There's any number of reasons to switch the gauge cluster on a '73-87 Chevrolet C10 or GMC truck. In the case of the '79 C10 Chevrolet Big 10 CCT readers know as the Americruise truck it was for several reasons. The first reason goes back to a 1985 Cadillac Eldorado I owned in the '90s that had the digital dash cluster option. Reflecting on what I really liked about the Eldo's digital gauge cluster was how precise the readings were, and how easy they were to see. For example, the oil-pressure would read 23 lbs pressure at idle cold and then drop like a stone to 7 or 8 lbs if the Caddy's poor little underpowered 4.1 V-8 was running hot. Looking to the Cad's speedometer and tachometer would reveal exactly how many revs the engine was turning at exactly how many miles per hour. Add this to the fact that the Caddy gauges were easy to read in any kind of light and it becomes clear why I chose a Dakota Digital cluster for my '79 C10, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.
If CCT readers recollect one of the major modifications I did to the '79 in the short three weeks of ownership before I took off across the United States to participate in Americruise was to install a 4L60E automatic overdrive transmission from the guys at Gearstar in Akron, Ohio. Going to the computerized version of the 4L60, designated by the E, meant complete external control of the transmission with a Compushift computer, but the stock C10's mechanical speedometer was history. Not a big deal because the stock speedo needle bounced like a Barbie doll with rubber butt cheeks, so I was looking forward to a good excuse to lose it. Another one of the reasons I won't miss the stock dash cluster is when I remember how hard it was to read while I was blasting down the back roads late at night through Colorado. Having to break out a flashlight to see how much gas was in the truck or if I still had oil pressure was a real pain in the neck (literally, because you really have to bend your neck to do that).
Beyond those reasons and the fact Dakota Digital's bright blue numerals look great with the C10's stock blue interior are the features no one ever dreamed a stock analog dash could offer. For instance, the tachometer will recall the highest number of revolutions reached and ditto for the speedometer reading. In addition, 0-60 times can be recorded along with quarter-mile elapsed time and speed. I can hardly wait to make some performance modifications and see if they really made an improvement. Installing the Dakota Digital C10 cluster was pretty simple, but there are some areas to pay special attention to if one wants the job to turn out right.
