Has anyone thought about trying to make a mold from a good instrument cluster housing and casting some new ones out of fiberglass or something? I believe you can buy kits to do this from art supply stores.
I'm sure it's been thought about, it's just not very cost effective or easy. Compared to something like a hood, the cluster housing is a small part with tight corners, and that makes it difficult to make out of a material like fiberglass (or carbon fiber).
if you find a successful way to do it, that would be something I would be interested in, my cluster crumbled and I found a replacement but even the plastic in that is starting to dry rot, so good luck! I have even thought about if someone could fabricate it out of a thin metal and then coat it in a material that is not a conductor so there is no interference with the wiring. that might be something to look into.
Shouldn't be too difficult. The mold would need to be a 2 part silicone mold, once the mold is made you could mix an epoxy catalyst and add any color dye you want (such as white) pour it in the mold and remove cast from mold after product has cured.
Anyone have experience using molds? I was wondering through a Hobby Lobby while the tire store was mounting tires for me and I came across their mold making stuff and it got me thinking. I'm sure there are a lot of us here that would like a new cluster housing and I may need a custom one.
why go through all of the trouble when you can just switch to the 72 blue/green ones and all you have to do is change the plug from the earlier car. assuming youre having trouble with the white cluster
The early 70-73 cluster harness doesn't work with a 74-75 harness...different wire count and wire colors. Also one of the circuit tracks crosses over the cluster hole. They say a 76-77 circuit board will work on a 74-75 cluster back.
I can see if my son can put it into AutoCAD. Then you can just have one printed at Shapeways.com. Just not sure of the price.
