So I picked up this analog gauge cluster from a junk yard and it's in pretty good condition and has all of the bulbs and wires in tact.
I also took the plastic surround which houses it since the one in my Marquis currently is different.

Now, how much of a pain in my a$$ will it be to do this swap?

I have a 2001 Grand Marquis with the digidash, and considering that I scored this analog cluster for free, it seemed too good to pass up and I'm seriously considering the swap. I have a mild knowledge of electronics and circuitry. I can solder and splice and follow directions and stuff like that...

Does anybody have any experience with this or any write-ups that could guide me through the process?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! Here's a pic

Maybe this is a stupid question, but why would you want to ditch the digi-dash?

Idk, I'm not 95 years old and I don't like all the buttons that I never use. I've always preferred a good old fashioned analog display

I've been driving my mom's 08 for the past three weeks. Switching back to my 97 a couple days ago, the biggest change to get used to was going back to the analog speedo.

If everything, including the ODO works on that cluster you've got in the trunk, and you decide not to do the swap; I might be interested in taking it off your hands.

Just like you have probably heard your whole life
"Don't fix it if it ain't broke".

It's doable, you just have to get the pigtails for the analog harness and figure out which wires in the digidash harness are which data and voltage inputs and splice the analog pigtail on to it.

I converted to digidash from analog, one of the few people to actually do the whole OEM conversion. I don't know about buttons I'm not using, cause I use the fuel mileage readouts all the time. I use all the extra indicators on the screen as well, and are very helpful to me personally. The only thing I wish I could change was the odometer but I just subtract from my old speedometer.

others have swapped from analog to digital.
its a whole different dash harness.
means entire front dash needs to come out and then all wiring needs swapped over to an analog one.
POTM winner Phillip in his merc did it.
took him long time to find correct harness to go digital, but suspect finding analog would be easier.
need only find a mercury with no digital .

there are write ups in cvn of this swap.

https://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2499221

this link has many other links to get started

Well for me, I hate the gas mileage button because I don't like knowing what kind of terrible gas mileage i'm getting, and it's not the most accurate thing in the world.
I always have it set to the "miles until empty" display which is the only thing I would really miss.
I never use trip A or Trip B odometers and the "Average Speed" display is useless in my opinion.
I don't mind the engine temp readout, but I hate the fuel readout since there are no dashes to show 3/4 tank, 1/2 tank or 1/4 tank which bothers me...it's either one dash above those values or one below.
It annoys me a lot for some reason. And I could care less for the speedometer because if i'm ever accelerating quickly, it skips numbers cause it can't keep up, and I don't even have any performance mods yet!
And also, the only time I ever change everything to metric is when i'm trying to fool my gullible friends into thinking i'm going faster than I really am...but other than that, I never use that button either.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, but that's just my take on the digidash since everyone is always surprised at the fact that I prefer the analog.

But in the end, I just hope I won't be kicking myself repeatedly when I do the swap because I don't realize how difficult this could actually be...

Once again though, any wiring diagrams or tips on how to do this properly and efficiently would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Analog all the way, I excluded any mgm with the digital dash form my search when I was looking to buy. My 06 does have the digital MPH but also has both the analog speedo and tach which I like. Good luck with the conversion.

If that speedo is from the same year car as yours, you should go back to the same junk yard and ask for the wiring harness from the same car they pulled the speedo from. then, wire that harness into your car.

The gauges are from an 04 I believe, and I have the all the connectors and stuff from it