A Converted Mustang Gauge Cluster Makes a Perfect Desktop Conversation Piece

Cars are beautiful works of art, from the stylized body lines to the engineering that goes into an engine. For many cars, that beauty permeates throughout the car, and even into utilitarian parts like the gauge cluster. You might buy a car for the stunning exterior, but it’s the gauges that you spend the most time looking at. That’s why Mr.RC-Cam decided to turn a Mustang’s gauge cluster into a desktop art piece.

Older cars usually used mechanical means to control the gauges in the dash board. For example, any tachometer before about 1980 was likely driven by a spinning cable coming from the engine. But, with the proliferation of cheap computers, automakers switched to electronically-controlled gauges. For the past few decades, virtually every new car has had a computerized system called the CAN bus (Controller Area Network). That both monitors the car’s status and various systems, and controls all of the electronic equipment.

For this project, Mr.RC-Cam utilized the CAN bus functionality to control the gauge cluster from a 2007–2009 Ford Mustang. First, he had to use a CAN bus analyzer to identify the pulse commands needed to set the gauges. Then, he used an Arduino Mega 2560 Rev 3 combined with a MCP2515 CAN Module to actually send the necessary commands to the gauges. Finally, he mounted the cluster in a nice 3D-printed enclosure and attached it to a wood pedestal along with Mustang emblems, an ignition switch, and speakers to play engine sounds. The result is a great conversation piece that gearheads and geeks alike can appreciate.