Installing 66 mustang insturment cluster in 65 mustang

[slumlord44]

Can I adapt the 65 wiring harness are do I have to use the whole 66 harness? Oil pressure gauge and amp guage should be the only difference. I would need the 66 oil pressure sender. Not sure about going from idiot light to gauge for the alternator.

[JeffB2]

Alternators should be used with a volt meter not an Amp gauge it can result in a possible fire hazard.

[craig]

I've lost track of how many early Mustangs I've had, but never had a fire/electrical issue because of an ammeter, but anything is possible.
The alternator circuit is different from the light to a gauge. Is your gauge cluster an actual 1966 unit or a 1965 gauge unit? There is a difference in how the alt gauge is wired between them. Either way, the wiring from a warning light circuit is different from either gauge circuit. Make sure of what you have and find an original wiring diagram for that unit. You can google it if you can't find an actual Ford shop manual.
The oil pressure will use the same white/red wire that is in the car now, just clip it off the light and attach it to the gauge, the other side of the gauge goes to the CVU along with the fuel and temp gauges, you'll see that in the wiring diagram too

[JeffB2]

Here is the first year with an alternator wiring diagram. http://averagejoerestoration.com/res...rams/1965a.jpg And here is a 1966 cluster: http://averagejoerestoration.com/res...ms/66instr.jpg

[BW]

Try midlife66.com and midlifeharness.com

[packrat5]

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I don't understand why anyone would want to do this. If you are moderately adept at this, you can get a wiring diagram from a 65 and a 66, and just open up the harness, and make the necessary changes, and re-tape it again. If you are unlucky enough to have a generator equipped car, just forget it. Basically the engine compartment and dash harnesses are completely different. The steering wheel is different too, as are the peripherals for it.

[Gene F]

So the steering wheel is different in the 64 1/2?

[packrat5]

First of all, let me answer this. There is no such Mustang as a 64 1/2. There also is no such Mustang as a 64. BUT there is an early 65 Mustang, and it is called a 65 Mustang. Period. No argument whatsoever. The Mustang was introduced in April of 64, instead of the usual June. The reason for this is that Ford wanted to have the car for the Indy 500 pace car. and rumors were abounding that the rest of the crowd was going to introduce a similar car also, and Ford wanted to be first. Didn't happen. Now some sharpie will post, what about the 63 1/2 ? or 62 1/2 ? THOSE were designated 1/2 year models. There was no designated 1/2 year model for 65. I was there. So if you have a generator car, it is an early 65 model. So now that I've gotten that out of my system, yes, the generator cars had a different steering wheel, and no, YOU CANNOT INTERCHANGE THEM.

[slumlord44]

Originally Posted by packrat5

I don't understand why anyone would want to do this. If you are moderately adept at this, you can get a wiring diagram from a 65 and a 66, and just open up the harness, and make the necessary changes, and re-tape it again. If you are unlucky enough to have a generator equipped car, just forget it. Basically the engine compartment and dash harnesses are completely different. The steering wheel is different too, as are the peripherals for it.

I want to do this because the '66 cluster has gauges instead of idiot lights and looks much better to me. The '65 GT and all '66's have that unit. Plus I have a couple of them on the shelf.

[Flathead Fever]

Stick a '65 GT-350 tach and oil pressure bezel on the dash. They are neat, you will love it. Install a period correct aluminum gage mount to the bottom of the dash with two or three gauges ( vintage chrome mechanical Stewart Warner gauges). That was we did back in the 1970s when we were cruising and street racing. Just leave the original dash and wiring alone! If you keep the car original but bolt on "period correct" goodies, like torque thrust wheels. You will get more compliments and your car will be worth more. I'm not sure the new generation understands what made these cars neat. They screw them all up. They spend thousands of dollars to making them ugly. We need to send them to Mustang re-education camp.

Look at the '65 GT-350 interior. This is what I would want mine to look like. Its clean and vintage looking. It screams 1965! If you put the extra gauges in you won't even be looking at that '65 gauge cluster. The '65 cluster has a nicer Fuel and Temp gauge. They are bigger than the 1966s. The way the speedometer sweeps across the panel on a '65 is kind old school and neat. With the Shelby gauge cluster you have a "mechanical oil pressure gauge and a Tach. The mechanical gages look nicer because the needle swings completely around the gauge instead of just sideways like on the electric gauges. They look so much nicer. That leaves us with needing a voltage gauge and a vacuum gauge and you have everything gauge you will need. They go aluminum gauge bezel. Directly under the radio. Offenhauser still makes two, three and four gauge panels. No plastic gauges, they need to be chrome Stewart Warners. The best quality gauges that were ever made.

You will need to do a study of Stewart Warner gauges. There were all kinds of changes throughout the years. You want the ones that were available n 1965. If you look at the two oil pressure gauges, the one with full needle sweep is a mechanical gauge. That means there is an actual line with oil pressure in it going to the gauge. They are real dependable. The electric gauge can only swing from one side to the other. It uses a sending unit with a wire to control the gauge.

I have a real '66 GT-350 and I'd rather have the '65 dash because of that '65 GT-350 bezel. But I can't screwup a real Shelby.