Help with Gauges for my 51' chevy...

[nicke]

Hey Guys, I really like the look of the stock gauges and I'm trying to decide what direction I'm going to go, as I dont want to spend lots on $ on a new gauge set. I have a few specific questions. A few details on what I have: Truck will be a SBC, with a th400, converted to 12V

1) For those of you who have the stock speedometer but have a different transmission: What is needed to get a turbo 400 transmission to deliver an accurate speed signal to the stock speedo? Does a standard speedo cable do the trick?
2) I see a few conversion gauge clusters for 12V available for a few hundred dollars. Is that my best bet for making this work with my setup of is it possible to convert the standard gauges myself?

Thanks!
-Nick