Installing instrument cluster 68 mustang

[@timcarr953]

Just installed a mini tach in my 67, and went through what you did. I still learned a few things from this video, and had fun watching. Thank you!

[@68mustangrestoration34]

appreciate it, thank you. hope your installation went well. I have to pull the tach back out over winter to tone down the LED as it is really bright. probably just need a resistor in series with the light

[@TheSchmed]

Yep, I agree with finding the screws, for my Jeep, OEM screw (Mopar) is $9 at Home Depot $1.59 and I’ll get zinc coated to prevent rust.

[@kylewestfall7185]

Thanks for this video, I had a mini tach put in a few months ago and unfortunately it is not working. This video highlights some great details that I need to look for when uninstalling and installing the instrument cluster. You had mentioned that the tach signal goes to the coil, I may try that before removing the cluster. The tach right now is hooked up to my distributor. Thanks again, look forward to more videos.

[@68mustangrestoration34]

thank you Kyle, yes modern tach's have 3 or 4 wires, one is a simple chassis ground (-) , the second will be ignition (+) so I connect that to a power wire that gets power ONLY when the ignition switch is turned on, the third will be a SIGNAL wire, this you must connect to the NEGATIVE side of the coil. YOu mention you connected yours to your distributer , and that can work as well BUT due to the capacitance of your points (OR are you running pointless ignition??) it may NOT be a clean enough signal. But as long as your tach has a ground, power and a signal from the negative side of the coil it should work. Now the 4th wire I mention will be for dash lights. MIne had a separate wire to power lights ( you can watch my video called "tach too bright" on how I adjust the brightness. Good luck

[@jeffunderdahl8605]

You don't mess around. Making some great progress on the car. Thanks for taking the time to share all the little details.

[@davebrittain9216]

Great tip on the screws! Who would have thought lol.

[@jk66mustang]

Looking awesome. Keep up the great work. Can’t wait to see you take it out on the first drive.

[@68mustangrestoration34]

Thank you , neither can I.

[@crashwrtr6078]

Really starting to take shape now! Still, lots to do but that light at the end of the tunnel, for sure, is not a train.

[@68mustangrestoration34]

hopefully not, one last major step is the roof.

[@matthewrschuler]

The dash is looking great!

[@christianc1313]

I've always cursed the short harnesses. I've never given consideration to 'one inch of wire over a million cars.' That's 15.7 miles of wire for a single contact. That equates to a ridiculous amount of wire saved per car. Thanks for the video, will be doing this soon.

[@68mustangrestoration34]

hope it goes well, it is tight but doable. good luck with yours

[@brianS8164]

Great video, very helpful. Do you know what guage wiring is used in the instrument cluster and under dash?

[@68mustangrestoration34]

good question but tough to answer. instrumentation and dash lighting have a very small gauge like 16 but headlight , heater and ignition wiring can be 14 or 12. The issue is simply how much current draw goes through it. I understand why you are asking as replacement harnesses just for under the dash can be over 600 dollars. I know this is a lousy rule but it is better to error on the side of too thick wiring rather than too thin.

[@Liveforsnow03]

Are you available to answer a specific grounding question for my 68 Mustang? Having trouble with a ground somewhere and not getting any power to my gauges. I removed what I believe is the c4 console ground wire from the frame behind the cluster, but I don’t know what the male plug is supposed to attach to. Please let me know if you can help. Thank you!

[@68mustangrestoration34]

There is an integrated ground in the harness BUT my car also had a separate wire that I had to screw into the frame. This link will download a wiring schematic that I used. www.peterfranza.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/1968MustangWiringDiagrams1.pdf hopefully it helps as it lays out all the cluster wiring

[@last-known-photo8574]

Thanks for the video. For the three screws that go into the upper part of the instrument panel and then into the dash, they go through the front plastic bezel and sit on top of the back metal portion of the instrument panel correct? I am having trouble becuse the lath screw heads are too wide to go through the front plastic bezel. Can you tell me the exact specs of those lath screws you used? Thanks

[@68mustangrestoration34]

Sorry if I mislead you, the lath screws are for securing carpet and other small pieces. The 3 screws that go through the top of the cluster and into the dash are simply 1.25 inch machine screws like I show in the video. (where I show the two philips head screw with the small or normal head sizes" the KEY is that in the metal part of the dash there are the 3 holes for the screws and those holes MUST have screw clips in them. If you watch this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/qImqlJSGm9uHjZo and go to 4:36 you see the metal dash and you can see the screw clips on the dash. the screws then go through the plastic cluster, into the plastic dash and then through the screw clips . Aligning all of them is a pain, but take you time and you should be good.

[@last-known-photo8574]

@@68mustangrestoration34 Thanks for the clarification!

[@TheSchmed]

I would have gotten a tach for where (giant) fuel gauge is, and a smaller fuel gauge and voltage meter for where you put the tach, assuming a larger tach was available.

