History MotoMeter Gauge & Equip. Co. (National Gauge & Equip. Co)

I believe the first application was 1933 Willys-Knight for this panel with Moto Meter gauges. The panel is perfectly design matched with the dashboard.
It was introduced later in the Chris Craft 1935 speedboats. Maybe CC purchased surplus stock from Willys as last year for production of the Knight models was 1933.

Don Ferrara used a Willys-Knight dashboard in his '29 model A roadster

 

Ran across this today, nos , anybody need it?

 

And dressed up with a MM tach, temp gauge and a SW gas gauge it's even better...

 

Beautiful panel & gauge collection! Is the speedo an A/C by any chance? I think you're right on with the history. The panel was made by Stewart-Warner for the Willys, but those crazy boat people couldn't keep their hands off of it. It's good they bought so many of them, because there are still some floating around for the hotrodders.

 

three "boat" panels with various hot rod gauges

 

I have some of the parts books from just after the Electric Auto-Lite company bought Moro Meter.


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www.speedoservice.com
Should I rush your rush job or the rush job I was rushing when you rushed in?

 

@fleetside66 You had a moto meter speedo for sale in the classifieds. I missed seeing it in time, but I am looking for a speedo just like that. How rare, or common, are those?

 

@37hotrod That speedo fleetside66 has is from the mid 1930's I believe. I think Plymouth or Chrysler. Greg would know for sure. Also, HAMBer e1956v may have one as he owns a great speedometer shop.

Here is my collection of 1935 Dodge floating power speedometers, which are very similar to the speedo you have pictured above. A few years ago e1956v rebuilt another one of these that I own. I have installed that one in my Model A. Once he completed the restoration of my speedo he told me if I ever see another one to buy it as these are becoming difficult to find. He was right, I was once able to find a few of these a year.....now I rarely find them.
I am glad I purchased these when I did so I have parts and speedo's for future dash panels.

If you find one that needs work, I would HIGHLY recommend HAMBer @e1956v The work he does is incredible!!

There is one of these for sale on Ebay right now. The owner is asking a lot of money. For that price, it better have a very recent rebuilt and restoration.

 

The speedo is a Delco Appliance, Rochester NY (formerly North East Electric Co). This is the housing:

Here are some other 2-3/8", 2-5/8" and 3-1/2" Moto Meter gauges:

 

@BlueNotes Your gauges are very nice! Wow, thank you for sharing your collection!!

 

I forgot how nice those Dodge speedos look...and I even used to have a ‘37 Plymouth coupe! I don’t know if I have enough room for one of those in the dash of the RPU, they are pretty big. But that is the look I’m going for. Need something that won’t look out of place with the gauges I have already gathered. Specifically trying to match the hash marks around the outside, and the crescent/coffin pointers.

 

Here’s a picture of mine, but it does not match my back mounted Stewart Warner’s. Does anyone have a back mounted Stewart Warner to trade?

 

Forgot to mention, most of the gauges are Niehoff, and the tach is Stewart Warner. The fuel gauge was a close match, since Niehoff didn’t make fuel gauges. It is a MotoMeter gauge, military surplus out of a tank!

 

A bit off-topic but here are some nice 2-5/8" back mount gauges from a Packard. Can't tell for sure but I believe they were made by Delco/North East, not SW or MM. Anybody else that can verify what brand they are? The temp gauge needs a calibration and a new capillary tube.....

 

Question for the collectors here, Trying to determine a fair value of a gauge I have (cleaning up in my old age), by fair I mean that a buyer is happy with the deal and so am I. Gauge work smoothly, returns to 0 and registers the same as another high quality pressure gauge (well as accurate as a made in China gauge can be). Have looked on that auction site and all I see are gauges that require quite a bit of loving. If I take it to a swap meet here, if they ever have one again, I know the offers will be very lo.

Gauge is shown in Post # 29 above.

Any help guys.

 

1928-1929 Peerless cluster with MM & E gauges

 

Just to give you an idea of how well these MMG&E gauges were made, this one I just ran across still works!

 

Greg's example from above is a true testament to the quality of the Motometer gauge line. That oil pressure gauge was made in the 1930's; after 90 years of service (and getting pretty thrashed) it conitues to work to this day. Amazing!!!! I would surmise there are few (if any) gauges made today that could take that type of abuse and continue to function for 90 straight years.



Here is a project I've been working on. I bought this panel from a fellow hamber and installed a few of my Motometer gauges. And yes...the oil pressure gauge in my panel is what the gauge from above looked like at one point in its life. You gotta love these old Chris Craft panels!

 

Outstanding !! there is nothing more awesome looking than this style of gauges from Motometer and SW....SpeedOn do you do all the resto work yourself ?

 

Thank you @kadillackid I agree. This combination of Motometer MMG&e gauges mounted in this early Chris Craft panel looks pretty amazing.

I did indeed do some light restoration to this gauge panel. I looked pretty nice when I initially purchased it from a fellow hamber. The engine turning was probably original as it was quite faded. I simply polished the panel and rubbed out the engine turning as best I could.

Then I engined turned the panel. It was the first time engine turned something that had a radius as pronounced as this, so I really took my time. I think it turned out well as it looks pretty good.

Hamber @fleetside66 has always had an interest in vintage panels. His knowledge and collection is quite impressive. After buying this panel from @AldridgeDW I can see why these guys enjoy and appreciate these panels so much. They are so cool and look amazing. Im so happy I had the opportunity to buy this one.

 

This is the MMG&E oil pressure gauge from HAMBer @fleetside66 that is pictured above in Post 47. This gauge was made in the 1930's. These photo's actually make the gauge look a little nicer than it is in reality. As Fleetside66 stated, this is a true testament to the incredible quality of these gauges. As you can see, this gauge still works great and would look fabulous in a patina old skool build or on the beach at TROG.

