Gauge Cluster Issue / Replacement

[bcoke]

My 72 K5 has had a ton of electrical gremlins ever since I got it 6 years ago. The previous owner did a lot of custom wiring (speakers in the door, remote locking, not to mention the engine swap) so it’s a rats nest of wires under the dash.

Yesterday I started the process of what I’m guessing will end up being rewiring the whole truck, and I took off the gauge cluster to get better access. The gauges haven’t been super accurate - mileage is maxed out, speedo is all over the place, I don’t trust the fuel gauge. Plus when I took it off there was some rattling inside the housing.

I thought this would be a good time to replace it with modern gauges that look classic, but as I looked around it seemed like the going rate for anything decent (Dakota digital / classic instruments) was $1000. Cheapest I could find was $400, but that had a lot of bad reviews saying it stopped working.

1. Am I missing anything? Any ideas on where to get solid restomod gauge cluster replacements besides those two places I listed and googling around?

2. Anyone know how I could repair my current cluster or who I could send it to for repair? (I’m in TX)

3. Not having accurate gauges isn’t the end of the world - I definitely need to prioritize having the engine turn over reliably haha so is there any downside to leaving it as is while I get the wiring sorted out? I figure I can always replace it down the road without too wiring hassle again…