Starting My restoration on a 65 Barracuda...1st question Instrument Cluster Removal?

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JeffreyLee

JeffreyLee

1965 Barracuda
Joined
Sep 20, 2017
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meridian Id
I am just beginning a mostly cosmetic restoration on my 65 Barracuda, I need to diagnose dash light problems, hanging dash wires, new bulbs, rusty, crusty fuse box, broken steering wheel collar and generally clean things up. Probably install a new electronic type voltage reducer. First step....remove instrument cluster to see behind the dash....Do i need to remove the steering wheel? Cant get past the 4 dash screws and stuck already! I'm gonna need your guys' expertise! Thanks
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You need to remove steering column support. You do not need to remove steering wheel.
 
You have to drop the steering colum. On the bottom of the dash, by the collum, are two7/16, or 1/2 in bolts, they hold the round bracket that holds the collum up. Loosen them up, to where you can lift the cluster out. If you still can't move it, take the bolts all the way out. You might have to loosen the three large bolts, down on the firewall where the collum goes thru. Only loosen the three large bolts. This will let you move the collum around to remove the cluster. Don't forget the speedometer cable. I always put an ole towel around the collum to keep it from getting scratched.
 
JeffreyLee said:
I am just beginning a mostly cosmetic restoration on my 65 Barracuda, I need to diagnose dash light problems, hanging dash wires, new bulbs, rusty, crusty fuse box, broken steering wheel collar and generally clean things up. Probably install a new electronic type voltage reducer. First step....remove instrument cluster to see behind the dash....Do i need to remove the steering wheel? Cant get past the 4 dash screws and stuck already! I'm gonna need your guys' expertise! Thanks View attachment 1715093272 View attachment 1715093271 View attachment 1715093273
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What everyone else said, but may I add...don't "raunch" on the plugs ( electrical connectors), if they seem hard to come off, spray a "LITTLE" WD40 at the base of the plugs using a "red tube" applicator, let it set for a little bit and try again.
 
BTW what's under the hood? Looks like your seats are in great shape. How long have you had it? And welcome to the forum.
Norm
Two 65 Barracudas.
 
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circlepilot said:
BTW what's under the hood? Looks like your seats are in great shape. How long have you had it? And welcome to the forum.
Norm
Two 65 Barracudas.
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Thanks Norm,
This is a remarkably straight 1965 cuda. No rust, no dents, automatic, 75000 miles. Just needs some love
With what I think is a 318
The block casting number is pm318r
The intake number is 3512100 which I think belongs to a 340....so I guess it's a 318
Had been sitting for 5 years when I found it 2 weeks ago
Jumped it, turned the key and vrooom! Fired right up
I'm not real experienced with engine work but everything seems pretty straightforward...topped off the fluids and engine sounds perfect to me!
I think I can handle it with help from my new mopar friends.
 
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JeffreyLee said:
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Thanks Norm,
This is a remarkably straight 1965 cuda. No rust, no dents, automatic, 75000 miles. Just needs some love
With what I think is a 318
The block casting number is pm318r
The intake number is 3512100 which I think belongs to a 340....so I guess it's a 318
Had been sitting for 5 years when I found it 2 weeks ago
Jumped it, turned the key and vrooom! Fired right up
I'm not real experienced with engine work but everything seems pretty straightforward...topped off the fluids and engine sounds perfect to me!
I think I can handle it with help from my new mopar friends.
Click to expand...

Got the instrument cluster out. Thanks for the tips. Multipin plug came out without much trouble. Tried to clean off what I thought was dust from the front faces of the gauges and it looks like a haze on some faces rather than dust. Any thoughts on restoring the black color without hurting the white lettering? BTW, tried to start the car with the instruments off and no go. I assume that is normal? One of the guys I work with dad is a big Mopar guy with a really nice GTX clone. He told me that one of the first things to do is to change the voltage reducer to an electronic one rather than the stock type which is known to be a problem. Do you guys agree? Is it the rectangular box on the back of the cluster board? what part do you recommend i use in its place? That's enough questions for one night... I am really looking forward to this adventure.
 
