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1966 Ford Mustang - Project '66 - Reproduction Mustang Gauges - Install A Rally-PacWith the new reproduction Rally-Pac from CJ Pony Parts, you can add the factory's sporty tach and clock combo to your '65-'66 Mustang. From the June, 2005 issue of Mustang Monthly By Mark Houlahan Photography by Mark Houlahan
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 1 The all-new '66 low-profile...  1 The all-new '66 low-profile reproduction Rally-Pac is made by Scott Drake and is a high-quality reproduction. The cast housing is identical to the original and the Nordskog-built gauges within the housing look exactly like they should. We heard that one of the toughest parts of the reproduction process was building a clock that had the "ticking" second hand like the original, but Scott Drake did.  2 Ford used the interior...  2 Ford used the interior illumination circuit to power the Rally-Pac's clock. Remove the driver-side door-sill scuff plate and driver-side kick panel to access the cowl side panel to route your wiring to the door-jamb switch.  3 The rest of the wiring...  3 The rest of the wiring under the dash attaches to the dash-light circuit, a good ground, and the stud on the back of the ignition switch. It's possible to find these connections lying under the dash, but at our age the thought of removing six Phillips head screws and setting the gauge cluster aside sounded easier on our backs. A small battery-operated screwdriver, like this Craftsman 3.6-volt Brite Driver, helps locate the screws you need to remove and replace. There's always one last item that makes a project perfect. The handblown glass Christmas-tree topper, the fancy ribbon around a gift box, or even the cherry on top of a sundae are examples that come to mind. For Mustang Monthly's Project '66, the one item we wanted to top off our restoration was a Rally-Pac. The Rally-Pac Ford offered in the '60s became a much-coveted option through the years, and having one in your restored Mustang was icing on the cake. Though our project car has been completed and on the road for more than a year, we've added a few items as they became available, such as the newly reproduced console trim that allowed us to finally install a console. Now we can do the same with a Rally-Pac. Until recently, the problem has been finding a decent one in restorable condition, sort of like finding someone under 18 at a Barry Manilow concert. But things have begun to shape up for us Mustang enthusiasts (although I can't say the same for Barry). The highly sought-after Rally-Pac is now available as an accurate reproduction for '641/2 to '66 Mustangs (both low- and high-profile models) in 6,000- and 8,000-rpm tachometer versions. A brand-new exterior-case casting (wrinkle-finished like the original) is the foundation for all new internals as well. An accurate electronic air-core-movement tachometer and a quartz clock assembly with all new lenses, chrome trim, attaching hardware, and wiring are part of the kit. The tachometer and clock faces are silk-screened like the originals, though they are now backlit for easier viewing at night. Installation isn't difficult (just some minor wiring and turning a screwdriver or ratchet gets the job done) and you can add the classy look of a Rally-Pac to your Mustang in about an hour. It comes only in black or white, so if you want to color-match the Rally-Pac to your interior (only correct for the low-profile model in cars with the Interior Decor option), we suggest picking the white model and buying a can of interior spray paint so you can color-match it yourself. Our Interior Decor color is black, so we didn't need to refinish the exterior housing. If you decide to color match yours, use light coats of paint to prevent losing the wrinkle-finish look. We picked up our '66 Rally-Pac from CJ Pony Parts (PN RP5, $434.95). CJ also carries the '65 high profile-model.  4 You can probably snake...  4 You can probably snake your hand behind the gauge cluster to make the connections, but if you carefully label the wiring going to the back of the cluster, it's easier to disconnect the wiring from one side of the cluster and let it hang out of the way. You'll have to unscrew the speedometer cable to do this. Notice the towel over the steering column to protect the paint.  5 With room to work, start...  5 With room to work, start with the underdash harness installation. The first part of the harness deals with the clock power and connects in series with the doorjamb switch. Make sure you've disconnected the battery before unplugging the doorjamb switch. The green wire with the green end is the original wire to which you will connect the clock feed.  6 The remaining underdash...  6 The remaining underdash wiring connects near the ignition switch, so carefully route the harness in that direction. The blue wire from the Rally-Pac underdash harness will connect to the dash illumination circuit. This is a red plug with three female bullet terminals by the ignition switch. Connect the blue wire to one of the three available spots in the connector.  7 The black ground wire (with...  7 The black ground wire (with the small ring terminal soldered to it) is the main ground lead for the Rally-Pac and needs to be connected to a clean, secure ground path. There are plenty of dash screws you can use, but we simply added it to the several other ground wires found at the right dash brace. The red wire with the green connector is not used in the V-8 application.  8 Two wires come with the...  8 Two wires come with the main Rally-Pac harness that you can disconnect and install separately of the Rally-Pac. One is the power feed from the ignition switch and the second is the tachometer signal wire. The short black wire connects to the stud on the back of the ignition switch. Temporarily remove the retaining nut, then slide the ring terminal of the short black wire over the stud and re-secure the nut. Now you can reinstall the gauge cluster and kick-panel trim.  9 The long black wire is...  9 The long black wire is the tachometer feed and needs to pass through the firewall. The instructions suggest the accelerator-pedal-rod seal, but we found enough gap in the A/C-hose grommet to pass the wire through at this point. You can also drill a small, discreet hole to pass the wire through. But if it bothers you (it... But if it bothers you (it does us a little), you can purchase green bulb covers from any vendor that carries aftermarket gauges. Simply remove the two screws at the rear of the Rally-Pac for each gauge, slide out the gauge, pop out the bulb and socket assembly from the rear of the gauge, then slide a bulb cover over the bulb. You can also use a green permanent marker to color the bulbs (shown here) if you can't find the correct-size bulb covers for the low-profile '66 model. Rally-Pac Perplexity
