Got my 70 all striped down with just the AC system to remove before pulling the body and sending off to soda blast for removal of the worlds worst 1982 gold metal flake bass boat paint job I’ve ever seen. It’s the reason 2 other owners pulled the pin on this original 22K mile gem so I gotta thank the original owner for his distaste.

I noticed during the tear down process how heavy and bulky all the factory mechanical gauges and clusters were and it shocked me. The center cluster has got to be 25lbs with the radio!

That being said I definitely want to convert to electric but still retain the factory look and feel. I’m getting older now (48) and I need clear brightly light instruments to drive at night and also want the accuracy of modern technology. I don’t like the digital stuff at all. It ruins the classic feel IMO And I can’t read digital very well at a glance anymore.

Not well educated on the aftermarket support or these cars and what’s available but a bolt in electric gauge conversion with single DIN Bluetooth radio is what I’m after. Not against swapping the harness if need be to make the conversion. I’m going full LED/Halo lighting all around with modern EFI (Leaning towards Sniper System) so I’ll be digging into the harness anyway.

Links appreciated if possible, barely computer competent I-Phone user only 🤣

TIA.

Anthony

 

So you're willing to modify and you want bright lights and a somewhat modern radio and you'd like to retain the classic gauges look? I will go get a couple of links so you can bounce them around.
By the way--- go ahead and remove the steering column now.... that way you won't damage the fiberglass parts when trying to put them back....believe me.... I've pulled dash multiple times in 35 years and the last time I removed the steering column and it makes life a lot easier and you don't break stuff trying to cram everything back together.

 

Here is my strip lighting installation info:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-and-tach.html

And below is the cheap radio I slapped in when my DIN-1 CD player failed....plan was to get something better but it works fine so I ignore it.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1601267352

You can also a conversion kit to make your mechanical tach into an electric tach. I actually installed a 76 electric tach but the conversion kits weren't available back then. Mine is just super, but this looks really good.
https://www.zip-corvette.com/53-74-e...rsion-kit.html

 

I converted my '73 to all Autometer gauges several years ago. Very happy with the results. Autometer has a lot of choices in analog gauges many of which look old school but I don't think there is a good match for the existing gauges. There are several old threads on the site about converting gauges, what size aftermarket gauges fit, etc. You have to make brackets for some of the aftermarket speedos and tachs to mount but there used to be a printable template on the forum in one of the threads.

https://www.autometer.com/

Summit Racing carries the Autometer gauges and their catalog is worth having around.

Below are a couple of pics of my installation:

DC

 

Dakota Digital makes really nice gauges, they seem pricey but they aren't really that bad when you compare to a compete set of Autometer gauges. Plus, they do stuff Autometer doesn't, like limit alarms and performance metering and they have the indicator lights built in. I used them once and wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

 

My two top choices would be either:

Dakota Digital RTX: https://www.dakotadigital.com/index....od/prd1252.htm
or
Speedhut. Speedhut can make any custom face you want, but require more fabrication to install: https://www.speedhut.com/

If Dakota Digital would replace the clock with an oil temp gauge, they would be perfect IMHO.