Hey guys, I am one of those freaks that likes the yellow gauges. Well I can't say I like them more than the white/red 924S gauges, but I still sorta like them. However... I despise and loathe the ridiculous conic lenses. So while I had the speedo open for an odo repair, I decided to finally just put in some new lenses on all 3 gauges.

I bought a sheet of lexan from home depot, the thinnest one they have, and it's exactly the right thickness! I traced the outline from an old lens, and used a dremel side-cutting drill bit to cut out the circles. Mostly a fun project but removing and reinstalling the black lens rings is a PITA.

 

Nice!

I agree, I've never liked the cones, either, and they have been heavily responsible for me not liking the early interiors that much. It seems like a small thing to get annoyed by, but whaddyagonnado?

BB.

 

cool!

but how'd you get the black rings off without destroying them? never been able to figure it out and so i have some destroyed spare gauges lol

 

is there any way for us to use 924's gauges? because I kinda like those more then our yellow ones too

but these are sweet, way nicer looking then that of newer 944 models!

 

Looks good! How are the black rings held in place, glue? Post a picture once you get them reinstalled.

 

Nice work!

Man, now you guys got me thinking about an early car with skinny snow tires for the winter, if I can pick on up cheap.

 

Iiiiiiiiiiiinteresting. If I ever had to pull my gauges I'd probably do this. Probably would put them back in with the tach in the middle, too...

 

Thanks guys! I'm eager to see how they look in the car.

924 gauges:
Yes, the multigauge from any 924 will work! The speedo from any 924 will work too but there are different looks / speeds - you probably want the 170mph gauge from the 924S. The tach must be from a 924S or else the connectors will be different.

tach in the middle:
When you try to pop out the cluster and pop out the first gauge, I think popping out the tach with one finger reached back there isn't hard, but unscrewing the speedo cable with one finger would be a PITA!

Ring removal:
I was going to do this whole thing over again on some 924 gauges today. In case I do get tired of yellow gauges! I'd be happy to take pics of how the rings come off.

 

Ive got my Tach in the middle, and it was a SOB to make work because I have a wheel driven speedo cable that could barely reach the speedometer, and I had to reinstall everything as mentioned above...with one finger.

 

Arash, definitely post some instructions/pics of how you removed the rings. This would be a great upgrade.

I used a tach from my old '77 924 (it has redline at 12 o'clock) in my 924S, so you should be able to use one in a 944. IIRC, there were just three wires to connect: a positive, negative, and signal wire.

When I put my tach in the middle, I pulled the speedo cable all the way back to the firewall and rerouted it on the other side of the metal bracing that's behind the dash between the tach and speedo holes. It was a bit of a pain to reroute, but it made hooking up the cable much easier.

 

So, I've (clearly) not had my dash apart so I've not seen the wires, but is there some sort of way to put an "extension" on the speedo cable? Or is it mechanical/I'm an idiot?

 

Nice work, Arash! I'm glad you'll like your early cluster even more now. I for one like the conical lens. It gives the cluster a period look, and functionally, I believe it's meant to cut down on glare.

I agree on the tach in the middle being desireable but everything I've read says swapping the speedo is not so easy. I may have my whole dash out in the near future, and if so I'll try to reroute my speedo cable.

 

Awesome job Arash. That would improve the early interior dramatically.


Make sure you post up the how to when you replace the painted silver center panel with real brushed aluminum.

Just thought I'd throw that out there, something I considered when I had my 84 that would be pretty easy.

 

I was just trying to be funny when I said I hate the conic lenses, I actually think they're alright but I like the flats a little more. But I do agree the flat lenses will glare more. Brushed aluminum would make a nice next step!

Darren, the speedo cable is a mechanical cable that spins inside of a sheath. So I don't see how it can be extended. The durn thing can't even be bent very much, which makes it so hard to pull.

Dan, good idea rerouting the cable, I might try that, but I think I like the speedo in the middle, or at least I'm too used to it already.

 

are you serious? we can use 924S gauges?
those are really pretty!

who's parting one out? because I want to do this bad!

LOL