Can
I interchange dashboards between the different model
years?
What can be done about my broken dash
clock?
Why does only the "high"
fan/blower setting work?
Can I interchange dashboards
between the different model years?
Yes
- to an extent. The gauge clusters for the second
generation cars are pretty much the same. Dashes
from '70 to '76 are identical, but '77 to '78 models
have an extra ventilation opening in the middle. '79
and '80 models have a different instrument cluster
(flat cluster cover) and ventilation holes are in
the cluster opening. '81 is totally different from
the previous models. The only differences would be
in the numbers on the gauges. 1970s have a 150 MPH
speedo which dropped down to 130 in 1972. The tach
went from 8000 RPM to 7000 in 1972 also. In '80 the
speedo dropped down to 85 MPH.
The
cluster wires should work pretty much the same for
the speedometer cable The gauge cluster has just one
plug that goes into the back of it. You might have
to swap headlight switches though. If your old
switches work, just use them. If not, buy some new
ones.
Back
To Top
What can be done about my broken
dash clock?
Aftermarket
companies sell quartz version replacements, but they
run around $80. A company called Clockworks
(1-800-398-3040) will do a mechanical restoration
for $30 (quartz conversions from $59) with 24 hour
turnaround.
Back
To Top
Why does only the "high"
fan/blower setting work?
The
high setting is wired differently than the lower
ones. The coil- resistors (look like springs)
mounted in the evaporator box, are wired directly to
the switch in the car. For the high setting, GM
wants maximum current, with no loss due to the long
wiring run and the switch. So, they put a relay in
close to the blower motor. They probably didn't want
the hot resistors behind the dash (fire hazard) and
the long wire-runs to the switch don't matter if
you're slowing the motor down anyway. So they only
use the relay for the high position. If a blower
works on high, but none of the lows work, than that
half of the circuit has the problem. If it works on
low, but not on high, then it is probably the relay
or the wiring to/from the relay.
Back
To Top
|