Reproducing a vintage Mustang part is never easy. Even if it's a single stamping of a metal part, hundreds of hours are spent checking the stamping for accuracy, thickness, quality, and so on. Now take a look at the Rally-Pac we installed and the dozens of parts it took to create (that's just one model; there are several when you include different gauge faces and colors) and you can imagine what an undertaking this project must have been for Scott Drake. We talked with the folks there about this latest reproduction part to find out what they had to go through to get it engineered, built, and to market so enthusiasts could once again enjoy the look and style of the Mustang's Rally-Pac option. From our conversation with Scott Drake employees, the Rally-Pac was one of the most difficult reproductions the company has undertaken. Starting with designing and manufacturing all-new tooling to produce the pressure zinc die-cast housing, Scott Drake spent well over a year perfecting its new Rally-Pac. Nordskog didn't just provide an existing gauge for the Rally-Pac, it had to redesign its own products to work the way Scott Drake wanted them to. For owners of '64 1/2 Mustangs... For owners of '64 1/2 Mustangs and '65 models with the standard (non-GT or Decor Interior Group) instrument panel, CJ Pony Parts also offers the early, or low-profile, version of the Rally-Pac. Unfortunately, Scott Drake had to relent on wiring the tach under the dash like the original. With the proliferation of in-distributor electronic-ignition devices, Scott Drake and Nordskog couldn't get an air-core tach to work properly. So the decision was made to run the single wire to the coil. I think we can live with that. At the time of this writing, Scott Drake was working on a restomod version of the Rally-Pac that features a cool, bare-aluminum-look housing. Requests for a white-face version of the Rally-Pac haven't fallen on deaf ears and are being investigated. We were also told the company might offer the Rally-Pac in several popular interior colors or at least with some kind of paint-mask kit for those who want their Rally-Pac to match the interior. Last, Scott Drake employees told us to be on the lookout for a '66 five-dial-cluster conversion kit that will change the gauges to a more modern backlighting (like the new Rally-Pac that's much easier to read at night) but will look original. We're all for that!  10 Once you've gotten the...  10 Once you've gotten the wire through the firewall, it has to be routed to the ignition coil. We routed the wire along the intake at the valve-cover edge right along with the A/C clutch wire. The wire is black, so it conceals easily. If you want to take it a step further, cut the electrical tape off the gauge-feed harness on the engine and rewrap it with the tachometer wire included.  11 Once you reach the coil,...  11 Once you reach the coil, the ring terminal is slipped over the negative-side coil terminal, marked "DIST" on the yellow top coil shown here. Aftermarket coils have a "-" that indicates the negative side of the coil. We used a small nut to retain the wire, then reinstalled the distributor wire over it.  12 As you can see, with a...  12 As you can see, with a bit of housekeeping the tachometer wire can be hidden. This wire is the only deviation from the original design (that picked up its tach signal in line with the ignition switch under the dash).  13 With the air-filter assembly...  13 With the air-filter assembly back on, the wire looks totally hidden. Unless someone with knowledge of a Mustang's ignition circuit looks carefully, no one will know there's one extra black wire under the hood.  14 Back inside the car, route...  14 Back inside the car, route the underdash harness, tach signal wire, and ignition feed wire to a common location at the base of the steering column.  15 It's time to mount the...  15 It's time to mount the Rally-Pac to the steering-column tube. Carefully place the Rally-Pac on the steering column and bend the wire harness to mimic the L shape on the driver side of the Rally-Pac mounting bracket. Start the retaining bolts for the Rally-Pac bracket on this side first, ensuring the wire harness is within the L of the bracket.  16 Once the Rally-Pac is...  16 Once the Rally-Pac is secured to the steering column, the wire-harness guide channel can be installed. One end of the channel simply slides into place behind the L of the Rally-Pac mounting bracket. The opposite end has to be secured to the steering column with the supplied Phillips head screw. Depending upon the location of the bracket, you might have to lower the steering column to get a drill bit into the right place. If you're uncomfortable drilling into a curved surface, you can always use double-sided foam tape to secure the end of the wire channel.  17 Finally, connect the Rally-Pac...  17 Finally, connect the Rally-Pac harness to the underdash harness, tach feed wire, and ignition switch wire per the instructions. Everything is color-coded, green to green, and so on, but there is one illumination wire that has a black end instead of a red one. Double-check the actual wire color, not the colored end, and you'll be fine.  18 The completed installation...  18 The completed installation looks like the car came with it 39 years ago! The last things to do are fire up the car and check the operation of the tach, set the clock, and check the gauge illumination. For those who have never had a Rally-Pac, the white illumination is correct on the low-profile models.
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