It's faded, it's rusty, its the polar opposite of perfect and I think its great. I know many of you may think it's ugly or wouldn't want this piece. As for me.... I really like it....a lot! At 3 3/8" in size it certainly grabs your attention.

I can't thank Fleetside66 enough for this gauge, I am more than happy to give this masterpiece a home.












Here is what this gauge once looked like...

 

Another great gauge to a good home ...

 

This oil pressure gauge does not have a name on it. The temp gauge is Stewart Warner. I would love to know more about the history of these and the possible value. I bought them for my roadster but didn’t use them. Thanks, HFH.

 

@hfh That is a very cool set of gauges you have. As you can see they are both rear-mounts. The oil pressure gauge is an M&M 1931/32 Auburn intermediate. They came in 50 psi and 75 psi. To mount, they simply have a thin piece of steel that fits across the backside. The auburn panel has mounting studs on the rear to which the steel strip mounts to, thus securing the gauge in place.
Those are becoming rather difficult to find.

History: Your temp gauge was used in a variety of applications which include White Trucks, Chris Craft wood boats produced in the early 1930's and would be appropriate in an Auburn. Stewart Warner was a large supplier in their early years so you'll find that temp gauge used in a variety of applications.
The oil pressure gauge definitely looks MotoMeter and were indeed used in Auburns and a host of other vehicles. (1930s to maybe early 40s) Definitely a beautiful gauge!
I've seen them sell for as low as $75 but that's on the low end.

Your temp gauge needs a new braided line and capillary bulb. You'll have to send it in as the gas that is used to charge the bulb is kinda gnarly...and it stinks. The guy I use typically charges around $130 to $170 depending upon any additional work that may need to be done on the internals. (other shops will likely charge more) A working temp gauge in the condition of yours typically sell for $400 to $550. (depending upon the overall condition and appearance of the gauge) You can try and separate the bezel from the rear casing and gently clean the backside of the glass. Sometimes those bezels come off easy and other times they are a real pain in the ass to separate. If you can get it apart, you'll be amazed at how well that gauge will clean up.
Anyway, very nice set of early gauges!

 

Thank you Speed-On for all your comments on my old gauges. I really enjoyed reading about their history. I’m wondering if you would be willing to answer another gauge question that I have about the gauges that I did use in my roadster. When I put the car together 25 years ago, I had some of the gauges apart for various reasons. Now I want to spruce them up by replacing some of the bezels that are either dented or rusty. I remember that I got them apart by starting with a large sharp knife and rolling the gauge on my workbench, working the knife into the joint. It was a long process but they did eventually come apart. I put them back together by pressing them using my drill press. I’m wondering if you have a better method of getting them apart. Maybe it is best to just send them to a professional. Again, thank you for all your comments. I’ve loved driving with these gauges and now I’d like to make them more beautiful. I do have some extra bezels and am thinking about having some replated or buying new ones. HFH.

 

Without causing harm, that's the best way to disassemble those gauges. But, to make reassembly a little easier I have a machinist buddy of mine chuck the buckets in his lathe and turn a couple thou out of the inside. Then I use a thin ring of RTV to glue the bezel back in. Makes removal the next time a lot easier.

Pat Pryor was making nice looking bezels and retainer rings. Hopefully he's still at it.

 

Very cool thread, thank you all.

 

Found this ad from the 2/25/28 issue of THE LITERARY DIGEST. Interesting media placement and copy concept

 

@hfh No problem, my pleasure regarding your old MotoMeter and SW. The rear-mounts fell out of favor a few years ago as more people became interested the SW 2 5/8" front-mounts like you have pictured above. (I too have quite the collection of those as well) Both the front-mounts and rear-mounts are beautiful. The rear-mount gauges are incredibly eloquent and classy, the front-mount gauges just scream...."I'm a race car...I'm badass...and I want to go fast". Can't go wrong either way.
The rear-mounts have once again become incredibly desirable. (which they deserve)

As far as the bezel removal on your SW 2 5/8" pictured above, the technique you used the first time is correct for all of us that don't have an original Stewart Warner bezel tool. As you experienced, it is a time consuming process.
As a reminder (and more for others reading this that may not have experience removing these particular bezels) they are very easy to "tweak" and ruin. It's imperative to be very careful during the removal process as once the thin bezel is bent, they are almost impossible to fix. @alchemy who is a great gauge resource here on the HAMB is correct.

hfh, you have excellent taste in gauges. Your S.W. 2 5/8" smooth bezel, curved glass, crescent needle, front mount gauges are outstanding and are perfect for a pre-war hot rod.

Here is a photo of bezel removal and install tool....Santa..if you're listening...I would love one of these for Christmas.




As stated, Pat Pryor has gone through some extraordinary lengths to recreate these original bezels. In fact, the tolerances in his machining process are identcal to the original Stewart Warner specs. This means they will fit like a glove. As you experienced they are a bit hard to get back into place as there is almost no space between the bezel and the rear casing. This speaks volumes to the incredible quality of these gauges. Yes, Pat is still selling these. If your bezel is in rough shape, this may be a great way to replace it. 2 5/8"

 

Thank you Speed-On and Alchemy for your most helpful comments. I will disassemble them the hard way, knowing that this is the safest way. I have been in touch with Pat Pryor. It’s reassuring to know that his tolerances are good. He does still have bezels and glass for the 2 5/8” gauges. I’ll include a picture of the gauge panel as I made it 25 years ago. My wife wants me to get the big oval bezel replated so that’s in process now.