Monte Carlo SS Instrument Panel?

[Shane]

Hey guys-
I can get my hands on a MCSS IP. I'm pretty sure that it would bolt up where our dash goes, but would the sensors work? I know the tach would probably require some conversion, but the Speedometer, coming from a 200-4R car and going into a 200-4R car should work, right? What about the gas gauge?
Does anyone know if that tach would work? Also, what Monte Carlos, if any have 3.42's in them? I don't know if this one did or not.
Of course I would have to get the ugly assed Monte logo off of there. I wonder if I could get a Turbo 6 from BuickGN.com. And I would have to hack it to make the Boost / Tach fit.

 

[at7we2]

anyone else trid this?

I've been thinking about doing this myself. anyone else tried it? I would omit the factory Buick tach. and boost gauge.

Rob

 

[Renthorin]

not to take away from your question but I have the gauges form an Olds 442 sitting around collecting dust.....

Would they bolt into our dashes and work?

 

[UNGN]

Originally posted by Shane
Does anyone know if that tach would work? Also, what Monte Carlos, if any have 3.42's in them? I don't know if this one did or not.

Don't know about the dash, but Monte Rears use the Weaker 7.5" (and 7.625" I think) Ring gear rear ends. Even if they used a 3.42, you wouldn't want it.

 

[Vendor Defendor]

speedo is driven off of the transmisson, so I don't think it would matter about the rear end.

 

[SilverSleeper]

Speedo is mechanically driven from the transmission.
You would have to change the gears to correct it if the final drive ratio is different.
I think Shane was asking about the gears in the rear so the dash would be compatable with the drivetrain in the recipient car. Even if the gears are different, you can get the gearset changed so that the speedo will work. The tach however, might be questionable. Probably not very accurate anyway, even if you could get it hooked up to the new car. You would probably be better off with an aftermarket tach anyway.
Gas gauge will work, GM senders are same ohm range, so that wouldnt be a problem.

 

[denn454]

i might be wrong, i'd have to look at out monte to see, but i think its shaped wrong, it has the idiot lights at an angle. that might be a seperate part, or i might be thinking of a different car. i'll go out and take a look tomorrow.

but everything should work out close. the tach will be wrong since its for a v8, unless you can find one for a v6, i don't know what kind of dashes they use.

the fuel tank is still the same size, gear ratios might be the same, depending on the cars. i think 3.73's were an option but i'm not sure. thats a minor detail to work out.

 

[Carman83ss454]

As far as the speedo swap goes, you won't have to recalibrate anything. The gears in the trans will still match the rear end. A popular swap on the 83-86 SS's is to swap in a 87-88 speedo, which registers 120 MPH. It's a direct bolt-in, no re-cal needed. I'm pretty sure that if you swapped out the entire gauge/light "pod", the swap is doable fit-wise.

The 83 SS, and some early 84's, got 3.42:1 gears and T350C transmissions. But it was, as stated, the the weak-assed POS 7.5. The weakest point in the 7.5 is the pinion shaft, and it's small diameter.

And which "ugly assed Monte logo" are you talking about? I don't think there's one in the gauge pod.
my dash

Scott

 

[gn85]

You may want to make sure that the speedometer will not have a problem with the cable and the HVAC vents running behind there. I've never taken apart the MC dash to see if it's the same vent system, but you'll want to make sure the speedo cable don't interfere with your install.

HTH.

 

[Shane]

Wow, a lot of replies. I didn't get more than one at the other board.

speedo is driven off of the transmisson, so I don't think it would matter about the rear end

I know that, but I think that the rear end factors in to it. I know that the rear end is in the final drive ratio, and I think the speedo actually comes off the final drive ratio. If you think about it, and it only factored in the tranny, the speedo wouldn't more during a burnout. Am I right, guys?

The tach however, might be questionable. Probably not very accurate anyway, even if you could get it hooked up to the new car. You would probably be better off with an aftermarket tach anyway.

I don't know about that. The couple of times that I drove an SS the tach seemed very quick to respond.

Gas gauge will work, GM senders are same ohm range, so that wouldnt be a problem.

Are you sure? See, I thought the same thing, but ULYCYC on the other board said that it would not work. Now I'm all kinds of confused.

i might be wrong, i'd have to look at out monte to see, but i think its shaped wrong, it has the idiot lights at an angle. that might be a seperate part, or i might be thinking of a different car. i'll go out and take a look tomorrow.

I think you are right, the idiot lights are at an angle, but if I can recall from my old MCLS when I had to take the cluster out, they are two seperate pieces. I think the cluster itself would bolt right in.

the tach will be wrong since its for a v8, unless you can find one for a v6, i don't know what kind of dashes they use.

That's true. Can i find an adapter from the MCSS tach to the GN tach? The V6 dash had no tach.

And which "ugly assed Monte logo" are you talking about? I don't think there's one in the gauge pod.

You're right. MY MCLS gauge pod just had a speedo and a gas gauge and four idiot lights. The tach's spot was just a blank gauge face with a monte logo. No offense on that comment, just kidding.

 

[Shane]

Basically, I'm thinking Poor Man's GNX Dash

 

[SilverSleeper]

So if I took my car, with the stock 342's, and changed them to 373's, then what youre saying is my speedo will still be dead on? Not!
The trans measures driveshaft revolutions, not tire revolutions. If you have changed your gears, or your tire size, you WILL need to change the driving gearset in the trans to get your speedo to be accurate. Even newer OBD2 cars have to have the computer reprogrammed to accept gear & tire changes.

The gas gauge should absoutely work. It is essentially the same tank, same sender. As long as the monte's gauge reads at full and empty at the same ohm resistance as the other, then you are set.
Shane, trust me, it would not be worth the effort in the long run to make the factory V8 monte tach work. Like anything else, with enough money it probably can be done. Remember the GN V6 doesnt send out a tach signal like other V6's. Thats why even aftermarket tachs have to be modified to work accurately. I still have to send out my VDO to get the square wave mod so it will read right. The 3.8 fires the plugs twice per cycle (waste spark) so it is tough to adapt some tachs to read the output signals.

 

[Shane]

So if I took my car, with the stock 342's, and changed them to 373's, then what youre saying is my speedo will still be dead on? Not!

Actually, I was trying to give that exact pointe. Sometimes I mess up my wording, I guess.

Maybe you're right. I thought that I could just upgrade our horrible gauge pod somehow.