I know there is probably a thread on this topic already, so if somebody could give me a link to one answering my questions it would be much appreciated.

My issue is most of the wires in my car have been cut, other than the few required for my engine to run correctly, and I have a replacement cluster from an unknown year (will fit physically in my 88) as the old one in mine is non existent. So basically my question is who has done this before and gotten it to work? Is there any solid wiring diagrams out there? Or a way to tell the year of the new cluster so I can make note of any wiring differences?

Any and all is appreciated, thanks

 

*smh*

WHY do people always seem to think that this is A Good Idea?

Buy a factory service manual. It has everything you need. (except parts themselves... you have to buy those separately) and for Bozhye's sake, PUT DOWN YOUR DYKES until you know what you're doing with them.

You'll find the wiring under the hood isn't too hard to restore. Most of that is the same across years and body styles, and you can pick up what you'll need at the junkyard, if you're patient. If you rampaged up under the dash though, it won't be so easy.

If the cluster fits, the wiring will hook up. (generally... there are exceptions, but generally) The connectors and whatnot are the same. For example I have a 87 cluster in my 83; dropped right in.

Most likely you don't have 2.77 gears, if the rear is still the one that came in it. That's a 9-bolt gear and would only have come in IROCs. Berlinetta would have come with a 10-bolt, probably 3.08 if it was a 305/5-spd originally.

 

The car was originally a v6 car , and through some research I found that is what most of the v6 rears were. Anyway, guy I bought it from pulled the old motor and is also to thank for ripping out all the wiring (even the stereo). My main problem is he trimmed the wires down to the nubs and I cant really get to them to make a good connection so I was thinking of directly wiring stuff from the senders to where the cluster plugs in. Its just a pain to wrestle the cluster in its place behind the wheel for there to be issues. I have a manual (or part of one) with wiring diagrams, but Ive found the clusters are slightly different models and in turn wiring patterns. Just didnt know if somebody else had figured it out already

 

If you had asked the right question - which would have been "Should I buy this", as opposed to ,"I just bought this total POS that somebody hacked into oblivion and destroyed, and now I want somebody to hold my hand all the way through fixing it" - I think EVERYBODY on this forum would have told you to NOT buy that car. But it's too late now, you're stuck with it.

Personally, my advice would be to shut the hood and sell it on; and just let it become The Greater Fool's problem. Because, in my limited time on this planet among this illogical irrational and overly emotional species, I have found one thing to be true about them: there is ALWAYS A Greater Fool to be found among them, usually with very little effort searching. You can take that pearl of wisdom to the bank.

Every HACK job is HACKED differently. You're sitting in front of it looking at it, there's NO WAY anybody out here is going to be able to tell you what damage has been done, what random p***** tracks you're going to find where, what's missing, what you'll have to do to restore it, etc. etc. etc. No way.

Get the factory service manual and go from there.

 

Im a broke kid in school, I got the car for 600 bucks and its meant to be a fun beater. It would just be more ideal if I knew how fast I was going and how hot the water is. Ive tried quite a few things already but the cluster and senders dont seem to line up correctly and I dont know if the computer has to be involved etc.

You shitting on my project car I bought to learn on is not helpful, Ill just wait and hope somebody who has a helpful word will come along

 

If you're waiting for someone to tell you what you want to hear, you're gonna be disappointed.
Sofa gave you the facts. And no one here has any way of knowing what wiring or how much of it has been hacked.
I can tell you that the computer has nothing to do with the gauges or speedometer. Your best ( and only) hope is to get a Factory Service Manual...

 

The bulk of the factory gauges don't care what engine is in the car. Get the correct sensors from the auto parts store and connect to the correct wire under the hood and the gauge will work again. The tach for a V6 will read wrong on a V8 and you need sensors that match the gauge like a 60 psi oil presser sensor for a 60psi gauge. Austin thirdgen has wiring diagrams a service manual will also help.

 

Knowing that the computer doesnt need to be involved is helpful, the wiring is good clear up to the firewall, it has just been clipped, so my plan was to put new wire from sending units into the two plugs that go into the cluster. What I am looking for is do I need certain sending units etc. and maybe callsigns to tell what car I have a cluster from if it differs from my 88. The motor is not original to the car, nor is much else. I have a manual and it hasn't been very helpful. As I said in my first post, I was hoping somebody who has done something like getting a stock cluster to work with a different motor would know what I mean. I just doubt (since ive also looked through it) the factory repair manual has a whole lot to offer on that subject

 

The only gauges that might be an issue are the tach and speedo the rest should not be an issue. Go to autozone and get sensors that match your cluster then install the sensors and wire them correctly from the sensor to the large connector on the firewall then back from the inside connector to the gauge pod

The tach is engine cylinder dependent and the speedo could be electric or cable depending on the year and is gear dependant

 

Alright thanks, do you know of any sort of modifying components there are out there for getting a the tach to work correctly? Im almost thinking that since i have the v8 in there and the cluster has a 140 mph speedo that it should be the same?

 

Your car is far from 'stock.' With a V6-V8 swap, an unknown cluster, and hacked wiring, what you're asking about amounts to a custom installation. You'll have to face the fact that you're going to have to wing it. If you're not experienced with point-to-point wiring and re-pinning the bulkhead connector, maybe your best bet would be to go with one of Painless' basic wiring kits. You'd still do well to obtain a factory shop manual for your car (Helms) rather than any of the aftermarket books, which often contain incorrect and incomplete info, especially concerning wiring diagrams. The factory manual will at least give you some direction from which to start.

Yours is hardly the first thread on this forum concerning dealing with butchered factory wiring (and it won't be the last, either, unfortunately); it's going to take considerable work to get things back in some semblance of order.

