i have a 68 el camino malibu, the gauges are idiot lights. is there a gauge cluster that will fit that is NOT idiot lights. that actually shows numbers and not just hot or cold. without spending a bunch of money on covans classics or dakota digital? hoping to find something that will fit in there but i havent come across anything yet. thanks.

You haven't found anything because there's nothing to find. You'll have to make your own.
BillL

any insight? wondering if i can make a steel plate bezel that will fit some small gauges in there. temp gauge, oil prs, voltage....

I saw a guy with a 68 Malibu use that 69 gauge cluster assembly with the tach in the middle and the gauges around the tach at Carlisle a couple years ago, but never got to talk to him to ask how he made it fit.

Are the 69s gauge cluster different mounting on the bezel than 68s? That I don't know.

As I recall the gauges are one piece so changing the light side also requires changing the speedo. These things are unique to '68 and command serious $$$ on Ebay.

I did a conversion over to Autometer and Covan's on my '68 several years ago. The Covan's could be better but the gauges are great. I went with the electronic speedo so I could calibrate to my exact setup.

I'm not up on the 68's but couldn't he just look for a factory gauge cluster and bolt it in?

I'm not up on the 68's but couldn't he just look for a factory gauge cluster and bolt it in?
He wants gauges with numbers, the factory setup is "H" & "L" for oil pressure, "C" & "H" for temp, "D" & "C" for amps, "F" & "E" for fuel.
BillL

not sure how far your willing to go to make something work .......

IMO put in the factory U-14 stuff or hang a gauge panel under the dash
cutting up a 68 dash is a sin in this day an time with NO replacements being made ;)

i have a 69 and the dash and guages are pretty similar, somebody cut out a big piece of the plastic under the radio so they could fit a big 80s radio in it, so im making a brushed aluminum plate, it curves up and in at the top, im gonna rivet it in, and have the guages face up. so far i think its gona look good, ill post pics when its finished

I saw a guy with a 68 Malibu use that 69 gauge cluster assembly...but never got to talk to him to ask how he made it fit.


There's no need to "make it fit," the '69 dash bezel will fit right into the '68.

The only thing you have to do is either find a place in the '69 bezel to mount your ignition switch or else convert to a steering column ignition switch, because the '68 has the ignition switch in the dash and the '69 has it in the steering column.

Regards,
-Greg