Speedometer or tachometer housing
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,387
Likes: 123
From: CA.
Speedometer or tachometer housing
anyone ever change these in a 72 or so? while trying to pull the drivers lower dash to replace speaker the housing on my tach broke at the 2 top ears. cant see how you could possibly get back there to disconnect tach, speedo, and all the other stuff. car has air also. if anyone done this can you explain how? thanks.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,387
Likes: 123
From: CA.
hi ALAN. cant figure why they broke. tach cable had play in it. there is a wireing harness that kinda runs over it. maybe it was holding it. so far i found a leaking coupling from the oil pressue gauge that was above the steering column and now this. i guess this winter ill be changing the carpet also since its got oil in it. im like you as far as wanting car as original as possible but im leaning toward getting an electronic oil gauge. dont like the thought of another oil spill. so i guess i have to remove the upper dash pad, right? probably a big job. thanks, nutsy.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,123
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From: Gladstone MO
C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
Getting the dash pad off is a PITA. Much easier (IMHO) to pull the dash panel. That harness runs from the firewall/fuse block up the left side and over the top of the speedo/tach. It's held there with a couple of metal straps that are bolted on one end to the upper outboard ears of the housings.
The oil line should be one piece from the firewall to the gauge- all joints or splices should be under the hood. If you replace the line, remember that the fittings on the line are NOT hardware/auto parts store items. GM used a slightly different type of ferrule on the line and the hardware store stuff is different.
The oil line should be one piece from the firewall to the gauge- all joints or splices should be under the hood. If you replace the line, remember that the fittings on the line are NOT hardware/auto parts store items. GM used a slightly different type of ferrule on the line and the hardware store stuff is different.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,387
Likes: 123
From: CA.
hi TIM. i didnt know the harness was attatched to the housing. impossible to see in there. now i know why it broke. thanks for the info on the line.. so how are you supposed to get this lower panel out when you cant get behind there?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,123
Likes: 433
From: Gladstone MO
C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
No fun, I can tell you that. You need to drop the steering column, (Nearly removing it helps!) Pop the speedo and tach cables loose, all the screws (of course), and slip the lower pad out just enough to get your hand in there to bend the harness straps off the harness and free them up. Then start bringing the pad back and up. I popped all of the bulbs out too. When I pulled mine, I disconnected everything. Back in is no more fun than out.
I did the new dash harness in the 74 I had, then installed a Classic Air system in the 77 so I had the dash 100% out for that.
FWIW- unless you're really wanting to stay 100% correct even on the places nobody can see- you can repair the tabs on the housing with a little fiberglass work. Rough up the plastic around them with some 80 grit. A little resin and some cloth.
I did the new dash harness in the 74 I had, then installed a Classic Air system in the 77 so I had the dash 100% out for that.
FWIW- unless you're really wanting to stay 100% correct even on the places nobody can see- you can repair the tabs on the housing with a little fiberglass work. Rough up the plastic around them with some 80 grit. A little resin and some cloth.
