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I'm getting ready to pull the cluster and get it refurbished there are 4 different things coming through the firewall at the center hole that I believe hook too the cluster there are 3 shielded cables one is for the coil one is for the temperature and the other I have no idea, in the pic it's the middle sized one of the three and looks like it goes back to the rear....... Is this the fuel sender wire? Never seen one shielded or ran down the frame rail.....

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Does your car have an OD? If so that may be the lockout cable. If not, on some models the speedo cable comes thru the center opening. Both OD and speedo would head rearward to the trans area. The fuel sender wire should be in the body loom unless someone has done some repair work.

Duh your right i completely spaced the speedo.....no OD for me

Hi Pat,

Re 'refurbishing the cluster', not sure how far you are going - are you redoing all the gauges and speedo? I know in a previous post, you had talked about your heat gauge being the wrong one for your car and if you are just dealing with that, it can be removed with the oil pressure gauge and the temp-tube fed into the car through the firewall opening. the oil gauge tube is attached with a nut that can be removed, and the 'mini-cluster' can be opened and repaired/serviced with minimal disruption to the rest of the dash. I just did this on my '39 and sent the unit to Roy Martin, 'the Temperature Gauge Repair Guy' and he did a beautiful job of refurbishing the unit. Quick turn around, decent price - highly recommend him. If you are disassembling the entire dash cluster, then my comments are moot, just wanted to save you some time/work if you were going to pull the whole thing to address the sub-cluster. Good luck! Chris

Hey Chris, yeah the whole thing is coming out and getting sent off for a complete refurb. I found a 41 donor cluster that has the right face on it . so the guy im sending the 2 clusters too said he can move the face i need too the other probe.......he will check function of all gauges rebuild the speedo and make it all look like new. the only problem is getting the big meat hooks back there to loosen the nuts!!

Pat

a hand nut-driver works really well... 1/4" or 5/16"

While on the topic, it's a good time to ask the question - should the oil line be 'bled' when reassembling the gauge?? When I removed the nut (I think it's a little flare or compression fitting) I didn't see any signs of oil; are these 'direct' gauges supposed to have oil right to the register or do they work on air pressure being built up in the line??? I know there is a multi-coil loop in the line right where it goes into the block and this would serve as a 'trap' to keep the oil from draining out, but as I understand it, that looping is more of a vib-damp than anything else. Anybody know????

is it deep enough from the back of the cluster to the firewall too usse a nut driver???????.......gonna get it out tomorrow. and take some before and hopefully after pics in a couple weeks

Yes, certainly worked fine with mine, Pat. Also, was browsing the Steele Rubber Products site for my 'next order' LOL and noticed a firewall grommet and wasn't exactly sure where it fit in. Your picture clears that up. A guy could order theirs or get a piece of 1/4" closed cell foam or some low-durometer, really soft rubber and make your own - the dimensions are right there.....
steelerubber.com/firewall-grommet-30-0070-21

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The line for a bourdon tube (direct-reading) oil pressure gauge does not require bleeding.