69 Barracuda dash help/opinions

RedFish said
In OEM form the bezel is/was not removed without instruments and housing. Some portion of the original housing is probably still in there supporting these aftermarket instruments and the climate controller. So the wiring is the big difference. OEM had 2 harness connectors on printed circuit boards, 2 wires bolted onto the amp gauge and a speedometer cable. With the steering column lowered, the entire assembly comes out barely far enough to tilt face downward, disconnect and reconnect. You might actually have more slack in your aftermarket wiring than Chrysler provided.

I managed to get the tach loosened up first, by reaching up blind and unscrewing a clamp. Once that was pulled forward I reached through the tach hole (sounds dirty) to get the center fuel gauge completely out. The speedo was next. I have the gauges all pulled out of the bezel now, but the width of the gauges is about a half inch more than the opening they went in. As such, I can't get the bezel out until I can trace the wiring for each gauge and disconnect. It's such a mess, I might snip and label to be honest.

The lights in the dash for the indicators and the brights are glued, so I'll have to snip and label those. I also found a random little bulb back there that I think was for the cluster.

I'm gonna get a second opinion from a relative who has restored dashes and gauges soon. I think I'm going to fill the stock radio gap, smooth it down and put a black/chrome Barracuda script emblem over it. Then jam a bluetooth receiver in the glovey. If I can find a more classic looking gauge I'll do it.

Will post more as I go