Yeah I know just the idea would be mostly considered sacrilege but hear me out 
As a "classic" car, a Turbo Coupe represents some bleeding edge experimental thinking, from the boosted 4cyl in a heavy coupe (competing with 8c output) to early ABS and electronic suspension. It screams "80's nerd lab" for better and (not much) worse. So I've personally felt the analog cluster was always a bit of a thematic letdown. Analog is reliable, but ancient and everywhere and boring. Digital was THE WAVE of the future we're now in. The full-digital cluster in my '88 V6 was one of my (and my friends') favorite features on that car.
So, feature for feauture, the only things a TC analog cluster has that aren't in the full-digi version are the boost gauge and the PRC light. Well, everyone acknowledges the boost gauge isn't particularly reliable (so much for Analog superiority) and the PRC light is... just a light, which many people nerf anyway when they change shocks. No big loss, and going to the full-digi cluster would replicate most of the Systems Sentry lights in that otherwise dumb panel, freeing up that space for other things (like an aftermarket boost gauge or other goodies). Coolcats.net even has an article about adding the tripminder (which used to be where the basic clock is) to base-digi and analog cars, using sensors and wiring already present in the EEC wiring. So that full-digi feature could work too!
So I'd like to think my idea has merit. That said, surely I'm not the only one who's had it BUT I know it cannot be particularly easy. You'd have to change sending units, and get the cluster (tach) calibrated. And of course hacking and splicing and tying in the wiring harnesses, oy... which I'm sure were fed exclusively via the 6 and 8c EEC modules on cars so equipped, which of course won't work with the 4. But I hear there are aftermarket tuner EEC's out there so... could those be made compatible?
Just spitballing here as a newbie and idiot. I'm very curious to know what's been attempted or discovered for better and worse over the years.
As a "classic" car, a Turbo Coupe represents some bleeding edge experimental thinking, from the boosted 4cyl in a heavy coupe (competing with 8c output) to early ABS and electronic suspension. It screams "80's nerd lab" for better and (not much) worse. So I've personally felt the analog cluster was always a bit of a thematic letdown. Analog is reliable, but ancient and everywhere and boring. Digital was THE WAVE of the future we're now in. The full-digital cluster in my '88 V6 was one of my (and my friends') favorite features on that car.
So, feature for feauture, the only things a TC analog cluster has that aren't in the full-digi version are the boost gauge and the PRC light. Well, everyone acknowledges the boost gauge isn't particularly reliable (so much for Analog superiority) and the PRC light is... just a light, which many people nerf anyway when they change shocks. No big loss, and going to the full-digi cluster would replicate most of the Systems Sentry lights in that otherwise dumb panel, freeing up that space for other things (like an aftermarket boost gauge or other goodies). Coolcats.net even has an article about adding the tripminder (which used to be where the basic clock is) to base-digi and analog cars, using sensors and wiring already present in the EEC wiring. So that full-digi feature could work too!
So I'd like to think my idea has merit. That said, surely I'm not the only one who's had it BUT I know it cannot be particularly easy. You'd have to change sending units, and get the cluster (tach) calibrated. And of course hacking and splicing and tying in the wiring harnesses, oy... which I'm sure were fed exclusively via the 6 and 8c EEC modules on cars so equipped, which of course won't work with the 4. But I hear there are aftermarket tuner EEC's out there so... could those be made compatible?
Just spitballing here as a newbie and idiot. I'm very curious to know what's been attempted or discovered for better and worse over the years.
-Tony L.
Frankfort, KY
'75 Lincoln Mark IV | '87 Tbird TC 5sp | '10 Flex Ltd | '19 Caravan GT | '09 Mazda5 | '94 Aerostar
RIP: '05 Freestyle | '97 Tbird Sport (x2) | '88 Tbird LX V6 | '87 Cougar LX V6
Frankfort, KY
'75 Lincoln Mark IV | '87 Tbird TC 5sp | '10 Flex Ltd | '19 Caravan GT | '09 Mazda5 | '94 Aerostar
RIP: '05 Freestyle | '97 Tbird Sport (x2) | '88 Tbird LX V6 | '87 Cougar LX V6