Change the whole cluster LOL. Im finally done with this mod. My 89 cluster just couldnt do it for me anymore. I did not have Speedo or gas gauge working. I know i could of fixed the gas gauge easy but i felt like there must of been a better way. There is. Change out the 89 cluster to a 99-02 cluster and call it a program. I know of a few who have done this. Thought i would be another one. Everything works great like it should. I have a speedo now. Drove without one for 3years lol and didnt ever know how much gas i had. NOW I DO!!

I got the idea from LBC_camaro91 aka Mike. Without him i dont think i would have done this. Thanks LBC_Camaro91

 

Wow you think i could use that for a tbi or only work with a ls1 i like how it looks

 

Sorry bro. Its only works for an LSx motor. You could use a 97 LT1 cluster. the only thing that wont work is the speedo. it would have to be a VSS right into it. But thanks for the kind words

 

Oh, ok thanks if you don't mind me asking around how much have you spend to make your car a lsx swap i am thinking of doing that after i get some more experience.

 

Oh man...it might be cheaper now. But i think it spent around 5-6k. This includes Motor, Tranny, Computer, harness, fuel tank,Cats, Plus all the other parts to get the LSx swap working like it should

 

Nice job man!

very well done!

 

I did my LS1/T56 swap back in 2004, and I've been driving without a speedo all this time. This post just motivated me to get 'er finished.

I scored an '01 Z28 instrument panel from eBay, still have my donor interior harness boxed up in the attic from the swap project, I'm doing this!

Thanks for the inspiration!

 

Oh i already have about $2k on a 350 and 700r4 i should have gone the lsx way instead

 

Thats a really clean setup. Ive never seen the newer cluster in the stock dash

 

gotta agree - great job getting that new cluster into the old dash.

 

thanks guys. It wasnt really that hard at all. The only hard part if anything was cutting out the cover. Thanks it. Wiring it up to was a little stress full but fun. I had to extend all the dash wires for a easy install.

 

Which part you referring to as the cover that needs to be cut?

 

the ABS plastic that covers the gaps in the dash. Its the part the looks like our original cluster cover. Take your time and dont rush it. Really easy to make a mistake.

 

The black plastic fascia...I see where you opened it up to follow the borders of the LS1 instrumentation pieces. Glad it won't involve hacking up the inside of the dash.

The only glitch I can see is my in-tank sending unit. I'm running a 3rd-gen tank and 0-90 Ohm sender, so it looks like I'll have to play games to get a signal to the LS1 PCM. Present thinking is to add a 40 Ohm (or thereabouts) resistor in series, then reroute the circuit to the PCM.

I'll only have 130 Ohms at FULL, which will probably put the LS1 fuel gauge at ~1/2, but EMPTY will be empty.

(dropping the tank isn't something I'm interested in doing again any time soon...)

 

Well you do have to cut up the inside of the dash in order to get it to fit. I mean this is something that once you start doing there is no turning back lol. Well i take that back. You can turn back if you wanted to just wont have the all 8 holes to bolt to. The whole reason why i did this cluster swap was to get my fuel gauge to work and speedo as well. I figure it would be the cheapest way of doing it.

As far as your Fuel issue, im not sure. If i were you i would put in the LS1 sender and have it read the right way. My 3rd gen fuel gauge would never read half. Only full every time. Even though it was suppose to read half when empty. its all up to you my friend. But for me, I really happy with it!

 

Can you see the top of the speedo and tach from the driving position? How deep did you go,to the back of the dash or did you cut that out and go all the way back to the part that the steering column bolts to? Do your steering wheel spokes obstruct the view of the 4 smaller gauges? Now that you have them working do they all sweep when you start the car? Nice job using the older dash.

 

yes i can see everything just fine. Im tall so i like to have my seat reclined back more that usual. Everything works just fine. Cutting the dash cluster area was not that bad. Once you know where and what you have to cut, it gets really easy from there. i had to use 2 washers on both sides in order to get the steering wheel column in place. I figure thats not bad I never noticed the gauges sweep but they all work like they should. According to HPtuners software lol

 

My dash cluster arrived on Friday, today things get rolling. I'm mapping out the pins from C207 on the 3rd gen side, as well as LS1 connectors C220 and C230 which I have zip-tied under the dash.

I harvested the dash connector from my '00 truck donor harness as well as plenty of wire, fortunately the truck dash wiring is an exact duplicate of the F-body down to the wire color and pin location.

Before I make the plastic cuts to fit the LS1 cluster I'll be testing the wiring, hopefully a good progress report to follow later this afternoon.

 

I mocked up the LS1 cluster in my dash, and decided to abort. I can see where the cuts would be needed on the dash interior and for what I'm getting...and the problem w/ my fuel gauge it creates...it's not viable.

With my 3rd gen cluster I have everything but speedo and odometer. I'll work on fitting an Autometer speedo instead.

The LS1 cluster as well as the 34-pin electrical connecter and ~1' of wire will be in the classifieds next week if anyone's interested.

 

wow that was fast man LOL!! good luck with speedo swap! Im sure it will look nice once your done.

 

The LS1 instrument cluster and the GM connector w/ wires are up for sale in the Classifieds if anyone is interested.

 

That is a pretty slick set up. Definately an out of the box thinking to a irratating problem

 

Its seems i have been doing a lot of that lately lol. I love this setup. People are dumbfounded when they see this in person.

 

My ABS INOP and AIR BAG lights are on. Dose anybody else have this problem? Has anybody figured out how to turn them off?

 

i just took out those LED's. Used a soldering iron, took out the solder and pulled the LED out and your done. Easy fix

 

Thanks man for giving credit but all the hard work goes to you my friend. Really nice Job i must say.

How do you like it?

If you dont mind me asking what kind of plastic did you use to cover up the wholes? and where did you bolt it down too. Since my camaro is a 91 the dash set up is a little different then yours.

I have to do the same thing with the brake light and air bag light i just havent gotten around to do it.

Keep up the good work.

-Mike

 

thanks man! I used plexi glass then some ABS plastic. I made some brackets for the top and used some screws for the bottom.

 

Do you have a write-up on how to do the cluster? I still haven't decided which cluster or dash I'm going to use... but I may need your help with my swap when I get ready, mostly just the small things involved with the swap.

 

no i dont. But i did make a wire diagram that you can have. Let me know whenever man. Im only a phone call away and even 1hr away lol.

 

In my opinion the 91-92 dashes work best for this application. I made a simple bracket out of aluminum to hold the gauge cluster in place and some thin black embossed aluminum for a trim piece to fill the void between the new style cluster and the 91-92 dash plastics.

 

I'm gonna have to take you up on that offer, I'm still looking for a donor LS1/T56 at the moment

 

can I get that diagram, please?