SW made similar gauges like these for production cars as early as '31 (the ubiquitous Auburn that has the dashes we so love), but I've never seen a date stamp on one of these "industrial" gauges that puts it any older than 1940. So I can't personally proclaim to know of them older than '40. But, I do personally own NOS oil pressures and vaccuums in this style with 1960 stamped on the hermetically sealed packaging. That's why I said '40 to '60. I too know Terry and agree that he is one of the experts in the SW field. Been emailling with him for probably over 10 years now. If he says it, it's gotta be true.
From what I have been told the long tail pointers were first then the supposedly shortened the tail toward the end of making this series to make them easier to read. Sept 1957 was pretty late in the guage run so that is why they are probaly short tails. If you look in all the early hot rod books the cars have the long tail. Also any of the early speed and stewart warner catalogs that I have seen. Like I said I have no idea if this is right but my friend deals in these early guages and that is the story I got from him. Alchemy knows alot about these maybe he knows if this is correct. I think the long tail looks nicer too. Not as plain : o )
He didn't get the day right in his payment terms...It's MONDAY the 31st... Remember, ebay is EVIL for the car hobby. Talk about a double-edged sword...
Thanks for that explanation. However, I can't come to the same conclusion that the short tails would be any less desirable...but maybe not as rare as the earlier long tails. I say that because it has been my experience that those that are dated circa 1955 - 1964 are more "sellable" than the earlier dated gauges, at least that has been my personal experience. I attribute this to more people building rods from that period than from the pre-55 period and more people with 1955-1964 factory built cars making them into "resto mods".
I am happy with my gauges when they work. I can see no sense in spending a fortune on old gauges. they are GAUGES! geeezz... If my cars new gauges make someones nose turn up...then they probably are out of touch with where I'm coming from, just as much as I am from their perspective. I hope I don't shatter anyones illusion that it actually IS 1960, or whenever, but, some of us are just trying to enjoy cars. And we don't all have millions. godamn...period perfect gets on my damn nerves... Now we are getting right back to restorer/street rod keep up with the Jones's mentality, its modern traditional check book hot rodding...where its all about "what you have" than enjoying it! I'm glad my car isn't anywhere NEAR "perfect" so I can actually drive and enjoy it, instead of just standing around it guarding it, desperately hoping for the oppurtunity to yet again impress some stranger with an obscure, inobtainable artifact, starting with the phrase "guess what I paid for that"...
well as some have already stated supply and demand. did anyone see the thickstun air cleaner auction the other day, it made $2200.00. Al.
I am under the impression that you don't get it... and that's ok. The less people that want them make my chances better of getting them! To some of us the details are what make the car, and on this site we are not the minority. To play Devil's Advocate, I do think that the price of the gauges in question was way overpriced, I've purchaced or seen them (yes the fuel gauge too) for less not long ago... much less. eBay really is'nt the place to find this stuff.
I've gotten some good deals on eBay, but not necessarily on anything anyone else was hot about. The real downside of eBay is that the accessibility jacks up demand so high. And its obvious that there are a lot of people out there with a lot more discretionary funds than most of us. To some of us the details are what make the car, and on this site we are not the minority. Exactly. And while this more and more might translate into $, searching and ingenuity can get around much of this. For instance, while period hi-boys might scream for a line of crescent-tailed SW's or the like, I have a set of early '30's GM or whatever gauges- with the gas/oil and amp/water in combo, that I'm putting in the coupe. They look neat and as old as they are, fit the dash, are adaptable, and are even made by SW. Still cheap at swaps and even occasionally on eBay. Stuff isn't completely dried up, just harder to find.
Those of you that are put off by the price seemed to have missed an important fact. The "buy it now" price includes shipping and insurance. Factor this in and the price has become very reasonable. Besides that, I see that financing is available.
[loudpedal;2467429]Iquote= am under the impression that you don't get it... and that's ok. The less people that want them make my chances better of getting them! To some of us the details are what make the car, and on this site we are not the minority. To play Devil's Advocate, I do think that the price of the gauges in question was way overpriced, I've purchaced or seen them (yes the fuel gauge too) for less not long ago... much less. eBay really is'nt the place to find this stuff.[/quote] Oh...I "get it"... I just don't have it...$$$. I am currently collecting parts for a VERY detail oriented build. It will be a work in progress forever, most likely. However...I don't look down my nose like a fucking judge at everyones failures to cough up the ludicrous amount of bucks to purchase the "gotta have it" status parts. I like anyone else, appreciate a true period build...I like to look at them like the amazing peice of history/recreation of history that they are. I also like to enjoy my car. I'm also not an anal retentive elitist snob. ( not saying YOU, personally are one either, but anyone whos day is ruined by someone elses car for such "transgressions" IS....or at the very least, they need serious help...) I also am not concerned with "points" or who I impress... I drive my shit... I DO agree...the details make the car, unless you are building a more race-oriented car, and less custom/show car, but thats another story... I happen to like GO cars...not show cars so much, but...I DO want to build a down to every nut and bolt detail show car, as I have said (NOT a "period perfect" car), just to do it...but, I will continue to look high and low, be patient, resourceful, and use clever substitution, wherever neccesary, though...rather than pay more for something than its actual worth...A fool and his money...well, you know the rest! But...I can have VERY nice details...without having the "sought-after" , be the envy of your peers part of the moment. after all...details are in what you create...not what you buy.
