The odometer really needs to be removed and set by hand, if you figure your average drill is 1000 to 2000 rpm and most domestic speedometers are 1000 cable revolutions per mile... well it would take a long time. The needles are tricky sometimes and as fleetside66 stated while I haven't taken one to the jugular, how does the saying go Cross my heart hope to dye stick a speedometer needle in my eye... or something like that. The absolute worst one is the 56 T-Bird tach needle it's so thin and delicate. Turn counter-clockwise against the speed-cup stop while gently pulling.
Yes, it took awhile moving the odometer to 42k miles with the drill. I set it up in the living room and let it run a few evenings while we watched television.
With this one, once I took it out of the cup, the odometer was easy to remove and clean up a little. I lubed it with some white lithium grease, reset it manually moving the dials and put it back together. The odometer had to go in just the right orientation with the metal tabs between the numbers for it to work. I tested it with the drill after putting it back together.
I thought I would share several panels I put together this week. All the gauges and panels I recently found at a swap meet. When I go to a swap meet I bring a set of wires with alligator clips, 9 V battery and a lighter. This way I can quickly bench test gauges that I'm interested in purchasing. The benefits of determining whether a gauge works prior to making an offer is obvious. If a gauge does not work, typically I'll pass unless it's a 1940's SW 2 5/8" temp gauge. Knowing the condition of a gauge will help you determine a fair price. I found this outstanding Rochester Mechanical Water Temp gauge. It's 2 1/16" with the coffin needle. The numbers, lettering and gauge face are crisp and present very well. The gentleman selling the gauge told me it worked and he allowed me to test it. Sure enough, when I put heat to the bulb the needle rose. I was also able to find the matching Rochester Mechanical Oil Pressure gauge. It is N.O.S. as it was still in its original box and wrapped in the original protective paper from the factory. Score! Then I found an N.O.S. Stewart Warner 2 hole chrome panel still in its original box. The panel even had the protective film on the face! How awesome. So, it put the three together and this is what I have...... I dipped the bulb in boiling water. The needle rises as it should, provides an accurate reading and returns to 0 very smoothly. The quality of these old gauges is amazing. This is why I like them so much. At the swap meet I also found 2 American Standard gauges. As you can see they are the mechanical oil pressure and mechanical fuel pressure. They are 2 1/16" in size and have a long skinny coffin needle. The base of the these needles are also metal, which you don't always find. Both gauges work as they should. I was fortunate enough to find an old Stewart Warner diamond gauge panel as well. I scored this gauge set at the swap meet, too. Although it was a bit dirty it caught my eye. It's not too often you find both a Volts and AMPS gauge as a set. Note, both the gauges are wired to eachother. The color of the gauge face is fairly uncommon as well. I bench tested the gauges and they work. The bottom of the gauge face reads, Allied Radio - Chicago. I removed the gauges and cleaned the panel with steel wool. It turned out decent in the end and I like it because it's kinda unique As you can see purchasing and using older gauges is a great option. None of these gauges here "break the bank" by any means. They are very affordable, work great, and would look great in a hot rod.
Nice write up, Speed On. Did you add the "engine turning" pattern to the last panel yourself? It doesn't look to be present in the "before" pictures.
Thank you, @Beanscoot that is a good observation. After cleaning it with steel wool some small areas of oxidation remained. I thought a nice way to bring the panel back to life would be to engine turn it.
