yeah it is costly but their more precise and better quality. plus look better. Autometer has a set of 2 1/16 inch sport comp II water temp, volts, and oil pressure gauges right around 270 bucks, thats what i popped for. and after the 5 inch tach, speedo and fuel level and pressue gauges, i got around $670 in it. its worth it!!
I do agree that a full set of Autometers would be far more precise and look cool too, but this is my 17 year old sons car and he has more time than money.
This will be a street legal car but mostly used for drag racing
So no one ever has found a way to repair the stock stuff, Ford has used this type of system for a long time,on many models of fords, what would a restore guy do.
Find a cluster in better shape and swap it in. I came across one in a parts car last week. The windshield above the cluster was kicked out years ago, but somehow it survived as one of the nicest I have ever seen...
In my '76 I swapped in the cluster out of a '74 that was bound for the crusher.
Amp meter didn't work, neither did the tach (neither worked on the 76 cluster that was crumbling either) so I've got a Sunpro tach hose-clamped to the steering column.
I will eventually be doing a custom cluster (if not a full dashboard) with Auto Meter gauges myself.
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1976 Ford Mustang II Ghia: 302 with a 600cfm Edelbrock carb, Edelbrock Performer 289 intake, Dynomax Blackjack headers, 2.5" exhaust with Flowmaster Super 44s. RJS 11-gallon fuel cell, C4 tranny, chrome 16" pony wheels, fuzzy dice, brown vinyl half-top, and painted in the tackiest color ever (harvest gold, that's why I call it "The Goldenrod").
Also have a 2003 Dodge Ram (lightly modded daily driver/tow rig/office/dining room/home away from home/workshop... I call it "The Big Blue Dawg".)
On the Rat Snake, I swapped a better cluster in and decided to change it up a bit. I hogged out the temp gauge (didn't work) and the amp gauge (do ANY of those damned things work?) and trimmed the openings to fit an aftermarket temp gauge (with real numbers!) in the original amp spot and an oil pressure gauge (which NO SBF should be run without!) where the old temp gauge was.
The bezel fits perfectly and its hard to tell that its not the factory setup unless you actually look at it, plus it gives a much clearer indication of what's happening under the hood.
The cluster housing is the problem, it seems ford used different suppliers for the housings and some of them the plastic just deteriorates with time, I have taken some bad cluster housings out of low milege cars and some almost perfect housings out of high milege cars. I suggest you find a good housing and as for the gauges, its a matter of choice and cost.
The cluster housing is the problem, it seems ford used different suppliers for the housings and some of them the plastic just deteriorates with time, I have taken some bad cluster housings out of low milege cars and some almost perfect housings out of high milege cars.
You too? My 76 was in fairly good shape around a completely ruined cluster, yet in my '74 the cluster was the one salvagable piece on the entire interior of the car other than the door and window handles...
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1976 Ford Mustang II Ghia: 302 with a 600cfm Edelbrock carb, Edelbrock Performer 289 intake, Dynomax Blackjack headers, 2.5" exhaust with Flowmaster Super 44s. RJS 11-gallon fuel cell, C4 tranny, chrome 16" pony wheels, fuzzy dice, brown vinyl half-top, and painted in the tackiest color ever (harvest gold, that's why I call it "The Goldenrod").
Also have a 2003 Dodge Ram (lightly modded daily driver/tow rig/office/dining room/home away from home/workshop... I call it "The Big Blue Dawg".)
1976 Mustang Cobra II gauge bucket.... 
IT'S ALIVE !!