OK FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT, "the car wouldn't start with inst' panel removed" You need to know that that big red wire to the ALT gauge is firecracker hot at all times. All the power inside the car goes through this gauge. At this point I'll say you're very lucky there haven't been sparks flying, fusible link blown, etc... Try to remember that damn near any procedure you read in a service manual begins with the same Step 1 statement, "Remove negative battery cable". Anyway... Attach ring terminals of that red and the black together ( 10-24 nut and bolt works ), insulate well, reconnect battery and the car should start ( if its not column shift ).
The simplest solution to the gauge screen appearance is premiumdashdecals.com assuming they have for your model. To elaborate... you could dremel buff the screens to bring them back some but you would need to remove them ( spinning buffer would catch and feck up the needles ). In the end the screens would be glossy which isn't correct,,, and that applies to only 2 of those screens shown. That ALT gauge screen isn't going to come back. Sunlight has taken its toll on that one.
And yes the plugged in box is the instrument voltage limiter. You could replace it with new reproduction ( Oriellys I think ) or any one of several different solid state regulators out there.
 
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Great advice here. I cant add much here,do like the car. Have one the same color,at least it was.
Havent started on it yet,but plans are to get it back up and running.
Will be monitoring your progress.
 
RedFish said:
OK FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT, "the car wouldn't start with inst' panel removed" You need to know that that big red wire to the ALT gauge is firecracker hot at all times. All the power inside the car goes through this gauge. At this point I'll say you're very lucky there haven't been sparks flying, fusible link blown, etc... Try to remember that damn near any procedure you read in a service manual begins with the same Step 1 statement, "Remove negative battery cable". Anyway... Attach ring terminals of that red and the black together ( 10-24 nut and bolt works ), insulate well, reconnect battery and the car should start ( if its not column shift ).
The simplest solution to the gauge screen appearance is premiumdashdecals.com assuming they have for your model. To elaborate... you could dremel buff the screens to bring them back some but you would need to remove them ( spinning buffer would catch and feck up the needles ). In the end the screens would be glossy which isn't correct,,, and that applies to only 2 of those screens shown. That ALT gauge screen isn't going to come back. Sunlight has taken its toll on that one.
And yes the plugged in box is the instrument voltage limiter. You could replace it with new reproduction ( Oriellys I think ) or any one of several different solid state regulators out there.
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I did spend a good deal of my professional life in the car audio business, so I recognize the big red wire being hot
I was careful removing the wire and immediately taped up the ends of both, so no sparks flying yet! Thanks for the advice on the gauges.
 
JeffreyLee said:
View attachment 1715093317 View attachment 1715093316 View attachment 1715093315
Thanks Norm,
This is a remarkably straight 1965 cuda. No rust, no dents, automatic, 75000 miles. Just needs some love
With what I think is a 318
The block casting number is pm318r
The intake number is 3512100 which I think belongs to a 340....so I guess it's a 318
Had been sitting for 5 years when I found it 2 weeks ago
Jumped it, turned the key and vrooom! Fired right up
I'm not real experienced with engine work but everything seems pretty straightforward...topped off the fluids and engine sounds perfect to me!
I think I can handle it with help from my new mopar friends.
Click to expand...

Man!, looks like you scored a great find. Stay at it...this kind of stuff keeps you young (at heart).
Norm
 
I left out the part that Redfish said. "Disconnect the battery!" when messing around with the gage cluster, how true! On the faded alternator gage...try a "little" (again WD40) on a Q-tip and work the black background, ( although temporary) would help, there is also a product called "Wipe new," I believe a little on a Q-tip would be a little longer lasting. I would experiment a little on the edge of the gage, first. Norm
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I want to do this right, so I ordered the new gauge decals...45 bucks. Since the car is not original, original...I plan to do mostly a cosmetic restoration and try my hand at painting the car. I want to do a few mechanical things to pick things up a bit like adding an aluminum intake, new plugs, wires, electronic ignition? And maybe headers (although that looks like a tight space to work around). New brakes (probably not the disc brake upgrade). I've got to stop somewhere. Any general advice on my "laundry list"? The response from Mopar nation has been awesome! Its really cool that a bunch of guys will take their valuable time to help someone that don't even know. Hopefully my posts will help the next guy do his thing. Thanks
 
Before you spend money on the gauge faces, try some windex on a soft no lint rag, or paper towel. They just might clean up. Be carefull of the indicator needle.
 
