JacobSchmidt Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 Does anyone know how to remove the cluster on a 1964 Buick riviera? And also can I put leds in the cluster instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cannon Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 You can put LEDs in for the gauge illumination. They go in from the back side. Removing the cluster is a very big job. Are you sure you need to remove it? The plastic parts are old and brittle. You can do a lot of damage taking things apart. If you insist, follow the exploded diagrams in the shop manual as a guide. Remove the dash pad. The trim comes off the front, then the cluster assembly is unscrewed. Disconnect all wires, the speedometer, etc. before sliding the assembly out toward you. Removing the steering wheel may help. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacobSchmidt Posted December 23, 2021 Author Share Posted December 23, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Jim Cannon said: You can put LEDs in for the gauge illumination. They go in from the back side. Removing the cluster is a very big job. Are you sure you need to remove it? The plastic parts are old and brittle. You can do a lot of damage taking things apart. If you insist, follow the exploded diagrams in the shop manual as a guide. Remove the dash pad. The trim comes off the front, then the cluster assembly is unscrewed. Disconnect all wires, the speedometer, etc. before sliding the assembly out toward you. Removing the steering wheel may help. Thank you very much sir, It’s apparent I am a “newbie” at old cars and I had no idea the cluster was a whole assembly. I was able to reach under and get ahold of some of the cluster lights, but before proceeding to remove the dash pad to get to the rest of the lights, I tested a couple of the new LEDS I put in and they do not illuminate I even rotated them 180 degrees. They do ever so slightly flash very dimly when I turn on the light though. Do you know why that is? Edited December 23, 2021 by JacobSchmidt (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 Search this forum for threads on LEDs. You can find part numbers and lots of advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 Agree with Jim that it is a big job but certainly “ educational” . In addition to all said above , dropping the steering column down is helpful and easily done . Service manual is a must have . Good luck. KReed ROA 1454 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 If the '64 is identical to the '65, which I believe it is, you should be able to replace the bulbs from the backside without removing the cluster by going through the fuse box opening & the inspection plate under the ignition switch, all save one on the upper right of the right hand gauge, unless you have slightly smaller hands than me, in which case you may be able to reach that one also, or possibly recruit an unusually intelligent small child to help. Of course I don't want to imply that if you can reach it yourself you must have "small hands". I'm just sayin' 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 24, 2021 Share Posted December 24, 2021 Here's what a search will turn up for you. LOTS of information on this site if you'll look for it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 On a related note, as I was polishing my gauge lenses recently I discovered an interesting feature I had overlooked for 29 yrs of ownership. I couldn't help notice that the marks on the speedometer face, which delineate your speed X10, did not align properly w the numerals printed on the lens. I chalked it up to poor design until this subject came up. Upon closer scrutiny I discovered I was looking at them head-on at close range. When viewed from the perspective of the average drivers position they line up quite nicely, at least within the normal operating range. After 100mph they are a bit off, but you probably shouldn't go there anyway. just sayin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted December 29, 2021 Share Posted December 29, 2021 On 12/22/2021 at 6:31 PM, Jim Cannon said: Remove the dash pad. The dash pad comes off very easily I think exposing everything you need from the top. There were only a few screws holding the pad. The hardest thing I recall was some of the screws were hidden from shrinkage of the pad material. I needed to remove the pad from a '63 I owned to get to a broken vent linkage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Four screws under the edge of the dash. The hardest part is getting to the spring loaded hold downs and releasing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanoko Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 borrowing this thread: I received my Cruise 64 speedo in the mail today, so need to remove, or at least look at, my non-cruise speedo head to see if the differences are swappable into mine or my not crispy bits into the cruise one. Thoughts? If the dash top comes off it looks like 3 screws hold the head unit in place. I also have guidematic so that will be an additional entanglement for the dash cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XframeFX Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Is it a 0 - 140 MPH speedo? I could only find an Electra cruise speedo which is 0 - 120 MPH and the spring has been distorted from a previous repair. As for compatibility, sure, use it. The calibration (when new) is the same but you will no longer have the speed minder which has a 1-wire connector. The cruise speedo has a 2-wire harness in that it has a dedicated ground. As mentioned in the other thread, Buick's Electro-Cruise locks on to road speed by speedo needle position. That Speedo has a crude transducer which regulates vacuum in the actuator and is 1/4 of system components. 1) Transducer 2) Throttle Actuator 3) Amplifier/Relay Module 4) Brake Pedal Switch/vacuum release Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanoko Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Yes, I now have all the components and I've been told since I have the guidematic factory installed, I also have the entire wiring harness just hanging there waiting to be hooked up. Lucky me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanoko Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Regarding the 0 to 140 I don't know. It came without the lens, so I've got no numbers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 18 hours ago, Deanoko said: It came without the lens, so I've got no numbers Your quote reminded me of this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q28v8TrrjvI 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanoko Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 Ha! Bingo! Classic movie! I was actually personally impacted by the filming of it. California Hwy 198, between I-5 and Visalia, Ca., was the only 4 lane highway CalTrans allowed to be blocked off for filming in the entire State. All filming done at night with fake snow. I was a Navy pilot flying out of NAS Lemoore at the time. We all had to take back farm roads to get home! You could see the big Klieg lights in the distance. "Fun stuff" 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanoko Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 I'm slowly plugging away at this process, with the dash cap slid aft and all the fasteners removed, but it looks like the center console needs to be slid back to get the ignition switch area out from behind it. Correct, or is there some trick to avoid doing that? AC car btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 If the '64 is like my '65, & I believe it is, there should be a small access panel just under the ignition switch which will allow removal of the switch without moving the console. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanoko Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 The switch isn't t the problem. It's that the front upper "wing flanges" of the console sit over the top of the instrument cluster panel and unless I can move it outboard, the console holds it in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cannon Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 On 6/11/2022 at 8:24 PM, Deanoko said: I'm slowly plugging away at this process, with the dash cap slid aft and all the fasteners removed, but it looks like the center console needs to be slid back to get the ignition switch area out from behind it. Correct, or is there some trick to avoid doing that? AC car btw. After sliding the dash back toward you an inch or two, lift up on that edge a few inches and then pull the pad toward the back of the car some more. I should come right out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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