WHITE FACE GAUGE KIT INSTALL

Written by Mustangworld.

Stock Gauge pod / cluster, GT. , White face gauge kit..

White face gauge kit illuminated. Note: Our camera is not very good in total darkness. It showed some white in areas that should have been blue, The white faces illuminate in a solid light blue color at night with NO white areas (like it appears above).

Want the look of the SVT Cobra in your GT? Well you can have it with a set of white face gauge plates from BBK. They really make your stang look intense. They are available from BBK for the GT stangs and from other manufacturers for the 120mph base stang versions. See our V6 page for parts info about faces for the V6.

They cost $120, which may seem like a lot for a set of thin plastic pieces, but compared to a whole new Cobra cluster ($500) it's a deal. Plus these plates are a bit brighter than the stock Cobra cluster (at night during illumination) ) and can even be seen better than the factory stock black GT gauges at night (believe it or not)! They really illuminate brightly ! Apparently BBK took this into account when assembling this kit, some Cobra owners complain about night time gauge visibility, this kit is no problem to view at night, and *much* easier to read than a stock black cluster during the day! The real bottom line... they look cool.

White face gauge kit close up,

Some things to take into account:
Don't try this if you are not mechanically inclined! You could easily damage a gauge assembly. If you can build a radio controlled car / plane or helicopter kit yourself, then you can probably do this install yourself also.

You can always go back to your stock gauges if you remove them carefully. They are simply "laid on". BUT they are ultrasonically "fused" (like the seal on a bag of chips) to the cluster pod itself. Kind of like tack welded here and there. To remove the stock plates without damage you may need to use a spackle blade (like we did) to get them off without any damage.

Document your current gauge settings! If you do not, you will be "up the river" ! You can take photos of your stock gauge needle locations with a Polaroid camera, video camera, digital camera, etc. or write it down on a sheet of paper. DOCUMENT THEM WHEN THE ENGINE IS OFF AND WHILE IT'S RUNNING AS WELL!!!! See where your stang idles at, how much gas, oil pressure, etc. You'll need to know this info in case your gauge needles are off after you install the kit.

You may need to keep the plastic cover off (after you install the new white faces) and power-up your gauge pod to accurately set needle locations. Set needles according to your recorded stock settings. So don't be so quick to re-install everything. You may need to drive your stang around to check speedo, tach and other needle settings BEFORE closing everything up and finishing. If you speedo is off you may need to have a buddy drive down the road with you, for you to set your speedo properly (or use a radar gun or other device). Here's your chance to set your stock speedo to match those new 17"rims you bought ! The speedo and tach needles may need to have their travel start BEFORE the pin stops, so you may need to remove the pin stops (on the TACH, SPEEDO and OIL PRESSURE gauges) to do this.

BBK actually has an excellent "how-to" on this installation. But it does not come with the kit! You'll have to ask for their Full Color Catalog. It is printed inside. The directions in the kit tell you to reference your Mustang shop manual. Below is our version of the install, pointing out some additional things we think you should know.

Disconnect your battery before starting:

OK... HERE WE GO!

1. We say give yourself 3 hours for this install. 2.5 hours of it are spent on this step alone! Trying to figure out how to get this knob off ! You need to pull a retainer clip outwards (away from the shaft) and then pull this knob off gently. The shaft is tri-angular. Please take your time, don't get frustrated and brake your knob, keep working and it will come off.
2. BBK says use a screwdriver, but after about 2 hours, we almost gave up. You can see our screw driver attempt above. Use a bent nail ! Use this little guy to "pry" under the retainer clip, lifting it out (rather than up). You'll want to lift toward the window and pull at the same time. The clip will eventually "give" and the knob will come off. Worked like a charm.
3. Next remove the two torx screws holding the bezel in place.
4. Now you can remove the plastic bezel cover. It is still held in place with retainer clips, but it "pops" out. Just pull on it gently and it will come out. Top first, then get the bottom.
5. Now you'll need to remove 4 more torx screws that hold the gauge pod in place. Here you can also use a small socket instead of a torx bit.
6. Next you will lift out the gauge pod unit, BUT it is still being held in place by the 2 wire harnesses that attach to it in the rear. You'll need to reach around and unplug the wire harnesses. Press the harness clips in the middle to release. A photo of the wire harnesses is shown next. Careful not to damage any exposed electronic components behind the pod.
7. Here are the two wire harnesses. Simple click-clip types. Side Note: Worried about safety in a car crash? Notice that 5.5" diameter steel tube in the dash! Thicker than roll cage tubing ! This is why we like the SN95 Stang !
8. Now take the gauge pod inside your shop. Put it on a flat table and remove the plastic cover. It's held in place by 8 torx screws (the same bit as you used for every other torx screw in this install).
9. Now you can begin to lift off the stock black plates and lay on the new Cobra style white face plates...

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