I've decided that my first item on my list of restorations/repairs to my 84 Trans Am is to fix all the interior wiring issues. Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be much outside of relocating the cigarette lighter/dc power adapter to it's original location (currently attached directly *underneath* the steering wheel), fixing the power mirrors, getting the interior heating/cooling controls working again, and replacing the instrument panel.

The instrument panel currently has no working temperature gauge, although there is an aftermarket gauge which has been installed to compensate for this. I also noticed the oil pressure gauge is not working either, and the speedometer seems a little finicky about displaying how fast I'm going: it kind of flutters a bit, making it a little tricky to determine actual speed.

IMO, it seems like just up and replacing the whole thing is probably the best option. However, I'd rather not just replace old gauges with other old gauges which might not work/be accurate/only show my speed up to 85mph .

I'd ideally like to maybe have an all digital readout, but I haven't had any luck tracking down a digital instrument panel that is would for sure fit an 84 Trans Am, OEM or otherwise. Does anyone have any recommendations for where to find a digital instrument cluster I could install? Barring that, what would my best aftermarket options be for either digital or analog gauges?

Thanks!

 

Well, it seems to me that you wouldn't have a problem replacing the Speedometer and Tachometer. It's the other gauges that are the problem. What's the hole size on all 4? Is it 3 3/8 or 5"? The only thing i can think of is to take off your Bezel and put it on some Construction paper. Trace the outline, bolt holes, and first two gauge holes in Pen. from there, you can lay out the rest of the Gauges the way you want them. All you would have to do then is get a piece of sheet metal and cut out your new bezel using your template. If you can use tinsnips on the new bezel, it's too thin. You're gonna want 1/16 for a good strong bezel. You'll have to score a Bandsaw and put a Hole saw on a Drill press, but you can make a nice brushed finnish with a Wire cone and a drill.

 

Thanks for the advice, I may try that if all else fails. Ideally, I'd like to find an existing instrument panel, although I don't know if any of the later model Firebird digital instrument panels would fit/be compatable with my '84.

Are there any other options for replacing gauges? If not, any recommendations as to after market brands and prices?

Thanks!

 

With an 84 T/A you'll have a mechanical speedometer. I just picked one up from an 85, the whole cluster with ALL gaugues, for $20.00 on ebay. I'm going to send it off to a company called autoinstruments to have it reconditioned and rebuilt.

The speedometer fluttering is due to the components inside "drying out" and not spinning freely. They bind up a bit causing the needle to "bounce". Mine does this, sometimes in excess of 15mph in either direction. If you want a picture of what an 84 dash "should" look like, let me know and I'll take one and send it to you. Just PM me your email address. As for the other gauges not working, could be that they aren't hooked up or they've been disconnected from their sensors in the engine bay. Make sure all of your sensors are hooked up properly. From there, it's a wire hunt to see where the disconnect is. Temp sending unit is on the drivers side between the 2 and 4 cylinders. The oil pressure sending unit is on the back of the motor, drivers side, near the distributor. Should look like a black "dome" thing with four wires coming out of the top of it. The tach will be hooked up to a white connector wire on the distributor cap itself. I hope this helps!

 

The following may be food for thought:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/inte...eedo-woes.html

JamesC

 

So, basically, if I want to convert my gauges to digital ones, I'll still need to stay with an analog speedometer? I've seen and like the look of the Autometer Sport-Comp Digital gauges, but if the speedometer has to remain analog, it would probably look pretty out of place to have an analog speedometer and every other gauge as digital.

As for the other gauges, I know the temperature gauge went bad, because the previous owner told me that was the reason for installing the aftermarket one. As far as the oil pressure gauge, I'm reasonably certain it's bad because when it turns on, it shoots all the way over to beyond full. I'm planning on taking out the instrument panel one of these weekends to check the wiring, so I'll find out for sure then.

 

82-85 T/A's and Firebirds all had mechanical speedometers. There is no provision for an electrical input speedometer like on the 86-92 models. You could modify it but that will take some work on your part. The other gauges all respond to electrical input. If you want to look at a digital dash, it will require quite a bit of work on your part. some of the later T/A's had the digital readouts so one of those dashes may work for you. Also, Dakota digital is a good place to start looking for digital redout speedo's, tach's and other gaugues. Good luck!

 

I have an 84 T/A. My speedo was twitchy and my tach was reading backwards. None of my other gauges worked. I found the problem was the instrument cluster wasn't screwed in all the way. I tightened it up and everything worked. Didn't matter though, I'm in the middle of custom making a new panel with Auto Meter gauges out of plexi glass wrapped in leather fabric. Sounds weird, but it looks good in my head. I'll post pics when I'm done if it turns out ok.