Florida 5.0 has developed trick, Fox-Mustang, ready-to-drop-in instrument clusters available for '79-'86, as well as '87-'93. We have the race version that doesn't have openings for vents or HVAC controls. Florida 5.0 also offers several specialty pieces and clusters/gauge panels for '94-'04 Ponies. The company laid out a combination of Auto Meter's Sport-Comp II Series that includes 211/416-inch full-sweep, electric boost (PN 3659), oil/fuel pressure (PN 3653 and 3663), water temp (PN 3655), transmission-fluid temp (PN 3657), volts (PN 3692-short sweep), and fuel-level (PN 3615-short sweep) gauges. A Sport-Comp II 331/48-inch tachometer (PN 3697) and speedometer (PN 3688) keep us informed of the 347's vitals and our highway speed. The cluster also features a shift light, turn-signal indicators, a red beacon to let us know the Roll Control is on, and a blue beacon for the high beams.
The Painless Performance Mustang Power Panel (PN 50210) is designed for mounting in the stereo location of '79-'86 Mustangs. But since the Florida 5.0 cluster doesn't have vent openings or any provision for installing HVAC controls, we decided that our coupe's Sony GIGA Panel stereo unit (PN MEX-1GP) will be installed in the factory-designated spot, and the switches will be mounted in the flat area on the right side of the faceplate. By doing this, all the engine, fan, antiroll, and transmission controls (transbrake, converter lockup) will be within easy reach. Two additional rocker switches for the headlights and wipers will be installed in the flat portion on the far left side of the faceplate.
Saul uses a Dremel to cut an opening in the Florida 5.0 gauge cluster. Our panel was set with a carbon-fiber overlay, so it's important to take extra care when slicing through it.
The instrument cluster's outer beauty is apparent, but the real magic is on the back of the panel. Florida 5.0 lays all the groundwork for an easy installation by adding wire and the appropriate connectors, and basically creating zip-tied harnesses for all the gauges in the cluster. Each wire is labeled to identify where it should be connected, which is a big help-especially when you're doing this for the first time.
Relays similar to these are the most overlooked components of a street/strip 'Stang's electrical system. The collective amp draw from fans, water pumps, solenoids, ignition system, stereo equipment, lights, and other things, will be fairly high in our project car. Even though the Painless and Scosche EFX wires are the proper gauge for what we're doing, a lot of heat will be generated. We're using relays to energize some of the electrical components with shared voltage. For example, via a relay, our FAST XFI engine-management unit will send a triggering voltage to turn on the Aeromotive fuel pump when the ignition is energized. Relays basically replace switches in situations where there is voltage available to activate a device. It takes about 150 milliamps to trigger a relay. We're using 30-amp relays for most of the coupe's electrical makeup, and Scosche's big-dog, 100-amp relays to keep heat out of the switch panel's circuits.