1966 Barracuda Dash Bezel Restomod

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Robert Sweeney

1966 Plymouth Barracuda
Joined
Dec 22, 2018
Messages
67
Reaction score
58
Location
Georgia
Good morning,
I similarly copied SSVDP’s DIY dash bezel forum and wanted to give the proper recognition as it’s well deserved.
I took a slightly different route, but overall followed his thread. I pulled the bezel originally to perform the MAD Bypass but later found out many of the wires and or circuit boards weren’t working as they should. I am building this car ultimately for my four year old daughter to one day have and overall I’m making it my own so that she has a unique ‘66 barracuda. That being said here’s what I did:
I decided I wanted the stock bezel as I love trying to keep the car as original as possible but also customized and more modern. I know; it’s a very hard balance to master and I’m no master at all. Using the stock bezel I dismantled the stock gauges as most either didn’t work or the the wires were cut or the circuit board portion was bad, and I sanded it down. Similar to SSVDP I painted mine: silver center (that was a pain, as the paint did not want to stick) black interlaced line, with a candy red board ( the exterior of the car is going to be painted Black Cherry Pearl). I followed up the paint with a clear coat. I then ordered Autometer American Muscle Series gauges to replicate the exact gauges that are stock: water temp, fuel, speedometer, tach (non-vaccum), oil press, and volt.
I did have to Dremel out the stock gauge holes to fit the new gauges since the speedometer and tach have slanted inserts and the other four smaller gauges were ever so slightly bigger than the original holes. But after Dremeling and sanding the gauges slide in easily. I used Autometer’s wiring harness to wrap up the job since it’s prelabeled and extremely easy to install. Additionally, I added two leds to the bezel and spliced in turn signals since the ‘66 didn’t have them. It’s not perfect, probably should have made a few measurements and saved myself the noticeable offset on those turn signal bulbs, but I can live with it. The harness kit came with everything I needed although I did opt to use heat shrink butt splices and spade connectors to make and future job a bit easier and the overall product a little more “professional”.
At the end of the day, I love the work I did, I know it’s not for everyone. When the car gets out of the paint booth with the black cherry paint, I feel that this dash will pull the outside of that car into the inside. Especially if I end up swapping out the citron interior for black interior as I want to do.

either way, please let me know what you think of the work!

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Very nicely done. I am using a complete 66 Barracuda dash in my 65 Dart since the Barracuda cluster had the oil pressure gauge and the 65 Dart didn’t. I was also considering going with aftermarket gauges like you did and ultimately decided to get Dakota Digital do their digital conversion

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I just had to create an account to chime in on this! Those dashboard look diamond! I'm in middle of swapping '66 Barracuda dash on my '65 Valiant, and I'm also planning on retrofitting modern gauges at the same time, so I'd like to ask for some tips and pointers.

Robert are the speedo and tach 5" gauges? How did you secure (all of the) gauges in place? Did you modify and keep the metal frame in the dash, or just attach the gauges on the plastic cover and then bolt the cover back in car?
 
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I also noticed that on Roberts solution the new gauges are on top of the plastic cover, and on Dartmans dash the new gauges are under the plastic, so I would like to ask same questions for Dartman as well! (What size, how they are secured, is the metal frame still in there..)
Basically I'm interested in any piece of information which could help my on my own project :)
 
I just had to create an account to chime in on this! Those dashboard look diamond! I'm in middle of swapping '66 Barracuda dash on my '65 Valiant, and I'm also planning on retrofitting modern gauges at the same time, so I'd like to ask for some tips and pointers.

Robert are the speedo and tach 5" gauges? How did you secure (all of the) gauges in place? Did you modify and keep the metal frame in the dash, or just attach the gauges on the plastic cover and then bolt the cover back in car?

My gauges are fit in fairly tight. I opened up the originally gauge holes just enough to squeeze the gauges in there. Mostly held in by friction. I believe the only one I have to put a support bracket on was the speedometer.

I did keep the metal backing, I did have modify it in some places by drilling out the back of the metal to ensure no contacts touched. But the gauges were too heavy for me to feel comfortable with only using the plastic.

Yes the tach and the speedometer are 5”
 
Thanks for the info! I'm contemplating between having 5" speedo and tach on the outside like yours, or having 3-3/8" gauges under the plastic. I assume all the small gauges are 2-1/16" and not 2-5/8" ?
 
Thanks for the info! I'm contemplating between having 5" speedo and tach on the outside like yours, or having 3-3/8" gauges under the plastic. I assume all the small gauges are 2-1/16" and not 2-5/8" ?
The smaller gauges are 2-1/16”.

It’s all you and your car, make it yours!
 
I still need to think about it. I'd rather have the 5" gauges just for better readability, but sadly it looks like Autometer doesn't offer any 5" which would have good ranges for my needs. 3-3/8" seems to have more options and gauges that would better suite my needs so I might have to go with those.
 
Hard for me to believe this thread is more than a year old and I never commented in/on it.
Awesome!
 
5" just took a tiny bit of Dremel work to fit
How did you secure the big gauges on place? Are they attached to the metal frame of the dash?

Seeing those pictures made me make up my mind, that I'm going with 5" gauges as well. The fitment for the original gauge opening is just too perfect. My plan was to use all Sport-Comp gauges, but I noticed that Designer Black series have tachometer with correct range for my Valiant. Now I just need to choose speedometer that I dislike least :lol:
 
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How did you secure the big gauges on place? Are they attached to the metal frame of the dash?

Seeing those pictures made me make up my mind, that I'm going with 5" gauges as well. The fitment for the original gauge opening is just too perfect. My plan was to use all Sport-Comp gauges, but I noticed that Designer Black series have tachometer with correct range for my Valiant. Now I just need to choose speedometer that I dislike least :lol:
have to be honest I don't know how they're fastened in - my mechanic built this for me - I do know that the metal frame is gone because the gauges are so lightweight it's not needed - the speedo doesn't use the heavy cable
 
Well, my project is slowly advancing as well. I have already received the "new" dashboard, and I'm now negotiating a deal for the gauges with local Autometer dealer. Currently it looks like I'm going to go way off the original plan, and get a set of Ultra-Lite series gauges.
 
Doing mine now. Going with AutoMeter Mopar Classic for the small gauges, and AutoMeter Designer 5" for the Speedo and Tach. I'm also using the AutoMeter harness and Summit GPS sender. Molotow pen for touching up the chrome.

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