GL.

 

Doesn't seem like you're really listening.

Doesn't matter if "someone has done the same thing before". EVERY HACK JOB IS DIFFERENT. Different morons cut different wires, twist different ones together, do it at different places, remove different critical pieces you can't do without in the name of "cleaning up the engine bay", attempt to install different wrong things that don't hook up, and so forth. NO ONE out here is going to be able to tell you what you need to do to undo that. ONLY YOU, sitting in front of it and LOOKING AT IT along with the factory service manual for comparison, will be able to do this. Other manuals - Chilton's, Haynes, those ones you buy at AutoZone, ANY OF THEM other than the Factory Service Manual - will NOT contain the info you need like the Factory Service Manual will.

Remember, you're NOT going to be able to tell the Internet "Fix my car for me NOW!!!!" like you seem to want to. Poor-mouthing doesn't change the basic facts at hand. Either you want to fix this car and are willing to do what it takes, in which case you WILL get it done; or, you're not, in which case your car will simply remain a rusting driveway ornament eyesore.

I'm going to tell you one more time what YOU need to to fix YOUR car YOURSELF.

GET THE FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL FOR YOUR CAR.

Once you have that in your hand, you will be able to see all the sensors, all the wires, all the connectors, and EVERYTHING ELSE, and you can then compare to YOUR CAR'S MESS, to see what you need. Nobody out here can do that for you.

Ideally the cluster you get needs to be from a V8 car. Otherwise you'll get various mysteriously weird readings. The gauges will "work", but not read right.

Whether the computer is there or not is irrelevant and immaterial. The gauges and other necessary functions are not involved with that in any manner way shape form or fashion. The only difference that makes is, you'll have to use all non-computer-controlled engine parts (distributor with vacuum advance specifically), and you'll have to use a mechanical fuel pump or a pressure regulator. The specific motor you put it in it is also irrelevant and immaterial to the matter at hand: a temp gauge or oil pressure gauge sending unit is the same regardless. As long as you stick with a halfway normal motor anyway. A Chevy small block 350 for example would fall into this category.

First thing you need to do about the wiring however, remains, and will continue to remain in spite of "poor student" BS, GET THE FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL FOR YOUR CAR.

This applies even if you attempt the Painless type of approach. After all, you STILL have to hook up whatever harness you get, to whatever is left of the factory one. The only way you're going to have that information is out of the Factory Service Manual.

If you're not willing to take your own fate into your own hands to even that minor extent, sell the car to The Next Greater Fool. You have no business with a car in this condition, even if you got it FOR FREE, if you're not willing to lay off the "Internet, fix my car for me NOW" crap and APPLY YOURSELF to the matter at hand, using your newly acquired Factory Service Manual.

In case I forgot to mention it, the ONE THING you need right now, is the Factory Service Manual for your car. The one thing you DON'T need right now, is useless Internet posts.

 

Then it seems we are the same, as I have stated I have a manual. Yes a FACTORY one. the kind that have bowties going diagonally down the side. And yes, I am indeed aware hack jobs do have differences. I kinda had that part previously figured out. What ive really been looking for is a link to where someone has done the swap I aim to, or hearing from one who has done the swap so maybe I could pick up a helpful tip, or maybe insight on my other questions such as, how do I identify the cluster I have? seeing as you dont have much to offer other than "gEt A sHoP MaNuAl" and anger (on this thread at least), I do please ask to stop writing essays so I may be able to easily find a helpful post.

ONCE AGAIN, my main question is if somebody knows of a thread where somebody did a similar thing, I would be very appreciative for a link. thats it. not another rant of the same crap, please.

 

Good luck...

 

I don't have a link but I did the same so I will say again.

Step 1 go to autozone and get sensors to match your gauge cluster ( year, make, model, trim and gauge range)
Step 2 using the service manual find the correct wire under the hood and extend / repair it then connect it to the sensor (You can probably test the wire by grounding it and watching hte gauge.)
Step 3 make sure gauges are functional
Step 4 use a V8 tach or modify the V6 tach for a V8 pulse configuration. Look in electronics forum.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/elec...meter-fix.html

 

He doesn't want to use his service manual. He just wants to meet other people who have done the same swap. He's made this very clear...

 

Didnt say I wasnt gonna use it? . . . I just said it didnt happen to tell me how to check the gauge cluster model, which I believe would be a very key part of doing anything. its not like I asked anyone to tell me what my engine bay looked like on the internet . . . just had a few novice questions . . .

 

How about posting a pic of the cluster so we might be able to identify it.
Or just buy one from a known V8 car that interchanges with your year model.

 

Strangely enough I figured it out from a little piece of paper that was in the cluster when i took it apart, thank you anyways though

 

You could just grab wiring from another car. That would be easies!

Or you could just save up a bit and make your own gauge pod wit maybe glow shift, auto meter etc gauges......... auto meter is ridiculously priced though.

 

Reading responses like these to a kid who is trying to learn about cars is what I hate about these forums. The snarky responses are not needed. State what you want to tell him and leave it at that. People here range from beginners to professionals. Some of you act like you weren't in his place at some point in your life.

 

You mean like your snarky, self-important post here ^ ?
He was given logical and truthful answers and did not like them, and acted like a spoiled brat.
And since you hate these forums, feel free to go elsewhere...

 

That about sums it up.

 

you are right. my bad. in fact, you are always right. you didn't do anything wrong; i did.

hey kid, don't you ever post anything again unless you do what you are told. in fact, just get rid of the car. you don't deserve it.

there, hopefully this will appease the supreme beings...