guage bezel and instrument cluster for 77

[rustyfive-seven]

does anyone know if a 74 woodgrain guage bezel and 77 have same style woodgrain pattern? my 77 is pretty beat up and I cant tell from pics. also is a 74 instrument cluster with tach an easy swap? thanks!

[gmachinz]

No-different styles. And the 74 has amps, 77 is volts-so you'd need to change that over too.

[rustyfive-seven]

cool thanks, if I got the 74 cluster do you know if I could swap its gauges into my 77 housing so I could run my volts guage? or should I just find a later cluster?

[gmachinz]

You could with some re-wiring and re-pinning on the plug in.

[ray_mcavoy]

Ditto what gmachinz said. The GM sales literature describes the woodgrain pattern offered in 73 & 74 as a "dark walnut". While 77 used a lighter "chestnut" woodgain.

To deal with the ammeter vs. voltmeter issue, I think you could take the voltmeter out of your 77 and swap it into the 74 cluster. But it won't be a direct fit. The posts on the backs of the gauges fit into spring metal clips that in turn make contact with the printed circuit on the back of the cluster. And the orientation of those posts/clips is different for ammeter vs. voltmeter so you'd have to move/relocate one of those clips and add a short jumper wire to re-connect it to the printed circuit.

Also, be sure to test the tachometer before you go to the trouble of swapping the instrument cluster. The 73 - 75 tachometers had their control circuitry on a ceramic circuit board (located on the back of the tach assembly inside the cluster). The components on those boards were all sealed in a thick epoxy potting material, making repair nearly impossible. If the 74 tach doesn't work, a repair shop will most likely have to install a new control circuit.

[rustyfive-seven]

thank you guys! I appreciate it!