69 Camaro Gauge Cluster Codes

[William]

In his book "On A Clear Day You Can See General Motors" John De Lorean used Camaro "dashboards" as an example of what was wrong with Chevy. The book stated there were 2,720 possible combinations and that by 1972 it was down to 96.

He must have been referring to '69, when he took over at Chevy. Sounded like an exaggeration to me until I worked it out. I was able to duplicate that number but I believe it is an error; should be 2,360. Both numbers take into account 5 interior colors plus the many options.

There are 2 categories: without tach and with. The housings are different.

Without tach there were:

4 speedometers [140 n/a Z/28]
4 transmission quadrants
standard and with woodgrain
with/without clock
with/without rear defogger switch
with/without power top switch

With tach there were:

initially 3 tachs, later 4
4 speedometers [140 n/a Z/28]
standard and with woodgrain
clock/fuel gauge
with/without rear defogger switch
with/without power top switch

I do not believe the headlamp switch [4 versions] was assembled to the dash. It was initially assembled to the dash harness.

Since there are only 676 2 letter codes possible it is likely the dash was painted as needed after assembly and color was not a factor. Still leaves 472 possible assembly combinations.

This might make for an interesting project but I doubt anyone will ever learn all of them.