gauge cluster

[kjc292]

Hey, This guy that use to work at my company is a big chevy man. Rebuilding a 1970 camaro and malibu wagon. he also owns a 85 k20 3+3. well I was telling him how all the manuals Ive owned, a 91 toyota corolla, 95 ford bronco, and my 78 c20 all didnt not have tachs. but all the autos Ive own/driven have tachs. now i dont need a tach to drive a manual, just listen to the engine and im good but i would like a tach with my 1978 c20. he proceeded to tell me that either a 1970 camaro or 1971 camaro gauge cluster is the same set up and has the tach where the fuel gauge goes and the fuel gauge goes in the empty bottom left corner of the cluster. My fathers c30 dually has a the clock in small bottom left spot he's talking about. Has anybody else heard this or replaced the chevy truck cluster with the camaro and had success.

[frog210]

It can be done, just need to do some rewiring thats it, and maybe maybe a little modification to the cluster to get them to sit right..

[chengny]

You can find the stock cluster with tach in the normal gas gauge spot. The clock is eliminated and a small diameter fuel gauge takes it's place.

This is from an older C/K truck (Canadian version - note the speedometer is in KPH) but the 81 -87 version looks just like it:



They are not that rare - but the people who are selling them (usually ask around $250 for a nice one) apparently think they are.

[kjc292]

thanks chegny. well i guess im lucky they put a 292 in the camaros. ill be looking for since i have 292 in my truck.

[wraprail]

I have a 70 Camaro speedometer and tach in my 85 C10 gauge cluster. Speedo was a bolt in, tach in large gas gauge spot took a little work.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

They aren't quite the same size but if you bolt the face plate of the truck gauges to the back they fit in nice. The tach will have to prob have the choke light tunnels cut off in the bezel.

Look in my dig and you can see my iroc canoe gauge conversion. My truck is an 80's so I opted for a period look.
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[MalibuSSwagon]

I considered the Camaro gauge conversion, but I held out and eventually a guy was parting a 85 C70 on craigslist. I bought the mint tach dash for $40. And it works perfect!

[kjc292]

c70 huh? what year and can you convert lets say a 454 cluster to a 292? just saying 454 since its a c70

[motornut]

Originally Posted by kjc292

c70 huh? what year and can you convert lets say a 454 cluster to a 292? just saying 454 since its a c70

convert an 8 to a 6 tach,maybe you could get a "big" truck's "6cyl" tach but
can prob be done there is a guy some have mentioned he services tachs
I wana say "tachman"?
I went idiots to stock tach/gauges

[MalibuSSwagon]

http://www.howtoalmanac.com/kevin/pr...chfixtruck.htm

This is a walk through on repairing the tach, you can use this guide to convert a V8 tach to 6 cyl as well. C50 trucks also usually had 292 as well.

Check ebay too, sometimes you can find a deal. Sold a non-functioning tach dash on there a year ago for 50 bucks. Tach didn't respond, and I didn't want to bother fixing it since it was the 73-80 style.

If you do find a non-functioning tach, Tachman can restore and calibrate the tach for you as well.

http://www.tachman.com/oldsun.htm

[MalibuSSwagon]

Couple of threads about tachs

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=503733

Seems a couple have had success fixing their tachs with the howtoalmanac fix.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=470240

Another good thread on the big truck and gm sports salvage tachs

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=440489

Here are some more ideas

Honestly, I prefer an OEM look, which is why I held out for the C70 cluster. It was worth the wait haha. The GM Sports tach is a nice piece, and the guys who have bought it all like it, but it would bother me that its not 100% accurate in regards to the graphics.

[kjc292]

thanks malibuSS. ill have to check out the links after work. Got put on swing until further notice... I want to keep the classic 70's look. try to keep everything original as much as i can, excluding the rims. i like the bigger tires on my truck. unless theyre buckshots i dont think ill go skinny. and just how hard is to change out the the whole set up? seems like its just the cover coming off then an extra wire for the tach? and while thats off im assuming its easier to change the dashboard? mines toast. cracks everywhere