Just picked up a new instrument cluster for my 72. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... gory=40017
Hopefully I got my facts right and this will fit... Not sure how much I overpaid but thought it might look cool after I get the beast fixed-up. I guess these are all metal as opposed to plastic? Anyone know if I have to change all the wiring harness connectors or if the amp, temp, oil pressure, and fuel guages will just hook straight up to my existing harness? What about that wiper switch? Air operated? I guess I can't use that...
Thanks
Mark
This will not plug into your harness, since the '70-'72 trucks have a different style of instrument panel connector than the '67-'69 trucks, which is the style your F600 panel has.
I've had and sold nearly a dozen F600 panels, and I've never seen a wiper switch setup like that. That's interesting.
____| \__
-O-----O- Keith
'67 F-100 2WD SWB ~ '69 F-100 4WD SWB w/7" chop ~ 1975 F-250 Ranger XLT Supercab Camper Special My '67 restoration video -> Posting and you!<-a MUST watch for all!!
FORDification wrote:This will not plug into your harness, since the '70-'72 trucks have a different style of instrument panel connector than the '67-'69 trucks, which is the style your F600 panel has.
Geeez, That figures. That's what I get for those impulse bids. Like getting sucked in by that stuff for sale around the check-out line...
Well, just because it won't just "Plug 'n' Play" doesn't mean it won't work. It just means you'll have to do a little modifying first. You just need to snip the circuit-board connector off your main wiring harness and splice in the connector from an older wiring harness. It's worth the effort, since those panels really do look sharp.
Unfortunately, the tach won't work without a distributor set up for a mechanical-drive tach....and unless your truck already had full instrumentation (no idiot lights), the ammeter won't work with your existing harness. Full-instrumentation harnesses use a shunt to supply power to the factory ammeter...basically, it's a resistor. This has been discussed several time on the forums...do a search for "F600" and read up about it. And obviously, unless you have an onboard air compressor, the air pressure gauge is pretty much useless to you. But you can find these panels with vacuum gauges to replace the pressure gauge.
Most people just take the gauges out and mount aftermarket gauges in the flat front panel.
____| \__
-O-----O- Keith
'67 F-100 2WD SWB ~ '69 F-100 4WD SWB w/7" chop ~ 1975 F-250 Ranger XLT Supercab Camper Special My '67 restoration video -> Posting and you!<-a MUST watch for all!!
Yeah. I figured I could get it to function with a lot of extra work. Didn't know I could just splice in an old connector though. Still hate to start cutting wires especially when it all works now... I do have the full instrumentation on mine so some of the gauges should work for me. I was hoping the gauges would be easily swapped out like you say, it looked like they would be from the pic. I'll just have to figure out what to put in that large air pressure gauge spot and what to do with that crazy vacuum operated wiper switch. I'll do some searching here on F600. Thanks.
Mark
Rather than cut any wires, I suggest you find the correct plugs, then make a "bridge" between the two wire harnesses. That way if you want to switch back, the exchange requires taking out the bridge and reconnecting the original gauges to the original wiring harness. So far as the panel, I watched that auction. Who knows, someone might be interested in a swap for a different panel more to what you could use?
bluef250 wrote:Rather than cut any wires, I suggest you find the correct plugs, then make a "bridge" between the two wire harnesses. That way if you want to switch back, the exchange requires taking out the bridge and reconnecting the original gauges to the original wiring harness. So far as the panel, I watched that auction. Who knows, someone might be interested in a swap for a different panel more to what you could use?
Good idea on making a bridge, I'll have to do that if I keep it. I got a little discouraged reading some of the previous gauge posts thinking that I would have to replace ALL of the gauges since the air pressure and tach wouldn't work but the more I got to looking I think that only goes for that center cluster of 5. Looks like those are the only ones held in place as a single assembly and the 2 on each end could be replaced with an after-market tach and something else. Not sure how that would look though with a different style/face on those 2.
If you could find a similar face for a tach, I don't thing that would be to bad - definitively not "perfect." On the other side of the panel you might leave one of the other gauges in place - nonfunctional. I looked again at the '70 panel I have and the female side of the bridge looked like a challenge. Maybe cutting up a '70-72 panel and gluing leads in place would work. Finding the female fitting could take effort. If you were to dispose of the truck, you could take out round gauge panel and reinstall the stock if the wiring is not changed to much. Then the next truck you get, you already have the round gauge panel.
That 'bridge' idea is an excellent one! In the near future when I go to install mine, I'll definitely do the same thing.
Sounds like another tech article in the making.
____| \__
-O-----O- Keith
'67 F-100 2WD SWB ~ '69 F-100 4WD SWB w/7" chop ~ 1975 F-250 Ranger XLT Supercab Camper Special My '67 restoration video -> Posting and you!<-a MUST watch for all!!
That figures. That's what I get for those impulse bids. Like getting sucked in by that stuff for sale around the check-out line...
That way if you want to switch back, the exchange requires taking out the bridge and reconnecting the original gauges to the original wiring harness. So far as the panel, I watched that auction. Who knows, someone might be interested in a swap for a different panel more to what you could use? 