Don't scrimp on the brakes. If you don't want to upgrade to disks, go with all new "drum stuff," drums, shoes, springs and brake cylinders. All of it is available through Rock Auto, and not real expensive. That was the first thing I did on mine. Motor mounts and shock absorbers really make a difference. As old as she is...new ball joints tie rod ends, idler arm and pitman arm would really make it nicer, adjust the steering box also. Again, not real expensive if you do all of the work yourself.
Norm
 
Best to know the gauges work before installing the screen decals. The 2 thermal gauges should read 20 ohms or 13 ohms across their posts and you just might have one of each ( I forget all the places where 13 ohm fuel gauges are ). Your amp gauge looks centered so that's a good sign. I would check the magnet for cling ons anyway and clear with compressed air.
Then repaint needles if you wish. Masking with aluminum foil is easier than removing the needles although you'll likely remove the speedo needle to install that decal. Look for instructions before pulling on that needle since some of them have a dab of epoxy to counter balance that can pop right off if the needle is bent there. Anyway...
Correct water base acrylic needle paint can be found at ebay. Tiny bottle @ approx' 7 bucks contains a lot more paint than you'll ever need.
 
RedFish said:
Best to know the gauges work before installing the screen decals. The 2 thermalt gauges should read 20 ohms or 13 ohms across their posts and you just might have one of each ( I forget all the places where 13 ohm fuel gauges are ). Your amp gauge looks centered so that's a good sign. I would check the magnet for cling ons anyway and clear with compressed air.
Then repaint needles if you wish. Masking with aluminum foil is easier than removing the needles although you'll likely remove the speedo needle to install that decal. Look for instructions before pulling on that needle since some of them have a dab of epoxy to counter balance that can pop right off if the needle is bent there. Anyway...
Correct water base acrylic needle paint can be found at ebay. Tiny bottle @ approx' 7 bucks contains a lot more paint than you'll ever need.
Click to expand...
Thanks redfish! You are a wealth of information..
 
Forget headers, just run duals down there with 2 new muffler shop headpipes off the manifolds. Run a crossover tube between the duals just under the trans tailshaft. You can mod your trans cross member to accept another passenger side exhaust pipe. Just cut a semicircle where you thin you need it and weld in a band to close the wound. I just saw a white guage decal set on ebay for our cars. Don't clean the plastic lens' with any ammonia based glass cleaner like winded as it will craze the plastic or will bring out any invisible crazing. Just use mild soapy water and an old rag, I scratched one lens using microfiber...? You'll never get the dash back to its metallic chrome shine so whatever you do to it, just carry it over to the middle guage trims. When you rehab your drum btakes, upgrade to the dual reservoir 67 MC. It's just a plug on the rear port of the existing distribution block and an extension of the rear line up to the new reservoir.
 
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pishta said:
Forget headers, just run duals down there with 2 new muffler shop headpipes off the manifolds. Run a crossover tube between the duals just under the trans tailshaft. You can mod your trans cross member to accept another passenger side exhaust pipe. Just cut a semicircle where you thin you need it and weld in a band to close the wound. I just saw a white guage decal set on ebay for our cars. Don't clean the plastic lens' with any ammonia based glass cleaner like winded as it will craze the plastic or will bring out any invisible crazing. Just use mild soapy water and an old rag, I scratched one lens using microfiber...? You'll never get the dash back to its metallic chrome shine so whatever you do to it, just carry it over to the middle guage trims. When you rehab your drum btakes, upgrade to the dual reservoir 67 MC. It's just a plug on the rear port of the existing distribution block and an extension of the rear line up to the new reservoir.
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Thank you for your response. The car already has dual exhaust. I've pretty much resigned myself to leaving it alone, maybe I'll wrap the exhaust pipes under the hood to make them look more attractive. Right now they are crusty and rusty looking. I will do something with the brakes....I have received several recommendations to leave the drums (refurbished of course) The dual reservoir sounds like a good idea. Are you saying that there is already an input for dual lines in the distribution block (not a proportioning valve)? Just a passive connector. I spent hours and hours cleaning off what I assumed was silver spray paint from the dash panel which was all faded. Finally got the last flecks of silver paint off the surfaces. It was a bear of a job...tedious. I have a beautifully clean yellowish plastic dash piece now. That is not its original finish? Sounds like that surface was chrome covered....Hmmm?
 
yeah, it was vacuum deposition chromed from the factory but a good silver/chrome spray paint over a black base will look good. if you have a very steady hand, you can get ~1/8" silver metallic mylar tape and apply it to the border and framework of the gauge to make a shiny accent. Or you can plunk down >$260 for a new one which may not even have lenses.
 
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