90 omni gauge cluster in a 86 dash

[lengel]

Anybody put a 1990 omni gauge cluster in a 86 omni dash before? Will the cluster use the same mounting holes? Are the outer trim bezels the same between 90 and the later dashes? Any other thing I need to know about the swap?

Thanks for your help!
Adam

[supercrackerbox]

I've got one in my '86 Charger, and the short answer to your first three questions is No. It's been several years since I did the swap, but I think only two of the stock mounting holes actually lined up. I think I had to use a few short self-tapping screws to mount the bezel. The bezel is different from the old one, and the clear plastic cover is different too because the trip reset button is in a different location.

Other things to note:

You'll want to have wiring diagrams for each car, as you'll have to swap the later style connectors into your harness, and I don't think many of the colors matched. Just splice each circuit from your old harness to the corresponding wire on the new connectors. **On that note, make sure you get the connectors for the new cluster!** I highly recommend using solder and heat shrink on each wire, as you won't have a lot of room behind the cluster for any kind of crimp connectors.

You will have one wire left over, the one that feeds your original oil gauge. The 1990 cluster does not have an oil gauge. I prefer an aftermarket one anyway. I just sealed up the end of that wire and left it.

The 1990 cluster is slightly larger and deeper than your factory cluster. I had to do some trimming in the area where the speedometer cable feeds through (won't need the cable anymore anyway) and I had to make some dents in the HVAC plumbing to get it to fit properly. For the HVAC plumbing, I simply heated the area up slightly with a small torch and pushed it in.

The 1990 speedometer has a physical internal stop at 100mph, so it won't wrap around like your old one did. But at least it reads to 100 instead of 85. Oh, and the odometer gears break just as easily as the old ones. I think Reeves knows of a place to find replacements . . . ;)

[lengel]

That helps alot Thanks! I was hoping it would just be a bolt in and rewire. I got the cluster, pig tails, and bezel last weekend, but my car is a hour away at brians shop so I couldnt test fit it.

Adam