87-89, 90-93 speedometer differences?
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The 87-89s only went up to 85 mph I believe unless you have an SSP which is calibrated up to 140. Also the electrical connections are different, or at least the wiring arrangement in the connectors is different between the two and I believe that they are also shaped differently around the steering column area since the added the airbags in 90 but I am not 100% sure on that.
ryan218
In just 10 years, I'll be old enough to drive!!!!
i bought a cluster out of a 93...all i will have to to is take both apart and swap the 140 mph speedo into mine and put it back in the car and im done?
this may be a retarded question but if your cluster only go's to 85 will your carr stay at that speed till you get a change?
No, you can go faster. The needle just bounces off the trip reset button.
Late 1989 clusters did get a 140MPH speedo.
There are a lot of differences besides speedo between the 87-89 and 90=93 cluster. For the most part, they are physically different. The 90 cluster was revised to clear the airbag column, so it's bottom is slightly curved.
Warning lights are different as well between the two such as the addition of an airbag light in 1990 and the deletion of the 87-89 GT cluster warning pod., and as a result, they are wired differently. They cannot be swapped without rewiring the harnesses.
All 90-93 V8 clusters have a 140MPH speedo while 90-93 4-bangers got the 85MPH speedo
All 87-89 clusters got the 85MPH speedo EXCEPT fpr late 1989's which is when the change to 140mph speedos started.
Late 1989 clusters did get a 140MPH speedo.
There are a lot of differences besides speedo between the 87-89 and 90=93 cluster. For the most part, they are physically different. The 90 cluster was revised to clear the airbag column, so it's bottom is slightly curved.
Warning lights are different as well between the two such as the addition of an airbag light in 1990 and the deletion of the 87-89 GT cluster warning pod., and as a result, they are wired differently. They cannot be swapped without rewiring the harnesses.
All 90-93 V8 clusters have a 140MPH speedo while 90-93 4-bangers got the 85MPH speedo
All 87-89 clusters got the 85MPH speedo EXCEPT fpr late 1989's which is when the change to 140mph speedos started.
ryan218
In just 10 years, I'll be old enough to drive!!!!
will i be able to take the speedo out of my 93 cluster and put it into my 88's cluster with no problem???
ryan218
In just 10 years, I'll be old enough to drive!!!!
will i be able to take the speedo out of my 93 cluster and put it into my 88's cluster with no problem???
???
will i be able to take the speedo out of my 93 cluster and put it into my 88's cluster with no problem???
Speedo will swap no problem as long as you unbolt the speedo mechanism from the clear plastic frame and swap it over.
Transferring the gauge face is another story. Just take your time, or just buy some overlays for an 89 w/140MPH speedo
ryan218
In just 10 years, I'll be old enough to drive!!!!
anyone have an write up or something how to do this? or a how to or something..i dont want to break it
..what do i do to swap the whole face speedo over..
take the whole thing out of the car then get the lens off then where do i go from there?
trbkrb
Founding Member
Ryan,
You can do like Mike said and swap the mechanism over and the stick on face. The reason is because the plastic backing the face sticks to is different between the 87-89 and 90-93 speedos. Mike posted some pics of it earlier on here I believe.
Or you can cut, file and drill the 90-93 speedo plastic backing and make it fit the 87-89 cluster. That is what I did since I didn't want white faces and didn't want to mess up the 140 stick on face. You have to cut one of the locating tabs, drill out another hole for a locating pin, file down the housing a bit, and test fit the speedo in the housing several times. It took me like 15-20 min or so to get it fitting nice.
You can do like Mike said and swap the mechanism over and the stick on face. The reason is because the plastic backing the face sticks to is different between the 87-89 and 90-93 speedos. Mike posted some pics of it earlier on here I believe.
Or you can cut, file and drill the 90-93 speedo plastic backing and make it fit the 87-89 cluster. That is what I did since I didn't want white faces and didn't want to mess up the 140 stick on face. You have to cut one of the locating tabs, drill out another hole for a locating pin, file down the housing a bit, and test fit the speedo in the housing several times. It took me like 15-20 min or so to get it fitting nice.
ryan218
In just 10 years, I'll be old enough to drive!!!!
well i do want white faces so i guess it fine...BUT when i take out the guts or whatever you want to call it its all not like going to go everywhere? its going to stay as one unit?
sorry..i just really dont want to mess it up.
Yes it will stay. It's a pretty secure unit. If you take the rod holding the white tabs in for the odometer out, you can adjust the odometer to match the correct milage as well. Just pay attention to how they fit together cuz it's a little tricky.
You gotta pull the needle off. Pull the needle stop pin out and take car to notice how far below 0MPH the needle points. You will have to reinstall the needle with it pointing at this same psotion.
You gotta pull the needle off. Pull the needle stop pin out and take car to notice how far below 0MPH the needle points. You will have to reinstall the needle with it pointing at this same psotion.
Attachments
Actually give me a few mins and i'll snap some new pics. I have my old 85MPH speedo still kicking around
Here ya go. Keep in mind, this is my 1988 speedo bolted to the 90-93 plastic frame with the stock 1988 speedo gauge face trimmed to fit it. Notice how i reset the miles to 0 
To remove the speedo from the plastic frame, just unbolt the two screws located at 3 and 9 o'clock on the reverse. Gotta take the needle off first though.
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To remove the speedo from the plastic frame, just unbolt the two screws located at 3 and 9 o'clock on the reverse. Gotta take the needle off first though.
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ryan218
In just 10 years, I'll be old enough to drive!!!!
Here ya go. Keep in mind, this is my 1988 speedo bolted to the 90-93 plastic frame with the stock 1988 speedo gauge face trimmed to fit it. Notice how i reset the miles to 0
To remove the speedo from the plastic frame, just unbolt the two screws located at 3 and 9 o'clock on the reverse. Gotta take the needle off first though.
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hey thanks!...so just trim it and put it in? i pro start on monday or tuesday...ill make a thread...i may have some other questions...(sorry..im a pain)
Foster9887GT
New Member
- Jul 12, 2007
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Guys i have a 89 with an 85mph spedo. If i were to buy whitefaced 140mph guages, how would i recalibrate my spedo to be correct?
You'd either need to take your OEM speedo out and send it somewhere to be recalibrated, or get a 140MPH speedo from a late 89 -1993 car and swap it in like i outlined above.
Brothers performance and Late model restoration both sell white faced kits where you send them your old speedo (or an 85MPH speedo off ebay) and they will recalibrate it for you.
http://www.brothersperformance.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1_737_60/products_id/355
Brothers performance and Late model restoration both sell white faced kits where you send them your old speedo (or an 85MPH speedo off ebay) and they will recalibrate it for you.
http://www.brothersperformance.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/1_737_60/products_id/355
ryan218
In just 10 years, I'll be old enough to drive!!!!
i piad 75 shipped for a whole cluster from a 93 GT with 41,000 miles on it...you have to file the speedo face down on the sides to get it to fit like mustang5l5 said....
i thought it was going to be a little harder then i made it out to be..very simple to do and will take you an hour from start to finish if your just swapping speedo...
i didnt put mine back together becasue i have white face overlays on the way and am waiting for them before i put it back together just to take it apart again...
which leads me to my next question...is there any certain way i need to take the needles off? like a special tool i need to out put pull them up with a flat head? and i need to put the them back int he same location i take them off from right?
and i also used the 93 clusters cover becasue i think it looks better then the 88 style. yes there a little different.
i put it in and took it out for a few to make sure all gauges were still working....gonna pull it back out tonight.
and also its cheaper to get the overlays from white gagues...25 bucks...
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