I didny get any extra wireing....damn...so i maybe in for a surprise. Ill read through that thread when i get a few minutes...thank you. Maybe ill just stick to my original plan and remove the clock placeholder and wire in a aftermarket tach and mount it there.
Yah previous owner put a Rallye Gauge Cluster in our 72 Gran Torino Sport but nothing was wired,not even the speedometer was plugged in. He gave me a bunch of spare parts for the car and had the original standard cluster and bezel so I put it back in the dash. I plan on getting a duo gauge pod and mount it to the front of floor console and put a Digital Water Temo & Oil Pressure Gauge and I can buy the matching Digital Tach and mount it in the dash as there is a blank hole as ours don't have the optional clock. Much easier to wire a aftermarket Tach and 2 gauges and probably get more accurate readings then the old Ford gauges
I just liked the looks of the optional cluster...but if its gonna be a major PITA i might just forego it.
Actually... Would it be possible to remove the factory tach from the cluster i have....remove the clock placeholder out of the current cluster in the car...and make it work? Theres only 3 wires for the factory tach...wouldnt be hard i dont think to make it work. Yes id have an extra "brake" and "high beam" light...but meh.
For me on our 72 Sport it wasn't worth the effort and I sold the cluster to someone else. If I have to change sending units and wire up gauges I might as well buy aftermarket stuff that they tell you exactly how to wire up and ones with pigtails that I would need for gauges and might just need some extra length of wire. I kind of read over about the 72-73 cluster and it just wasn't worth it. I had a 73 Torino back in the late 80's and I put a 3" AutoMeter Tach in the clock hole and even used it with my Duraspark ignition I put on the 351C that I wapped into the car. I think I had a trio gauge mounted under dash for the rest but I was fine with that
I've not done the conversion, but 1) I have the 1979 factory diagrams that I had photocopied at the library; if you would like it, I can send it to you so you can use it, and 2) since I haven't put my dashboard back together, I can snap and email you pics of the gauge/clock/tach harness and how it's set up in the dash. If you can get the underdash to bulkhead, and bulkhead to underhokd harnesses from a GT Ranchero, it'll be a lot easier to incorporate the wiring into your rig's harness. So, PM me a street address and an email address if you would like to take me up on my offer.
Your dash can have the tach and a large-face clock (which I have one for sale, incidentally), the clock is a stand-alone unit so it bolts to your dash. All you'd need is constant power to run the clock, cluster lighting power (blue/red stripe) for the lights, and a ground wire. The tach is removable, of course, but you'd also have to disassemble your current cluster to see if the tach would fit in. It's been a long time since I had my '74's cluster out for repair, so I can't remember how it's set up.
Problem with just using factory Tach in the clock hole is the Tach is in tbe cluster. It has a clear plastic lens then a cover plate that goes over the Tach,Speedo and gauges,a rear plastic housing that the components fit into which also has holes for the illumination bulbs but bulbs won't work without printed circuit board and you would have to chop the whole left side off of all those pieces then there is no mounting tabs on that side of cluster to attach where the clock was. Personally I think the Aftermarket Tach is better option as it will come in a case with it's own wiring and illumination bulb. Either that or do the wiring and add the complete Tach & Gauge cluster and remove the standard cluster and do the swap. I wouldn't cut up a good 77-79 Tach and Gauge Cluster and could sell it and buy an aftermarket Tach if your not going to use the whole thing
If this comes to pass, talk to me, I'd like first right of refusal, and perhaps we can make a deal to include the dash clock I have.
