell you how to install it. You just hook it up to the stock sender. So you can use the stock one and maybe a digital one, too.

And for those looking for a voltmeter. Those are just gauge faces, not whole brand new gauges. For a voltmeter go here: http://www.cyberdynegauges.net/voltprod.htm they have a really spiffy one at the bottom that I have to complement my dash. I reccomend them because they color match any set of gauges.