SAVE THE GAUGES..... This past weekend I attended Vintage Torque Fest. This traditional hot rod and custom event has much to offer including a great swap meet. As I perused the swap I found a very old US Gauge Co. mechanical oil pressure gauge. I made an offer and the seller accepted. With that the gauge was mine. I noticed the threaded studs on the back were present but heavily corroded, so much so that the square nuts were rusted in place. Today I thought I would work at removing the square nuts from the rear mounting studs so I could get the mounting bracket off and mount the gauge in a panel. What I thought was going to be a quick/easy job quickly snowballed into a larger afternoon project. I wish I would have taken a "Before" photo, because the "After" photo is quite the stark contrast. I will do my best to describe the "Before" condition. The gauge is around 90 years old and it certainly showed. I was not able to test the gauge before I bought it but I was fairly confident it worked. The case was heavily rusted, the bezel had old black chipped paint, the mounting nuts were rusted into place and the glass was heavily clouded which made the gauge face difficult to see. The first issue to tackle was the rear mounting studs. As I tried to loosen the nuts I wound up breaking the stud mount inside the gauge case. This caused the mounting studs to turn as I turned the nut. (I will show you how to resolve this if this happens to you) My first thought was to cut off the small studs and drill them out of the case. When I attempted this, the stud mount fell into the case. At this point I knew I had to take the gauge apart. I used a very small standard screwdriver and placed it between the bezel and casing. After workin' it a little I was able to pull the bezel from the case, then I removed the 2 screws located on the rear of the case. Those 2 screws hold the internal assembly in place and secure the internals in the case. I was then able to slide the internals out the front of the case. With the gauge in pieces, I was now able to address the broken mounting studs and stud mounts. Here is a photo of how the original mounting studs looked. Note the rear of the case. The large hole at the side of the case is where the internal mount and mounting stud collapsed into the case. The other side still needs to be drilled out. Here is the view looking into the case. You can see where the stud mounts were located. Note here how they sheared off when I tried turning the nut that was rusted to the mounting stud... I happened to have (2) 1/4-20 screws with a flat standard head. They worked great as they are low profile and will not come in contact with the gauge internal mechanism. I did a quick test fit..... Then I replaced the internals to ensure there was no contact with the new studs I placed. NOTE: When you place the internals back into the gauge case you have to rotate it ever so slightly as there are small notches on the inside of the gauge case. These are to help support and secure the gauge face and internals. Here is a photo of what I'm trying to describe.... I then lined up the 2 rear screw holes..... Now that I was this far I could have put is all back together and called it good. But we're HAMBers right....and this gauge was looking pretty rough. It was time to bring this 100 year old relic back to life. I disassembled the gauge again and went to work. First I cleaned the inside of the gauge case... Then I sanded the outside of the case and taped it off Time for some flat black..... Then I checked the internals, all was looking really nice. The quality of these old gauges is &*^&%& AMAZING!!! Next, I turned my attention to the bezel. As I cleaned, it was apparent it had a nice brass bezel beneath the black paint... I cleaned the retainer and the backside of the bezel as it was full of dirt/corrosion. It cleaned very nicely. Also, there is something that is very satisfying when you get to clean the inside glass on a gauge. All the clouding and dirt wipe away so quickly and it really brings the gauge back to life. It's really a "game changer" when the glass is super clean on an old gauge. I was to the point where I had gone over all the pieces of the gauge and was ready for final assembly... Once I had it back together I gave it a test (sorry about the glare...my boy took the photo while I gave the gauge a little pressure.... As I stated, I wish I would have taken a "Before" photo. It was a rusted out pile that most would have walked bye. Anyway, here is the end result....
Excellent detailed write-up with a great result...another one for the collection. I know you have a awesome collection of early gauges, but how many do you actually have ?
Is my wife on here??? If not.....I have far too many gauges from the 1930's through 1950's. Most are Stewart Warner 2 5/8" curved glass, smooth bezel, crescent needle. However I do have a lot of MotoMeter (MMG&e) as well as examples from US Gauge Co, and some other not so common/known brands. I have a large display case that is getting rather full. Thank you for the awesome compliments @kadillackid Katie, if you're reading this......I have no gauges, I just like to look Thank you @cfmvw I had to Google Jack Benny, my wife thinks I'm a comedian...which typically means she laughs and shortly afterwards there's a high heel being thrown at my head lol Good question @loudbang and great observation. There is an indentation where the heads of the new screws sit inside the case (Where the old stud mounts were located). In a great and fortunate coincidence the heads of the screws fit just tight enough in that small indentation that the screws don't turn. I too was thinking of a way to prevent what happened when I initially tried removing the original square nuts. I was fortunate that the solution fell into my lap. On the outside of the case I used a lock washer and nut to secure each of the new studs. The studs are long enough that you could hold the stud and re-tighten the nut/lock washer if they ever came loose. Also, because they are long enough they can never fall completely into the case again.
