maroon88iroc

has anyone made a custom instrument panel for their 84-89 corvettes? my digital dash isnt working and i am thinking about putting all autometer gauges in it. i can make the panel for the gauges but i was just curious if anyone had pictures of it done so i could see how it looks. the only thing i hate about taking the digital dash out is i would loose features of it like the mpg and oil temp stuff like that. i would only put the basics in like fuel, water temp, oil pressure, speedo, tach, and voltage.

curious of you guys opinions.

also how do you guys think this would affect the resell value of the car if i did this?

Aardwolf

There was a big thread on this here with lots of pictures. I didn't really like the look for the Camaro? replacement gauge cluster. I do very much like the aftermarket gauge setups I've seen. When my dash needs work I'll be putting in an aluminum plate with gauges. If you do everything up real nice IMO it will add value to the car.

maroon88iroc

ya id really like to see some pics of it done so i can tell if id like to do it, i dont want to do a camaro swap.. id much rather have the digital dash.

i agree with you i think it would add to the car because you dont have the expense of the digital dash if it ever had a problem. but at the same time it would also take away from the originality of the car, and it would take away the extra gauges like the mpg's and such.

i found a dash at a junkyard for around $150 and i can replace it with all autometer gauges for about $220

slickfx3

http://www.batee.com/corvette/dcrg/replace.shtml

if you mickey mouse it, scratch, break and dent things up, yeah you would lose value, if you have a refined touch use exemplary craftsmanship, use great care, presision, and painstaking in the design then the value goes up.

and from what it looks like here it is reversible but why?

Calderone

:s:s

Dostovel

Damn nice work on the dash, but I would much rather have the digi in the early C4s! In fact if it came with the standard cluster I would PAY to have the digi fabbed in

redrose

my modded firebird gauges...no sensor changes, plugs into vette harness connector...returns to stock in 1/2 hour

running a stock engine, the rpm changes slowly after 4500 rpm, and the atari dash can catch up to events...with a modded engine that revs quickly to red-line and above, the digital display becomes a bunch of meaningless flashing segments, creating the perils of valve train damage, clutch explosion, etc., kinda like trying to stop a digital clock on the correct time when resetting.

slickfx3

can you detail this firebird mod?

'Shifter

Relic

At some point, the early C4 will get a second look from the car community. The digital dash makes the early C4 somewhat unique, and will be essential for low mileage stock examples.

If you mod, doesn't matter, do what you like. I like the mods I've seen, but the digital dash has grown on me.

redrose

starts with a bird gauge cluster with elec speedo 86-89 (90-92 will also work but have the "new" tach that is inaccurate/failure prone same as 90+ vettes)... a cluster from a v8 bird gets tach numbering to match vette eng but a v6 tach works (maybe better for needle positioning) after cerebral "adjust to the error"...bird elec speedos come in varying max mph readout from 85 to 140 mph, all will accept the vette VSS output from trans sender after run thru the bird "4-out- buffer" p/n 25071437 (little yellow plastic enclosure slightly larger than a pack of cigs, get it from the same bird donor as your gauges, or several other GM models of same vintage)...simple elec mod (hi-low selector switch) will "double" the speedo capability (will need to add x2 appropriate numbers to speedo face) if the speedo in your cluster maxes out too low (select "low" input to read oem bird numbers for "in-town" high resolution, "hi" for x2 readout))...the bird cluster has a rather coarse "printed circuit" flex panel on the back that identifies all gauge wiring connections ("IG" for 12v from ign switch, "E" for ground, various other letters for sensor inputs, light bulbs are not id'd but ez to trace out),the screws that hold the gauges in are also the electrical terminals..."new" gauge connector to match vette harness can be ripped from a dead -747 pick-up ecm or many other GM ecm's of mid/late 80's vintage, saw off/use the 32 pin portion of the ecm connector (relax,will only need to wire abt half of the pins) and scrap the 24 pin portion, look down inside the connector and the pins are labeled...use the pin-outs shown in the vette Service Manual (page 8A-82-7 in the 86 manual, other year manuals close by) to hook-up the bird gauges to the "new" connector...i modded the bird rear housing (see pic attached),had a machine shop do holes in 1/8" alum plate to my paper layout (ouch $) for face/mount plate, and used .090" lexan from homie depot for new lensplate, others have done differently (one used wood verneer in lieu of the 1/8 alum face, looks good)

shows modded bird rear gauge housing w/ speedo, behind is an oem bird cluster for comparison.

backside of modded with oem bird rear housing beyond.

btw: parts $ for mine, using a "rare" 140 mph bird speedo cluster (and EXcluding the machining of "perfect" holes in the alum face), abt $150 total...labor = priceless.

maroon88iroc

i love the digital dash dont get me wrong here guys, but i am going to be selling this car and i could put some nice autometer gauges in it for cheaper than rebuilding the dash. i was just curious to how it would look. just checking out my options.

btw i ordered a working dash out of oregon for $50 from a guy using the corvette stuff in his nomad and he had no use for the dash, so hopefully it will work out for me