Take a moment to remember how often your eyes wander across the gauges of your Second-Gen Firebird's dashpanel to monitor engine vitals while cruising around. Chances are, it's quite regularly. If your eye is as discerning as ours, you probably notice that non-functioning electric clock during each visual sweep.
Although some hobbyists might consider it an insignificant detail, others may find the clock's operational inability a source of frustration. Like most Pontiac models of that era, the Firebird's electro-mechanical clock contained a small set of electric contact points that mechanically wound the pendulum spring. Over the years, the continuous arcing typically takes a toll on the points, leading to erratic operation. Once the points are worn beyond their operational limit, the electro-mechanical function stops entirely.
It seems that every Second-Gen...
It seems that every Second-Gen Firebird's electric clock died years ago. Any that may still be functional today are likely living on borrowed time. For roughly $60, Instrument Services of Roscoe, Illinois, will supply you with its "Do-It-Yourself Clock Conversion Kit" containing all the necessary components to convert an electro-mechanical clock to quartz movement. If you feel more comfortable watching a conversion before attempting your own, a short video containing detailed visual instructions is also available for an additional $5.
Since repair or replacement is labor intensive and costly, many owners with Firebirds produced through mid-1978 have simply accepted the limited lifespan of the electric clock. However, the situation is different for those Firebirds produced after that point. According to Pontiac Service Bulletin 78-I-74, issued in August 1978, a new air-core tachometer and quartz-movement clock assembly was incorporated into the model line as a running change in June of the model year.
These later clocks may appear identical to earlier units, but the skip-pattern of the second hand was replaced by a continuous sweep and accuracy was typically within two seconds per day. Although it seems that one could pirate a quartz-type clock from a later tachometer/clock cluster and install it into an earlier cluster, significant design changes between the early and late tachometer/clock assemblies make the swap difficult.
So when it comes to keeping time, what options are available to hobbyists who own a Firebird produced before mid-1978? Instrument Services in Roscoe, Illinois, has an answer. In addition to a wide range of products and services for a number of vintage vehicles, its PN N-3085 quartz conversion kit allows you to easily change your Second-Gen Firebird's electro-mechanical clock to quartz movement for a cost of about $60. Follow along as we install this kit into our '76 Trans Am and give our instrument panel complete functionality.
The first steps in converting...
The first steps in converting the Trans Am clock to quartz movement is disconnecting the battery, lowering the steering column, removing the engine-turned aluminum dashplate, and disconnecting and removing the instrument cluster from the dash.
Once the cluster is on the...
Once the cluster is on the workbench, take out the integral tachometer/clock assembly. Remove the lens plate, all the bulbs, the printed circuit, and the tachometer backing plate. Then unplug the clock's red and black wires from the terminals.
With the tachometer backing...
With the tachometer backing plate removed and the clock unplugged, pull the tachometer/clock assembly forward from the cluster.