Yes, a 71 to 73 dash cluster can be hard-wired. It's fairly straightforward if you have the right tools, lamp sockets, and a large array of old Ford wiring that can be recycled.
Here's the front view: (yes, all dash lamps are lit).
and the back view:
The constant voltage regulator clips will be changed once I get separate male and female clips in about a week.
A few problems that I ran into:
(1) many of the dash lamps did not work when I first powered it up. I had recycled used 194 bulbs, and some had damaged contacts. I eventually got 14 good bulbs to work. Some of the socket contacts needed to be squeezed so that they would contact the bulb. I really don't like this bulb design.
(2) The fuel gauge was hard to get to work. It could be that the CVR was rusty and flakey. It also could be that the fuel contacts on back (bolts with retaining nuts) were very rusty; it could also be that the 90* slip-on connectors were not making good connections.
(3) I still don't know if there is enough clearance behind the center section for the wire bundle.
(4) There are two lines that are black/green (CVR in and CVR out). These wire colors are rare throughout all of the year's of vintage Mustangs. I swapped one wire out to another color (green).
(5) There are 12 ground connectors. This makes it difficult to tie all of them together to one line at the main connector.
Things I do like:
(1) I labeled every socket and connector with wire markers. There's too much chance of putting something in the wrong place.
(2) I added a good length of wire to the main connector so that one can remove the dash cluster a good ways so you can get both hands on the connector to break it apart.
(3) The cost of components I need to purchase is about $30.
Things that make me leery:
(1) It took 6 hours to wire up the dash cluster. Some of that time was spent figuring out how to run wires, but I doubt I can do it again in less than 3 hours.
(2) I thought about measuring all wire lengths from the connector so I could manufacture one from scratch, but I think it is much easier to use the dash cluster as the template and make each harness fit it.
(3) Because of the socket contacts, I'll need to test every harness.
(4) Any harness I do requires the main underdash dash cluster connector to be replaced. I can provide connector with wire pigtails for folks who don't need their underdash refurbished, but they will need to splice their harness into the pigtail.
So...the real questions are: how much demand is there for this conversion, and how much should I charge? At $40/hour for three hours plus parts means $150, nearly twice as much as a flexible circuit card. I think that is too much. I may start at $100 for the conversion and see how it goes. It all depends upon demand as well...I'll post this on some 69/70 Cougar forums.
