OK, it's not really a factory option but it looks and works like it. I did this conversion using GM Nova SS gauges and a custom mounting setup inside the OE instrument cluster. I have about 70 hours to get this to look original. Using a repop cluster doesn't work since the radius of the gauges doesn't match the Wildcat faceplate. Also, the order of the gauges as installed in the Nova doesn't match the Wildcat lens. I have one set of good gauges left over that I could make another cluster. I'd have to have your instrument panel and the work is not reversible as the idiot light bosses are removed from the dash. The faceplate must also be modified. The oil pressure gauge is mechanical so a copper line must be run through the firewall to the engine. I tried to replicate the GM mounting of the shunt resistor (used for the ammeter) and wiring as much as possible. PM me if interested. This should work on all 63 & 64 Wildcats and Electra's as well as 63-65 Riviera's.
Very nicely done! Looks great! I've often wondered why Buick never offered a gauge package like that as an option; surely there were Buick drivers back in the day who cared about what their engine was doing. As far as I can see, 1959 was the last year for full instrumentation, in 1960 they went to idiot lights and never looked back.
Thanks! I wanted to know what was going on but couldn't bear to add aftermarket gauges under the dash. It would have been a whole lot cheaper, though.
Wasn't the temp. gauge also mechanical??? My friend's '68 Camaro RS/SS has the console gauges & if I remember correctly the temp. was also mechanical. Has my memory slipped that badly???
Tom, on the '63-'65 Nova SS the temp gauge is electrical, the sendng unit is the same as the 'Vette, BTW. The gauge has no numbers, just a range between "C" and "H". I was able to confirm that 180 degrees is just about the center of the range. It starts to come off of the bottom at about 110 deg, so I assume the top end of the gauge is about 250 deg.
Hi Mark, I always wanted to attempt to do such an installation using the factory gauges from my `69 Chevelle. Are the Chevelle gauges the same as the Nova gauges? I also wanted to work the Chevelle tach into the center of the pod. Tom Mooney
The '69 Chevelle gauges are not the same as the early Nova. You would probably be better off starting with a repop cluster since they are usually a modular assembly. You'd have to have a custom lens made or live with the mismatch of gauge locations. With the early Nova gauges there is no room in the center for a tach. I plan to add process pics soon.
