Questions about 1970 GTO Rally Gauges
 

I'm thinking about replacing my 70 GTO gauges with a set of rally gauges, rather than get an aftermarket gauge cluster to mount at the bottom of the dash to monitor oil pressure, water temp and voltage. Currently have the 140 mph speedo/idiot lights version, but have an in-dash tach.

Couple questions...how do you tell if a used set of rally gauges are for 1970? I see a set with a J12170 stamp, but not sure if that would be for 1971? The fonts are different...correct?

Also...is it possible to remove/replace the lens without damaging? I am assuming so, since the repops don't include the lens. Or is it possible to polish without distortion/removing? If not, thinking of swapping my lens onto the rally unit.

I'm further assuming individual gauges cannot be swapped out (ie, idiot lights for full rally) and that the only option for a non-operational rally set would be to have rebuilt? Does anyone do that?

Should I just stick with the OEM gauges I have and use an aftermarket cluster or is the wiring a pain?

I guess last question would be does anyone have a decent rally gauge unit that they are willing to part with for a 1970?

Thanks for the info/knowledge.

vertigto,

One thing I don't see you mention is the circuit board. The circuit board used for the idiot lights is different from the rally gauges. That will have to be changed for the rally gauges to work.

My '70 had the idiot lights when it was born. Somewhere along the way a hood tach, rally clock and rally gauges were added. The temp gauge didn't work when I bought it.

The short story is I had a new circuit board and rally gauges installed. The oil pressure was too much for the oil gauge in the new cluster. It was determined that having to change it wasn't worth it since the same thing would happen again. I know you don't want to hear this, but I went with the aftermarket gauges. The only item working on the rally cluster is the fuel gauge.

The used unit I am looking at (140 speedo and oil/fuel/temp) has the circuit board included and that is where I can see the date stamp (J12170). I was thinking about replacing my 140 speedo and idiot gauge with this one and possibly swapping out the lens, if possible.

The tach was already installed in the car, but not working. I had ordered a repro awhile back to install, but wondering now if it was just an issue with whomever wired the old tach. Since the tach is not part of the 2 gauge cluster, I assumed when I ordered the new one, it would be able to be wired with a new harness.

What am I missing?

I changed out my idiot light original install last year to the after market rally gauges on my 71 GTO. I had the under dash added gauge sets that I hated.
If you do a search for rally gauge under the PY search, you will find many posts regarding the change out, including some from Peter Serio. He ( Peter) knows more than pretty much anyone about how to change out, rebuilding and rewiring for rally gauge swaps.

I've had decent results polishing out scratches on the plastic lenses using toothpaste.

I take a paper towel and get it damp with water, then put a spot of toothpaste on the towel and rub the lens in a circular pattern for awhile, then wipe the haze off with a dry towel and check how it looks.

It is a slow process but cheap and no special tools needed.