Mocephus

Back in '07, I posted an article at www.aaca.org about installing 68-69 Cutlass Rallye Gauges in the full sizers from 67-68 (not Toro, sorry). I've been asked to repost it here. I've make a few tweaks to the instructions, but everything is basically the same. BTW, I just checked eBay and Brothers Automotive still has some of the new clusters left. Just search under Olds gauge 68. So without further ado...

Mocephus

For starters, while the gauges look the same and mount the same to the FRONT of the dash, the rear is a different story. There is a bracket that goes along the back of all the gauges for rear support which will need to be modified.

Unfortunately, the whole dash panel needs to be removed from the car, due to the back bracket being bolted to the panel from behind and the bolts are sandwiched in between the dash panel and inner panel, which is welded in. No way to get to them. I suggest you use the service manual, or just be really careful, as EVERYTHING must be pulled from the panel to remove it. Not fun, but not that hard either. Took about 45 minutes to get it out.

Mocephus

Cluster Mounts:
The new gauges will physically bolt right up to the existing gauge bezels with the original 4 screws.

I was able to take the original rear bracket and cut it into 3 sections. This is needed because the new pods are longer than the original and have a different mounting style.

Mocephus

The middle section is for the speedo, which I cut right after the screw holes on either side. The side brackets for the gauges were simply the ends cut off the original and then redrilled to accept screws to go into the original holes in the brackets on the sides of the gauges. Was MUCH easier than I anticipated. A metal cut off wheel on a RotoZip, a metal file and 20 minutes later I had new brackets!!! I could have used the remaining bracket pieces to do the inner brackets for each gauge, but I figure one on each outer side as well as the front/center screw would be enough. Once mounted they felt very secure. Oh, the holes in the brackets on the sides of the clusters needs to be tapped. I just used a self tapping screw (the same size as the screws that hold the cluster to the bezel) and it worked like a charm. Now that the mounting is done, remove all the gauges from the front of the cluster, but leave the brackets bolted on. Reinstall the dash panel, or do the wiring first, either way....

Mocephus

For the electrical portion:

Tach Wiring:
I used the original power wire from the clock and added a new wire for the illumination. The original illumination was done by two bulbs that snapped into the clock and they were mounted on a small removable harness. I happen to have another connector with plenty of wire from another project, so I cut that to length and added a ring terminal to the end to mount on the tach (which has it's illumination bulbs mounted to a circuit board with twist-lock sockets). The wire coming from the ignition coil needed to be completely fabricated. I read somewhere that it's a good idea to use a shielded wire for this purpose so you don't wind up with radio interference. Off to Radio Shack, I found a 20' cable for headphones that had the ground shielding two wires for right and left channels. I cut the ends off, twisted together the right and left positive wires (they were VERY small, figured 2 together would be better) and added ring terminals to both ends. I also added ring terminals to the ground wire and grounded it to the coil bracket and to one of the mounting screws for the tach. Figured it couldn't hurt. I ran the wire from the coil, through the grommet where the HVAC vacuum hoses go into the interior, then up and over the HVAC housings. Was very simple and it's such an easy routing that if I need to replace the wire for any reason, I can get to it without removing the whole dash, again.

Fuel-Temp-Oil Wiring:
The Multi Gauge pod uses the same connector as the original, but the wires going into it must be rearranged. Here is the original setup from left to right:
Idiot Light cluster pin assignmens:
a = lights (grey) / b = fuel (tan) / c = oil (blue w/double white stripe) / d = brake (tan w/double white stripe) / e = ign (pink) / f = generator (brown) / g = temp (dark green)

ALL of the wires need to be moved to different positions. Luckily, it's easy. You just take something very small and long, like a jewelers flat screwdriver (the smallest tipped one) and stick it in the hole NEXT to each wire, from the pin side. Move it around while pushing down and the little tab on the metal connector will bend in, allowing you to pull the metal connector out. You can then bend the little tab back out and slip it back in the plastic connector in the position you want. Pull out all the wires. The correct positioning is below.

Looking at the plug, you'll notice a flat section that separates the pins. There are 2 pin holes on one side and 6 on the other. Starting AWAY from the flat side, the Rallye Pack pin asignment should be:

Pin 1: Grey (instrument lights)
Pin 2: EMPTY (if you don't want to cut or tape the Temp COLD light wire, (which is Light Green) put it in here. There is no corresponding pin on the cluster so it won't hurt or touch anything)
Pin 3: Tan (fuel gauge)
Pin 4: Blue w/White Stripe (Oil Sender)
Pin 5: Tan w/White Stripe (brake light)
Pin 6: Pink (ignition power)
Pin 7: Brown (generator light)
Pin 8: Dark Green (temperature sender (was HOT light))

