Instrument Panel – Rallye Gauges

[john108]

There are good posts here on restoring the gages yourself or a couple of places to send the gauges, for upgrade and restoration.

I received an estimate from Redline and almost fell off my chair (>$1200).  I am trying to determine what I can cross off the list.  That included converting the Amp meter to a Volt meter ($220 + $65 Artwork).  The face on my original Amp meter still looks good but then reading it would be a guestimate.

The faces of my Tic-Toc-Tach look good, to me, but was told that they wouldn't match well with the new faces they would supply.  If I went with all new artwork for all gauges, that is $400 additional (was included in the $1200+).

Has anyone bought fuel, oil pressure, and temp gauges from YearOne.  They advertise the rallye gages.  Do their faces match original faces as if I were to keep my original Tic-Toc-Tach gauge face.

Buying new gauges doesn't cost much more than having originals upgraded, and you don't have to send them your original cases for re-use.  I was also told that new gauges are not calibrated very well.

Your experience would be greatly appreciated.

[Dino]

None of the stock gauges are calibrated very well and even when they are will not guarantee an accurate reading.  That doesn't mean you can't get them close though.  I would check the calibration myself regardless where the gauges came from.  It's very easy to do and all you need is either a 12v battery and your voltage limiter (I highly recommend the RTE solid state version), a multimeter, and a few resistors from radio shack.

The gauge faces on the new or refurbished gauges will not match your stock gauge no matter how clean it is.  I have a stock clock and a tach which look great and match, but they just don't match with the newer ones.  It may look okay once installed but on my bench there's a definite difference.  I have to say I see no reason to go beyond the performance car graphic decals, I've had mine in for a while now and they look absolutely stellar.  Even though my clock looked great, I put a decal on that one as well so it all looks uniform.

Oh and look up my diy volt meter thread.  Cheap and easy to do, the hardest part is getting the decal right but if you have the right paper to print on, Kinko's can print you an entire sheet for a few bucks in high resolution.

Hope this helps a bit.

[john108]

Dino
I had read your thread a few times before I thought that my skill level and patience was not up to the task.  My car, dash, components are still all in pieces and not sure if I am capable of starting another task.  At least the engine is done!

[Dino]

I won't say it's an afternoon job, it is not, but it is doable if you have some decent crafting skills.  I'll try to break it down a bit for you.  Did you read just the volt meter thread or the cluster restoration thread as well?  The volt meter is pretty easy to do, real easy actually and you can keep your ammeter face if you want it to look stock.  That saves you the hassle of trying to get a nice volt meter decal although I can probably help you out with that.  The stock volt meter face that comes with the donor gauge can be layed onto the ammeter face with very little modification so once you know where the 12 and 14 volt marks are on the ammeter face you'll always know how much volts the battery has, simple as that.  I barely look at my volt meter anymore as it always reads right.  If one day the needle drops then you'll notice and can check the battery.

Restoring the dash bezels is by far the hardest.  Unless you know how to mask and paint really well you may just want to spend the $500 or so on a new set if you need it.  The gauge decals are super easy to do, you cannot do this wrong even if you tried as they go on wet and you have lots of time to make adjustments.  The needles for the small gauges can be finicky but if you have a steady hand it's really not that bad.  You can actually lay the decals on without removing the needles but it's no big deal once you see how they are installed.  They are fragile but not so bad that you'll ruin them as long as you take your time.  The odometer is only tricky in that they need to line up in relation to each other, but the decals are so well made that I had it done in a few minutes.  Performance car graphics did it right.

The calibration is also pretty easy and you don't need to know about electrical at all, if you decide to try it let me know and I'll send you a how to.  All you need to do is follow the steps and it'll be just fine.  If you decide to buy new gauges then all you need to do is test the calibration before you install them and you may be lucky.  If not then I'm sure a minor tweak will take care of it.  These gauges are pretty easy to adjust actually but again don't expect the accuracy of a modern gauge.  I have to say my old fuel gauge is still reading spot on though and the rest of them seem to be damn close.  My speedometer is off by a bit but that was expected with the taller tires I'm running now.

[john108]

Dino - Yes, I read the thread you started and Lilwendal's.
Looks like a lot of fine work.
1.  Do you think that a 46 year old gauge will function as well as a new one??
I don't know if the gauges available from Yearone are new technology packaged to look like the original?

2.  Am I understanding you correctly: The gauge decals you got from Performance go on wet, like wallpaper?
and slip under the needle (Fuel, Temp, Oil Pr.)?

3. The volt meter mod doesn't sound easy to me.  (It is easy when you have done it and worked out the bugs.)

When I spoke to Redline, it appears that new gauges don't cost much more than if they just apply new decals.
Except for the Volt Meter.  The conversion at Redline is $220 plus $65 if you want new Artwork.

For a car that cost me about $3900 in 1968, it is getting very expensive now.

[b5blue]

The new OER brand ALT gauge is rated for 60amp and being new a much safer unit. The other new OER gauges from them need a solid state 5V gauge voltage supply, another good idea as it's protected from failure unlike the original.
I'd think you could just replace everything for the same 1200.00 and keep all the originals with change to spare? 

[Dino]

Dino - Yes, I read the thread you started and Lilwendal's.
Looks like a lot of fine work.
1.  Do you think that a 46 year old gauge will function as well as a new one??
I don't know if the gauges available from Yearone are new technology packaged to look like the original?

2.  Am I understanding you correctly: The gauge decals you got from Performance go on wet, like wallpaper?
and slip under the needle (Fuel, Temp, Oil Pr.)?

3. The volt meter mod doesn't sound easy to me.  (It is easy when you have done it and worked out the bugs.)

When I spoke to Redline, it appears that new gauges don't cost much more than if they just apply new decals.
Except for the Volt Meter.  The conversion at Redline is $220 plus $65 if you want new Artwork.

For a car that cost me about $3900 in 1968, it is getting very expensive now.

1. The technology is the same, but it will be 46 years younger and as B5 mentioned, the ammeter gauge can take more of a load although that's irrelevant if you're getting a volt meter.

2. Correct   

3. I had to spend some time working out the bugs and figuring out how to make it fit but several members have done this and didn't seem to have any issues with it.  I'd say it's worth the try.  I paid less than $25 for the gauge shipped if I recall.

Working on these cars is very expensive which is why I did the mods I did to keep cost down.  I just came back from a trip and it's pretty overcast and dark and my dash looks phenomenal with the decals and leds.   

[Evilcito]

Hi,

Dino, I'm installing a Painless harness in my 68 charger, and I will like to calibrate the gauges. If it possible that you send me the tutorial to do it. (will be first time).


Best regards.

[Dino]

Sure thing.  Do you have a few days?  I have a midterm on Thursday and would like to draw up a how to after that.

[Evilcito]

Yes, I have no problem.

Thank you.