Another great How-To tutorial, TJ. The whole missing or mangled mounting stud thing is fairly common with these old gauges. I see it most often with the tachs from the 1960's, when the craze was to use a mounting cup for the steering column or on the top of the dash. A lot of times, guys actually cut the mounting studs so they could fit the gauge in the cup. You'd be surprised how many times that was done because the tach was too deep for the cup or the studs didn't line up with the holes in the cup. I've used your method several times, successfully. The hard part is really the removal & replacement of the bezel. Here's one that I'll be doing shortly, if I don't have a spare cup.
Thank you, Greg! You and Rusty are our HAMB in house gauge guru's and I appreciate your kind words. Greg is exactly right, it's fairly common to have to perform mounting stud surgery on these old gauges. Just know that it can be done (by you) and if you really like a gauge that's missing 1 or both studs it may still be worth purchasing. For those of you that have had the pleasure of trying to remove bezels without destroying it and/or the glass can appreciate the patience and delicate technique one must implore. There's always that moment when you think you're going to demolish the bezel. Depending upon the manufacturer, model and series bezels are attached to the case in varying ways. This thread is a great resource to use if you're unsure how your bezel mates to the case on your gauge. Knowing this ahead of time will be incredibly helpful in your success when attempting to remove the bezel without causing damage.
Yeah, like the bezel on this one. S/W made this style speedo & tach for the Studebaker Golden Hawks & the bezel metal is way different than the bezel material in the normal factory ones you see. It is very stiff & when you pry it, it has a bit of a memory & wants to retreat to the original form. With this one, I had to re-use the bezel, so I had to treat it delicately. It was ridiculous & at one point, my jeweler's pry slipped off the edge of the bezel lip & my finger jammed into the gauge stud. But, I used that as an excuse when I played a lousy round of golf the next day. The gauge turned out very nice, though. Who would think that all of that beauty was hiding under all that 1957 dirt? It was worth it.
Ya know I still skin my dang knuckles on bezel removal, you made me laugh at that one Sent from my iPhone www.speedoservice.com Should I rush your rush job or the rush job I was rushing when you rushed in? Elwood: There's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark out, and we're wearing sunglasses. Joliet Jake: Hit it!
You gotta love US Gauge Co. This 100psi Oil Pressure gauge would look perfect mounted on the cowl of a 1930's speedster or traditional hot rod! Another one added to my collection....
I've always been a fan of old Stewart Warner gauges, especially the 2&5/8" models. I recently made a gauge panel for my '55 Delray to mount a oil pressure, oil temp and volt meter under the dash. All are vintage and function as new. On the left side of the steering column is a water temp also 2&5/8". Also have a Sun Super tach that I've had since '67 with a modified sender box. Love the old gauges.
That Cold-Hot temp gauge is great if you have a car that runs a little hot. Since you can't pinpoint the exact temp, there is much less anxiety when you're stuck in a little traffic. Stewart-Warner should have called it the "Rationalizer."
That "G-Meter" must be pretty rare. It would be neat if they made one with units of feet per second squared.
I was recently contacted by a well known hot rodder and hot rod artist. He asked if I had a set of original gauges that capture the spirit of early 60's racing in America. This type of request is something I truly enjoy. He is working on a project where authenticity is important. Here is a taste of what I'm putting together Early 1960's Stewart Warner mechanicial water temp with steel capillary line. Matching Stewart Warner mechanical oil pressure gauge and a beautiful early Faria 8,000 (8 cyl) tachometer. I still have a few more gauges to add, but I like where this is going. His project is quite amazing and very HAMB friendly. That's all I can say about it.
hmm, i wonder if i can build a triple cluster out of old tractor gauges.... would look cool i think, use 8n parts and others.
Great score on the Rochester gauges, the water temp ones are hard to find in good working shape. I have a couple of non working ones, along with 1 working (and a couple oil pressures 50, 75 and 100 psi).
Since the '70's I've had Mo-Ma Manufacturing rebuild and recondition my Stewart Warner gauges. They were in North Hollywood, Calif and are now in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (505) 766-6661. They can replace the capillary tube and fix your gauges.
The Jalopy Journal