I got this set this summer and had them for sale, but no one seemed interested. Curved glass SW's with the wings logo on them, original old ones in a gauge panel. Can anyone nail down a date on them? I'm thinking about saving them for my T roadster, since no one wanted to buy them.
Supposedly the winged gauges were offered only from 1948-54. However, I'm almost certain that I've seen them in later SW catalogs. Any date codes on the back? Where did you have them for sale and for how much? This should be an easy item to sell, but only to that relatively small group doing pre-1955 period builds.
T-time, there are some numbers stamped on the back of the cluster and on at least one of the gauges in what looks like orange paint or ink. They're kinda hard to read. Kinda long to be date codes too but I don't know that much about them. I had them for sale here on the HAMB about a year or so ago. I think I was asking $500 but that's maybe too much since the chrome is crusty and there's no water temp gauge? Thanks for the date info. Although in my mind, if they were availible in 1955, they were availible (used) in 1960 and forever since then. When I think of period correct, I think that an item just had to exist at that certain time, it didn't necessarily have to be new. I guess period correct rodding is a subjective art form.
Your panel is called the "Ensign". The SW date codes are sometimes a bit difficult to figure out because of other numbers and letters that indicate other things. <TABLE width=770><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE width=500><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>A - 1933 B - 1934 C - 1935 D - 1936 E - 1937 F - 1938 G - 1939 H - 1940 J - 1941 K - 1942 </TD><TD vAlign=top>L - 1943 M - 1944 N - 1945 P - 1946 Q - 1947 R - 1948 S - 1949 T - 1950 U - 1951 V - 1952 </TD><TD vAlign=top>W - 1953 X - 1954 Y - 1955 Z - 1956 A - 1957 B - 1958 C - 1959 D - 1960 E - 1961 F - 1962 </TD><TD vAlign=top>G - 1963 H - 1964 J - 1965 K - 1966 L - 1967 M - 1968 N - 1969 P - 1970 Q - 1971 R - 1972 </TD><TD vAlign=top>S - 1973 T - 1974 U - 1975 V - 1976 W - 1977 X - 1978 Y - 1979 Z - 1980 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE width=500><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>1 - January 2 - February 3 - March </TD><TD vAlign=top>4 - April 5 - May 6 - June </TD><TD vAlign=top>7 - July 8 - August 9 - September </TD><TD vAlign=top>10 - October 11 - November 12 - December</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
My interests lie more in the pre 50 or so era. I guess that would make me more inclined to want the long tail pointer. Another point to bring up is some my guages do not have light sockets. I think only my fuel guage does. I think the later guages they started adding light sockets on them.
I really dont understand this way of thinking at all. Yeah some of the stuff gets jacked up in price but before Ebay you could have spent years searching for that one have to have part and never found it. Twenty five years ago how would some guy in Ohio have found that special part that some guy in California had and couldnt seem to get rid of? It's win/win IMO. One guy gets what he's looking for and one guy sells off something thats been collecting dust on the shelf. That part is only a few keystrokes away now and you dont have to spend tons of time and money in gas, hotel bills, food, ect. searching the swaps and coming up empty handed. No one ever factors those points in.
I agree that E-bay is a double edged sword.On one hand you have a bigger market therefore more stuff is available.On the other hand with a bigger market comes more knowledge about the price of certain parts therefore less bargains. The internet makes the world smaller. As for the gauges in question,I agree it is a lot of money but price them individually and then price restoring each gauge.Plus the time to find them. I,m lucky that I,ve been collecting these gauges for 15 years and got them before they were too expensive. I remember being shocked at Hershey having to pay $100 for a NOS fuel gauge.
I believe you are right. I never noticed until this post that the two temp gauges that I have (flathead, one for each head) are different. The short tail, top right, has the short tail and the light socket. I knew it was a newer version but never noticed the needle!! The vacuum has the short tail also but I like it better than the Motor meter. The motor meter reminds me of a gauge your nerdy uncle had and not a hot rod gauge.
I respectfully disagree. One set doesn't fair market value make- especially on anything rare. What they did establish was what the market could bear on a given perfect day. Only 2 bidders above $2500 means pissing war trumps market value. Certainly is a nice set to view together.
Same here. I love ebay. I would not have my 49-51 Merc accessory wheel if it wasnt for ebay. Sometimes you gotta pay to play.
And they're still out there. Last year I could have bought 24 of the front mount gas gauges for 2000. I just didn't have the scratch on one-days notice, so I lost out. But deals are still there. One interesting thing to me is the switchover from "GAS" gauge to "FUEL" gauge lettering. I've owned both, and the switchover happened between 1955 and 1957...
I agree with Mutt. I'm an hour away from Hershey and I'm fortunate to be able to go yearly. But after you factor in vacation time, food, travel & lodging, gas etc. E-bay makes sense. Some swaps are more a time to catch up with old friends and score some hidden treaures in the $1.00 piles than scooping up the ultra rare parts on the cheap. E-bay is like any other market driven idea. I also think that if it's a clean and legit transaction on both side, it's a win/win like Muttley said.
I was just looking through my 1963 Big Eds Speed shop catalog and noticed that they were still available then. The picture shows the gauge saying GAS but it's probably just an old graphic that SW supplied for years.
WOW, great info. I just checked my fuel guage (that is lettered GAS) and it does not have a light socket either. I bet the ones that say FUEL do. Only my oil pressure and fuel pressure have a light sockets. Another intersting note is that my fuel pressure has a cresent needle but has block lettering. Anyone know the anthing about this?
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