Our Mustangs aren't getting any younger, and while we constantly work to maintain and upgrade them for the best driving enjoyment, we often see people relying on 40-plus-year-old inaccurate gauges to monitor that brand-new $5,000 crate engine they just installed. We don't get it. For the cost of a full set of gauges, the peace of mind knowing your engine's oil pressure, water temperature, and so forth is pennies compared to that expensive engine. Not to mention upgrading your gauges is the perfect opportunity to customize your interior (further) and truly make your Mustang yours.
The lion's share of gauge upgrades that have been offered over the last few years have all focused on the uber popular '67-'68 Mustang. Be it the continuation cars being built, the Eleanor craze, or what have you, there is an abundance of gauge packages available for these dashes. But what if you have a '65-'66 Mustang? In the past, the main option was a Shelby R-model–style insert which gave the car a decidedly race car look. Most '65-'66 owners want to keep the stock five-dial look, or upgrade to it if they have the original Falcon type sweep cluster.
The folks at Classic Instruments launched their Mustang gauge line initially with a '67-'68 offering (you can see our install in the Aug. '07 issue of Mustang & Fords, or hit our website for the story). They've now launched their '65-'66 gauge kit and we're excited to get a first look at it here. One of the first things you'll see is that this kit requires a little more end-user work, as you have to mount the gauges in your bezel and do a little light wiring. Classic Instruments explained this was one way to keep the entry point (cost) down. There's nothing complicated about the installation, and Classic Instruments provides two manuals--a general gauge manual for wiring and programming, and a Mustang-specific manual for the installation portion of the project. It took us about an hour on the workbench (while taking photos and notes) to assemble the gauge kit, and then roughly another hour for the installation in the car; by far an easy Saturday afternoon project.
Classic Instruments offers the new '65-'66 Mustang gauge kit in three flavors--the G/Stock Series (black face, mint green lettering, orange pointer), the Velocity Series (white face, black drop shadow lettering, orange pointer), and the Hot Rod Series (black face, white lettering, white pointer). The kit comes with five gauges to fit your bezel and includes fuel level, oil pressure, charging voltage, and coolant temperature along with an electric speedometer. The oil pressure and coolant temperature gauges come with new sensors to install on your engine, while the fuel level is designed to work with the stock fuel level sender, thus there is no need to drain the fuel tank and swap out the sender. The electric speedometer includes a speed sensor that replaces your speedometer's driven gear.
Classic Instruments sells through its vast dealer network, but for us Mustang owners, obtaining Classic Instruments' new '65-'66 Mustang kit is no tougher than picking up the phone and calling your nearest National Parts Depot. NPD has both the '67-'68 fully assembled kit, as well as the '65-'66 gauge kit, in stock at all locations. Best of all, if you need a new bezel, bezel screw kit, or other dash components, you can order it all at the same time for one-stop shopping and save on shipping as well. For our '66 fastback, which just got a fresh small-block, we're ditching the stock gauges in favor of Classic Instruments' retro-cool Hot Rod style gauge kit for '65-'66 Mustangs (NPD PN 10848-8BA; $560.95). Check out the photos for more details on this easy, yet effective, upgrade for your Mustang.
1 Unlike the '67-'68 Mustang...
1 Unlike the '67-'68 Mustang kit we installed back in 2007, the '65-'66 kit starts off with one of Classic Instruments' five-gauge kits with the appropriate fuel level gauge and sending units. The owner of this '66 fastback chose the Hot Rod series, and like all Classic Instruments gauges, these feature real glass lenses. Everything was carefully packed and the kit arrived in perfect shape.
2 The other half of the Mustang...
2 The other half of the Mustang gauge kit includes these installation brackets, hardware pack, and turn signal pigtails. These brackets make quick work of securing the Classic Instruments gauges into your stock bezel.
3 We're starting with a brand-new...
3 We're starting with a brand-new reproduction bezel from NPD, but if you're using your existing bezel, you'll need to remove your old gauges from it first. Original or reproduction, the only modification to the bezel is the pin at the top of the speedometer opening (used to locate the lenses on the stock setup) has to go. A quick snip with side cutters and we're ready to move on.
4 The 21?8-inch gauges that...
4 The 21?8-inch gauges that flank the speedometer can be positioned in any order you like. However, keep in mind that if you deviate from the stock setup drastically (place the fuel gauge on the far right for example) the stock sending unit wire may not reach and you'll have to extend it. With that in mind, and with the owner not present to say otherwise, we kept the stock gauge layout. The Classic Instruments gauges self-center on the bezel opening during assembly.
5 The speedometer rests on...
5 The speedometer rests on the bezel in the same manner as the smaller gauges during the assembly phase. If using a reproduction bezel (ours was a Scott Drake item), be sure to slip the supplied rubber O-ring over the speedometer in order to properly secure the speedometer to the bezel. The row of white dip switches seen on the back of the speedometer is where you'll calibrate the speedometer gauge later.
6 The lower half of the gauge...
6 The lower half of the gauge mounting bracket kit can be easily identified by the notch on the ride side of the bracket to clear the bezel's reinforcement rib. Place the bracket over the gauges as shown here. Everything is still loose at this point, so don't pick up the bezel thinking the gauges are going to stay in place!