[@68mustangrestoration34]

Unfortunately, I had never found a supplier that sold an authentic tach replacement, If you look at all the suppliers they either do not sell or are "look alikes" that do not look anything like the original. Maybe today there are options and if you find one let me know as I would change it in a heartbeat. I found a guy called rocket man who repairs them and he also creates a 3 inch tach for the dash but he does not sell them. I would be interested in getting one as well

[@saabtech3510]

Looks great. What did you do as far as the instrument cluster bulbs? Original or LED? ( I did the same thing with the tach.)

[@68mustangrestoration34]

I am using LED's. I purchased the entire car kit including cluster, interior and signals. They are very bright but do not dim very well. Apparently a resistor in line helps.

[@saabtech3510]

@@68mustangrestoration34 Great. I went with regular bulbs, but the ones I ordered from one of the popular Mustang parts suppliers were cheap Chinese that the base would deform from the pressure of the socket spring. Worthless. I ended up finding an ancient Westinghouse box of bulbs on Ebay. The quality of yesteryear. Night and day.

[@68mustangrestoration34]

@@saabtech3510 sorry to hear, mine seem to be ok, but if yours work that is all that matters.

[@youngclay6433]

I could really use your help. Do you have a new high beam indicator lens installed? If so, WHERE CAN I FIND ONE??? 1968 Mustang deluxe dash in believe

[@68mustangrestoration34]

Sorry although I ordered a replacement instrument bezel I used my original indicator. I had to transplant a few other pieces as the new bezel is empty. I searched cj an classic industries but no luck

[@sambear6368]

How to eliminate the alternator regulator plug

[@sambear6368]

Would really appreciate help

[@68mustangrestoration34]

First, I am using a "one Wire" alternator. this is self exciting so no regulator or exciter wire. Plus since I ran a new feed to the new fuse block (12 port) I could abandon both the regulator and the wires from the regulator that feed the old alternator. No jumpers , nothing. simply do not use them although I left them in the car in case someone in the future wants to go back to "stock" Search internet on "eliminating voltage regulator on mustang" there are a few videos out there

[@sambear6368]

@@68mustangrestoration34 thank you so much for both of those comments

[@snoopdisnoop]

My cars speedometer needle is all the way to the other end at 120 mph. Will this fix itself when motor installed

[@68mustangrestoration34]

That is a tough call. I would say no assuming this is a classic car speedometer (mechanical) Knowing the car and year might help in the diagnosis. If it is digital then applying power may reset it. IF it is mechanical (using a flex cable) then putting motor in will not fix it. Older speedometers actually had a "peg" to stop the speedo from exceeding max speed. It is possible that the needle has jumped over that "peg" and is stuck. at max speed (in your case 120mph) the only option is to remove the cluster and manually remove speedometer and lift the needle back over the peg. Hopefully the spring that drives the needle is not broken. hope this helped

[@snoopdisnoop]

@@68mustangrestoration34 Its a 68 coupe. We had to replace the cover and so we had to open the cluster. Is there any way to check the spring? all it does is spin and sets itself to 120 mph. It jumps a little when i spin the other end of the cable

[@68mustangrestoration34]

@@snoopdisnoop Thank you. I can only speak from what I know and not seeing your speedo makes it harder BUT it sounds like the hairspring and not sure where to get one. Basically when the input rotates it spins a magnetic plate. that spinning magnet drags a second plate along for the ride . of course since it is only connected through magnetism that second plate does not spin but lifts slowly and moves the needle, the hairspring stops the second plate from rotating. what it sounds liek to me is that the hairspring is broken and therefore the second plate wants to rotate with the magnet and drives the needle all the way to top speed. the fact that you twist the input shaft the needle twitches is expected as they are connected (albeit through a magnet). Not sure if you want to dismantle the speedometer and see if the hairspring is broken or not or you can send it out, there are a few places that will refurbish your speedo for you. here is a diagram how a classic speedo works images.app.goo.gl/L5eYTAMnzJZ4tZbz6

[@snoopdisnoop]

@@68mustangrestoration34 thank you. Ill try that

[@68mustangrestoration34]

@@snoopdisnoop Sorry I can offer no guidance as I have not done this myself. All I did was clean the speedo not open it up. the hair spring looks like a main spring for a watch and applies force to the needle shaft to keep it at 0 mph. Best of luck . here is a site. tachman.com he services classic mustang instruments and is in South Carolina.

[@Q8FAB]

1st.. Will done keep it up💪

[@neilhoppe2095]

You failed to show connecting the two Cluster connectors.

[@68mustangrestoration34]

sometimes things end up on the editing floor without realizing it. They were a pain to connect

[@sambear6368]

And where did you get the tachometer

[@68mustangrestoration34]

amazon. it was called a Dewhel 52mm Vision Tach Black Universal 8k 8000 RPM (no longer available) . just search for 2 inch tach or 52MM tach and a whole bunch show up