[Tubbed69SS]

Here is a 1972 Dash I picked up locally, I bought to use in my 70 budget conv build, I know before I get policed its not correct i.e white gauges and seat belt light but its all I have and its cooler then the sweep dash :thumbsup:. Plus it is in extremely great shape No cracks in the carrier no cuts in the harness, Here are some shots of it Ill keep the progress posted, The dash has a pound of crud and dust and reeks like cigarettes,

 

[Tubbed69SS]

Taking it apart

 

[Tubbed69SS]

Ready to go get cleaned - I went threw the local self car wash used one of there washers it came out nice

 

[BlueSS454]

Rob,

What are you going to do about the harness? It's not a direct plug 'n play with a 70. You can make it work, but some wires need to be rearranged on the fuse block bulkhead.
I found out the hard way.

 

[Tubbed69SS]

Tom,

I have the 70 wiring diagram, I was planning on going threw the harness and making it work in the car, The only thing im worried about is how to incorporate the conv switch and the harness in the dash is for a 4 speed car so i wouldn't have the console harness like I need. I keep looking on ebay for the correct harness for the car but its a budget build so unless i find one cheap ill have to cut it up and make it work, Its a shame the harness is so nice

 

[Luis]

That is a good score. My next investment is going to be adding full gauges to my plain cluster.

 

[BlueSS454]

Tom,

I have the 70 wiring diagram, I was planning on going threw the harness and making it work in the car, The only thing im worried about is how to incorporate the conv switch and the harness in the dash is for a 4 speed car so i wouldn't have the console harness like I need. I keep looking on ebay for the correct harness for the car but its a budget build so unless i find one cheap ill have to cut it up and make it work, Its a shame the harness is so nice

The plugs for the console should be on there. One is a 2 pin purple/purple with white tracer, and I'm having a brain fart on the other one .
There is no need to cut anything though, switching the wires around isn't a big deal, that's what I did. I made up my own diagram of both fuse blocks and arranged the 72 to match the 70. IIRC, there are 4 or 5 that needed to be moved, the 2 main ones coming to mind were for the wiper switch and the main power feed wire to the car. I'll see if I can find the diagram I made.

 

[1971ss454Elco]

Just a friendly suggestion,

Please invest in a correct Dash harness to match your car, my friend did the exact same thing you are doing and the car burnt to the ground. Wiring looked good when dash was installed-moved pins around in bulkhead like has been discussed here before. Many have matched 72 to 70 before with no issues and more power to them BUT remember that harness is 40 years old and any number of alterations could have been done by Bubba and his crew.

$400.00 for a new dash harness is cheap considering your and someone elses life may be at stake. After all you are working on a vert which should hold its value clone or not.
Marc S

 

[Tubbed69SS]

Just a friendly suggestion,

Please invest in a correct Dash harness to match your car, my friend did the exact same thing you are doing and the car burnt to the ground. Wiring looked good when dash was installed-moved pins around in bulkhead like has been discussed here before. Many have matched 72 to 70 before with no issues and more power to them BUT remember that harness is 40 years old and any number of alterations could have been done by Bubba and his crew.

$400.00 for a new dash harness is cheap considering your and someone elses life may be at stake. After all you are working on a vert which should hold its value clone or not.
Marc S

Marc I deff see you're point, And I dont cut corners or put anything above saftey first.

If I spend a additional $400 on a harness plus the parts I bought to freshen the dash up Ill be into this dash for almost $1000 bucks, On top of that its the wrong color guages and it has a saftey light lol. for $1500 I can buy a repo 70 dash and be all correct, I have no problem switching some wires around if I have to and of coarse if there was any signs of wear the part would be replaced but I think I have a better idea -Buy a 72 Engine harness for the car for $89 and then just add the second lights. My engine harness is beat any way.

 

[DROPTOP L-89 LS-6]

I will advise you against adding the 72 engine harness or modifing the dash harness. I have restored,installed these dashes for over 20 years. the grounds, power accessory lead ins are all different. There are major differences between 70 71 and 72 you can not mix and match them correctly of safely. You are beter off using a 70 non tach dash harness and changing the leads to the cluster input and adding the tach wire if your on a buget. FYI that is a 72 monte carlo dash assembly not that it matters. I have a whole pile of burnt up dash housings, clusters and harnesses here from those that took that road before you.

 

[Robinls5]

I have a 71 Chevelle St. Wgn. ( 307 Fact. A/C ) It is now a ( 1970 ) SS 454 wagon. NO I did not use a 70 front clip for looks the 71 was hit and needed a clip. I have LOTSA 70 El Camino stuff.
I used the dash from my 70 El Camino along with 70 underdash, and 70 under hood harness. THEN the fun begins !!!!!
Driving the SS 454 wagon for a month, Then decide to get the A/C up and running !!! A 71 STAND ALONE A/C harness is a little different than a 70 A/C harness ( relays and such under the glove box ).
SOOOOooooo I pulled the dash and stuck in the org. 70 A/C harness. All has been fine since 2003. It would have been a lot LESS trouble to install the 70 A/C harness BEFOR the, Front clip, engine, interior,seats.
Oh did I mention I FRIED the 70 printed circut board, While trying to get the 71 A/C harness to work with ALL 1970 Wiring............
My 71 Wagon is 100% equipped with 1970 wiring along with a GREEN AM/FM & Green A/C controls.
I think of wiring as, Giving someone first aid, The rule in " First Aid " If you dont know what to do !!! Dont do anything.......
Bob:thumbsup:
P.S. My DAD always told me, " You never have time to Do it right, But you FIND time to do OVER ". Thanks DAD.

 

[1971ss454Elco]

Marc I deff see you're point, And I dont cut corners or put anything above saftey first.

If I spend a additional $400 on a harness plus the parts I bought to freshen the dash up Ill be into this dash for almost $1000 bucks, On top of that its the wrong color guages and it has a saftey light lol. for $1500 I can buy a repo 70 dash and be all correct, I have no problem switching some wires around if I have to and of coarse if there was any signs of wear the part would be replaced but I think I have a better idea -Buy a 72 Engine harness for the car for $89 and then just add the second lights. My engine harness is beat any way.

We respect and no offense to anyone on this website I dont even trust those "refurbed" harnesses you see sold all the time on ebay and elsewhere as not only do you not have a warranty in most cases but theres just to much room for error cause you truely dont know if the harness you get is actually from or for the application you bought it for. I asked the guy who refurbs these and even he admitted that he gets SOME of these harness form the bonyards and refurbs them to fit a varety of applications.It has been voiced here before and by someone whos done a lot of this more times than I care to admit on my own cars; DONOT alter the wiring in any way on either the dash harness or the underhood harness or any harness for that matter to try and get it all to work. GM made changes from year to year for a reason and most of those reasons we cant physically see. I learned to do this swap from a retired 42 yr GM employee from Fremont, Ca. True, you will be into it close to what you would have paid for a complete kit BUT most kits now include the engine harness. I suggest taking what you have accumulated now with that used dash, restore it and then sell it to recoup some of the money you will spend on a correct complete kit for your 70 vert.
Besides yuo'll feel better knowing you did it right and that all the wiring is new and correct.


Marc S