1. Cut out gauge faces (if you haven't already) along the cutout lines. Use a good pair of scissors to cut the outlines, and a sharp utility knife or X-Acto knife and a straight edge to cutout the interior cuts. The round holes where the needles and trip odometer reset shaft pass through the faces can be a pain, but take your time. There are dots drawn the faces that need to be cut out. These are alignment holes.
A few tips for cutting: Use a pair of sharp scissors to cut the outside profiles. Those don't need to be real precise, as all the edges will be covered up. As for the interior cuts, I use one of those inexpensive utility knives that you break off the tip when it gets dull. Also, use a straight edge to guide the knife when doing the internal cuts. Use light pressure and go over the lines a couple of times. Don't try to cut it all in one knife movement.
I place a piece of thick posterboard (actually a piece of scrap matting used in framing pictures) under the gauges when I am cutting so that I don't damage the surface of the table. As for the round holes, I dig the knife through the gauge face and stick it into the posterboard. I then rotate the gauge face and give the knife a rocking motion (keeping the tip of the knife in the posterboard). This way I have a lot better control than trying to move the knife.
2. Start up your car and let it get up to operating temperature.
3. First of all, locate the two (2) screws located under the lip of the cluster bezel and remove them. I used a phillips head bit and a socket for easy access to it.
4. Remove the headlight switch by pulling it out and the plastic surrounding the headlight switch by pulling from the left towards the right. It should pop right out, but be careful to make sure you don't break the wire that illuminates the display behind the panel.
5. Remove the dimmer switch and remove the wiring harness from behind it. Once that's all set... remove the four (4) 7mm bolts holding the plastic on to the dash.
6. To give more access for removing the plastic trim, removing the vents is a good idea. Either use a knife or a flathead screw driver to gently pry them out of their housing
7. To give you better access, recline the steering wheel down and pry the plastic back towards you. It's a little tricky at first, but just be careful not to crack it and take your time and you'll be alright.
8. Now that the plastic trim is removed.... time to move on to removing the gauge cluster. There are four (4) 7mm bolts holding it in place in each corner of it... remove them, but BE CAREFUL not to drop them when removing or re-installing them.
10. Note the positions of all of the needles. You can use some masking tape on the black bezel to mark their location.
11. Now that the cluster is loose, pull it out slightly and reach behind to disconnect the wire harness. It comes apart by squeezing both clips and pulling. Thin, flexible hands are good at this time.
12. Now pull out the cluster out of the car (careful, the black bezel can come loose) and hold it above your head and say "Woohoo". Now set the cluster down wherever you're going to work on it and go get a refreshing drink, because I know you deserve it.
13. Now that you're refreshed, hopefully not too refreshed, it's time to start the disassembly of the cluster.
14. Remove the black bezel from the cluster. Please note that these gauges are Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) sensitive, much like computer hardware. Please take precautions to eliminate the chance of ESD damage. A precaution can be (but not limited to) using a grounding strap. Now gently pull the speedometer and tachometer from the cluster. They pull right out. Next pull out the other gauge assembly.
15. To remove the needles, I used a regular fork. Just slide the tines of the fork on each side of the pivot point of the needle and carefully work the needle up and off the gauge. Let's start with the temp gauge. When removing the needle, try not to rotate it in anyway, this may help with needle realignment. Pop the needle off and set it down. The factory gauge face is glued to the clear plastic framework. Just peel the face off the frame. Don't clean off the glue, because it will be used to stick on the new faces. Grab the new temperature gauge face and stick it to the clear framework, aligning the holes. The faces should stick quite well. If they don't, I suggest 3M Super 77 spray adhesive, that's just what I use.
16. This step is optional, but I feel it is necessary. Flip the needles over and carefully scrape the white paint off the back of the needles. Use a sharp utility knife and scrape away. Now, I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a small bottle of Testors fluorescent orange model paint. I laid down several thin coats of orange until I got the desired look from the front. This way, the needles will be orange against white during the day and glowing orange against black at night. Also, paint the white on top of the black portion of the needle, to match the needles.
17. Now, if you're feeling lucky, you can press the needle back on and take your chances with the alignment. Or you can just lightly press the needle back on so that it's easy to remove if it needs to be realigned.
18. The speedometer is slightly different. Note the location of the needle when at rest. Notice that if you flick the needle, it returns to the same position. Now fork the needle off and peel the face off. There will be two green plastic items that are used around the odometers that might stick to the face. If they do, pop them back into place in the clear framework. Resist the temptation to alter the mileage of your vehicle at this time. That is a big "No-No". Drop the new gauge face onto the clear framework. The hole around the trip odometer reset pole should be tight. Make sure everything lines up. This is where taking your time with the knife and the straight edge will make a difference. You can press the needle onto the speedometer such that it comes to rest at the same spot it was before. It should come to rest slightly above the trip odometer reset pole.
19. The tachometer is similar to the speedometer. The needle comes to rest at 0 RPM when it has no power, so you can play with it and the needle should return to 0 RPM. Pop off the needle. The face should peel right off now. Stick on the new face and install the needle in the correct orientation.
20. Assemble the cluster by installing the smaller gauges first and then the two larger ones.
21. Go back to the car and plug the wiring harnesses back in and start the car. Let the car reach operating temperature and is running the same conditions as when you marked the needle positions (i.e. A/C on or off, stuff like that). Make sure that all the needles move freely and indicate the correct position (remember the masking tape on the bezel, now's the time to align the needles.) Align the needles, press them down pretty firm and replace the bezel and install the clear plastic cover.
22. The rest is simply reassembly of the dashboard, which is the reverse of disassembly.
23. Sit back with another refreshing beverage and bask in your handy work. Go and show all of your family, friends and neighbors.