jackfit
Well-known member
We all know how painful taking out and putting in the midyear dash cluster can be. How many years do some of us drive with blown cluster lights, turn lights, speedometer troubles etc. We all avoid fixing them if we can .
I am reinstalling my 66 cluster, (3 time in 2 months) (fix one thing and something else breaks) new dash harness, the works. I began thinking about what the main problem is .. Well we all know that putting in the cluster lights is the problem..... All sixteen wires are too short. Someone jokingly said in a recent post on cluster installation, that if the wires were longer things would be easer.
Attaching the gages and switches is easy. It is the lights that kill you. Assuming you remove the steering column to give you room to work.
Well it was 5 degrees today and I decided to try something. I took my new dash harness and sat by the fire, spent 2 hours splicing in 5 inches of color coded wire to each light. I used solder connections, not crimps. It is important to make all the wire extentions the same length ( 4 or 5 inches ) no matter original length of bulb wire, so that you can plug all the lights in with the dash parallel to the console with 4 or more inches of easy working room to plug away. You could also install your tach cable if you had disconnected it from you distributor. Just lube the grommet and pull housing cable to cluster. Not as easy for speed cable unless you have disconnected it from transmission.
Put harness in car, put dash on my knees, face down, bottom facing firewall or ( you can use support rods screwed into console )(see photos in post down this thread) , plugged in all the lights without a problem. Gently turned dash up and into position, screwed in dash screws.
Got on my back, plugged in switch's , gauges and oil gauge , speed and tack cable. Job was very smooth. No cut hands. GM mass produced the car and much of the assembly was done in stages with better access to areas. Harness attached to cluster on bench.
Maybe it is time for the "Harness Manufactures" to make an ""Easy Custom Harness" with longer length wires for the thousands of corvette owners who drive and fix their cars. We don't want the " Original " it was and is, not good for service. We want a modern update that will allow us to continue to enjoy our cars. This will encourage the changing of dash harnesses because of the ease of installation. Corvette owners will be happier with lights and gauges working . Cars will be safer with new wires. Car owners can choose between " Exact Reproduction "" or "" Easy Install Harness ""
If you are thinking about dash work, the longer wires may make your task less painful. I did it and it works great.
Jack
Jack View attachment 18952
View attachment 18953
View attachment 18954
I am reinstalling my 66 cluster, (3 time in 2 months) (fix one thing and something else breaks) new dash harness, the works. I began thinking about what the main problem is .. Well we all know that putting in the cluster lights is the problem..... All sixteen wires are too short. Someone jokingly said in a recent post on cluster installation, that if the wires were longer things would be easer.
Attaching the gages and switches is easy. It is the lights that kill you. Assuming you remove the steering column to give you room to work.
Well it was 5 degrees today and I decided to try something. I took my new dash harness and sat by the fire, spent 2 hours splicing in 5 inches of color coded wire to each light. I used solder connections, not crimps. It is important to make all the wire extentions the same length ( 4 or 5 inches ) no matter original length of bulb wire, so that you can plug all the lights in with the dash parallel to the console with 4 or more inches of easy working room to plug away. You could also install your tach cable if you had disconnected it from you distributor. Just lube the grommet and pull housing cable to cluster. Not as easy for speed cable unless you have disconnected it from transmission.
Put harness in car, put dash on my knees, face down, bottom facing firewall or ( you can use support rods screwed into console )(see photos in post down this thread) , plugged in all the lights without a problem. Gently turned dash up and into position, screwed in dash screws.
Got on my back, plugged in switch's , gauges and oil gauge , speed and tack cable. Job was very smooth. No cut hands. GM mass produced the car and much of the assembly was done in stages with better access to areas. Harness attached to cluster on bench.
Maybe it is time for the "Harness Manufactures" to make an ""Easy Custom Harness" with longer length wires for the thousands of corvette owners who drive and fix their cars. We don't want the " Original " it was and is, not good for service. We want a modern update that will allow us to continue to enjoy our cars. This will encourage the changing of dash harnesses because of the ease of installation. Corvette owners will be happier with lights and gauges working . Cars will be safer with new wires. Car owners can choose between " Exact Reproduction "" or "" Easy Install Harness ""
If you are thinking about dash work, the longer wires may make your task less painful. I did it and it works great.
Jack
Jack View attachment 18952
View attachment 18953
View attachment 18954