Mocephus

Sending Units:
The Temp Sending unit was easy to find. Apparently, the same one is used for quite a few years. Cost was $7 (GP Sorensen Part # TSU 5) The Oil Sender was a little harder. NO ONE carried a sender for 68-69. I finally got one from a 74 Cutlass and figured since the gauges doesn't show actual pressure numbers, as long as it reads something I should be OK. Well, as it turns out, the restoration places are selling the same sending units from 68-77 so apparently, it's compairable to the original. Oh, but I didn't have to spend $50-$60 from them. Local parts place had it for $16 (GP Sorensen Part # OPS67)!!!! They both mount the same as the ones for the idiot lights. The terminals may need to be changed, though. Mine had already been changed by the previous owner (probably bad wiring), but if I'm not mistaken, the correct termials can be had from the restoration places. Oh, the oil sender needs an adaptor due to it not fitting in the physical location as the light sender. You can buy one from the resto places for around $24, or find an auto parts place that sells brass fittings. I went to NAPA and found these parts for less than $5. You'll need a 45 degree brass fitting 1/4 inch NPT and a 1/4 inch NPT pipe about 1 inch long, with threads on the outside on both ends. The pipe will screw into one side of the 45 degree fitting and the sender will screw into the other, then the whole thing screws into the same hole as the original sender, at the top/front/right of the engine block. Don't forget some pipe/gasket sealer on the threads.

Final Install
Once the dash panel was completely reinstalled, I was able to get the Fuel-Temp-Oil Cluster in by turning it so the brackets on the housing would go through the hole, then screwing it into place. The new bracket created come VERY close to the inner dash panel and takes a little work to get a screw up in there. The tach was a little harder, as the inner panel interferes with the turning of the cluster. It will go in if you turn it to the right until the bracket on the cluster is pointing down. You'll then need to push in and apply a slight upward pressure to clear the dash panel. Once the bracket is passed, you can turn it the right way and mount it. The screw going into the bracket on this side is much easier to get to, especially if you haven't put the radio in yet. I hooked everything up, fired up the car and everything worked the first time around!!! my only concern is that the illumination lights in the new clusters are only half as bright as the speedo, so I'm gonna check to see if there are brighter bulbs in the same size and replace them. Also, it looks like they appear to have white light instead of the blue. I think this is because whoever is making these new gauges are not painting the inside of the housing the light blue color. I might pull apart the gauges to see whats up there.
And there you have it!!! I would say it took a full Saturday for a beginner, providing you already had the senders. Questions?

Mocephus

******UPDATE*******
OK, so it's been a few years since this install, and the brightness (or lack of) of the gauges drove me to the point of finally doing something about it. I tried every bulb similar to the 194 that I could get my hands on to get them as bright as the speedo, but it wasn't happening. I finally came across white 194 base LED bulbs that were supposed to be 10 times brighter than stock bulbs, so I bought them.....

I managed to reach up under the dash and replaced both bulbs on the left cluster and the left bulb on the speedo. HUGE difference in brightness on the speedo and now the left cluster was blue, but still not bright. The right cluster is still 194 bulbs. (first pic)


I decided the only option left was to pull the new gauges and repaint the inside. What I found was crazy, the new ones were painted gloss white on the inside, but not all the way and the rest was fresh copper. The reflective ring that actually lights the face and pointer, was painted black, no reflecting going on there...

I had an extra, original speedo, so I took it apart and hit several stores, trying to match the 2 different paint colors (inside can color, which isn't exactly white and back of speedo/reflector ring color).

After SEVERAL stores, I wound up at Home Depot. With disassembled speedo in hand, I went to the paint counter. After about 1 hour, 2 employees and 3 or 4 helpful customers later (all looking through a giant color swatch book) one of the customers (who happened to be a very nice local artist with a great eye for color shades) found 2 shades that came as close as possible. BEHR Ultra Flat Riverside Blue (530D-5) for the back of the gauges and the reflector ring and BEHR Ultra Flat Celtic Grey (490E-3). Cool thing was, since these are home paints, they sell them in sample 8oz jars for about $2.50 each!!! I did 2 coats on each part, with a brush. Kept it as smooth as possible, but since you never actually see the surfaces, I wasn't worried about brush strokes. The backs of the new gauges were painted a gloss blue, but I figured I would do them anyway, just so all would match as close as possible. I did tape the front of the reflector ring, so the black that does show, didn't get ruined. I did NOT repaint the original speedo. I left it completely alone, other than putting in the 2 new white LEDs. I started with the tach and installed it, just to see the difference, then the Fuel/Temp/Oil gauges.... The change is like day and night!!! They are all bright enough now that I actually have to turn down the brightness!!! WOOHOO!!!! Total cost, about $6 for the paint and $10 for the LEDs!!!!

NOW the gauges are done!!!!! Of course, now I need to change the rest of the dash lights to white LEDs so they'll all match!!! LOL