A while ago I purchased these 1989 Firebird Formula 350 gauge set from a junkyard. Recently, while looking at the gauges, I noticed somethings that I didn't notice before that I now have questions about.

First, the pictures:






The gauges currently in my Firebird are the 120MPH version of this gauge set. My setup includes the shift light (For manuals) and the INFL REST light for that darn airbag. When I swap the new motor into my car, I was hoping to put these gauges in to keep the stock look.

If you look at the back of the gauges, you can see that there are holes where lights can go, but haven't been cut out by the factory. If I need these lights in the future, will I be able to cut the green plastic electrical sheet for lights, or will the car not care if they arent there.

Currently I am removing the airbag and plan on putting a TPi motor into my car, so I will have another computer and the airbag will be disconnected. When I plug in the new computer, will I need the wiring behind the dash as well, or will the new computer plug into the stock wiring and work.

I understand that if I plug this gauge setup into my car right now, that the tach will be off (please correct me if Im wrong), so thats why I havent just pluged in the gauges and tested them to see what worked and what didnt.

 

If you need lights in the future, you can cut them out, not sure though if the ecm will throw a code if they aren't hooked up.

You could also just swap tachs and swap the whole cluster in.

 

You mean swap the tach from my V6 into this cluster, and plug the whole cluster in? And it should work?

 

Yes. You might have to swap out the temperature/oil pressure gauge also. I have an earlier V6 guage that reads 0-80 for oil pressure, the newer v6 (like 92) oil pressure gauge doesn't even show numbers, not sure if those are 0-80 or 0-60.

You could also check which lights are missing and put them in to.

 

One thing I noticed is that on the bulbs that are currently installed, doesnt have green around it, Im guessing to allow for direct contact with the metal, how would I do this.

Also, I read somewhere that if you take the orange sleeves off the bulbs that it makes it brighter, is this true? Know anyone who has done this so I could possibly see what it looks like?

 

To get that green off, use sandpaper and expose the metal underneath.

I took off the orange sleeves and it didn't make them look much brighter, dont even know if it was noticeable. It looks better with them on, looked more orange. If you really want to make your gauges look better/brighter, then look into led bulbs. They sell them in any color on ebay.

 

Yeah I was looking into those, but at $5 a pop, and the fact that I need 9, that can add up pretty quickly. Here is where I saw them:

http://whitegauges.net/products_list.php?catID=4550
Four Point LED Lights 194

Never thought of using sandpaper, thanks.

Thanks for all your help, If I have any more questions, Ill post them here