Guest musclecarfan65 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 hi all.has anyone ever done/attempted the removal/conversion from the 1st gen rivi idiot light cluster to a quad gage from e.g. classic instruments? i like to be informed what the temp and oil is instead of "red light ... you're engine is gone blow up ... NOW".thanks for many hints,dirk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 First of all, ROA #11146, do you have a name? We're a pretty friendly goup here. Yes, I know of a 65 that has the quad guages and speedo/tach combo in his car. The car was the cover/feature car in the Sept/Oct issue of the Riview. There's a small picture of the cluster on page 17. Here's a link to carnut.com with a better picture of it.http://www.carnut.com/cgi-bin/05/_image.pl?/show/05/kkoa/kkoa065.jpgIt's a really nice package, especially when you see the rest of the car as can be seen on this link.http://www.carnut.com/cgi-bin/05/_image.pl?/show/05/kkoa/kkoa063.jpgNot a bad car for a kid from Kansas; long ways from LA or any of the other hot spots for custom cars, not forgetting Dayrl Starbird from Wichita though.Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest musclecarfan65 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 hi ed.thanks for the hint ... must've overlooked this in the riview.and i have my name now on my signature.BR,dirk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bronie Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Does anybody know where to get the same gauges that are in the pic. And what else u have to buy to get them to function properly. Also wondering about how difficult it would be to install?John1965 Buick Riviera Custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 They're the classic white hot series with optional red pointers. Here's the link to their site and a picture of a customer's car. (You'll never guess which car.) http://www.classicinstruments.com/index.aspx?documentID=buickrivieragEd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest musclecarfan65 Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 that page from classic instruments was the reason for me asking. i would prefer the black background. interesting for me would be details on "how to wire things" and "what to buy in addition to the instrument". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Along with the instruments, you will need senders to feed the gauges. For example and electronic speedometer takes a sender that "counts" the rotations of the driveshaft and translates that to MPH. Water temp and Oil pressure gauges have similar senders. If you look at the front of you engine, on the passenger side head is the water temp sender you have for your idiot lites. Probably all of those will need to be replaced. Most good gauge companies, include them as part of the package. Now installing on your engine may be a pain.As far as wiring goes, it depends. You will need power to the gauge and to the sender. You also may need to wire the sender to the gauge. It all depends on the gauge set. Read some of the information on the classic insrument site, it is full of good information that may answer more of your questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bronie Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Does anybody have any experience with Classic Instruments? I was just talking to them and their prices are not cheap. The package that the guy has in his 1965 Riviera GS costs 899.00 plus tax but includes all the senders. Was wondering if that is too much and if anybody knows any other companies that make the same quality parts perhaps cheaper?John1965 Buick Riviera Custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 The owner of the car in the pics had to spend some time getting the speedometer to read correctly, but he says it was worth every penny. I think that Classic Instruments is a reliable AMERICAN MADE company. You're getting what you pay for. For some of us who have Champagne tastes and live on a beer budget, it might sound like a lot. You might be able to find some made in China, but you'll probably not have very good customer service when you have a problem.I guess it all depends on how badly you really want it.Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bronie Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 You do have a point Ed, its definitely worth it to spend the money to get the quality. At least I think so and thats what I've been doing with my Riv since I've owned it. Is it possible for you to give me the guys contact info so that I can ask him technical info about the install and so on?thanks,John 1965 Buick Riviera Custom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 I not sure how he'd feel about that, but I will contact him and ask him. If it's okay with you, you could send my a pm with your contact information and I'll relay it to him. Are you an ROA member? If so, it will make it easier for you - not in a discriminating way but in a logistics way.Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bronie Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Contact info as follows:con_swyers@hotmail.com416-536-3303John Meyers-SawaROA member #113521965 Buick Riviera Custom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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