Gauge Lighting, This Little Light of Mine Options

[SUNAB914]

Man, that is nice and I sold my cars/parts to Bill.
UUGGG!

[Mr.242]

This is a tribute thread for the late Al Garcia, RIP
2nd step, drink a beer or two.

Auuuugh, no wonder I couldn't do this task. I was doing step #2 first and then getting stuck. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif)

All seriousness...I will be doing this. I want to have lights that are updated and bright. Ebay purchased this am; however, it might have to wait until a winter project when the car isn't being driven.

Nice write up! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

[timothy_nd28]

Hey guys I have an idea for the next build. Same idea, with the white back lighting, however when you reach the redline on the tach, all the 3 gauge backlighting would switch from white to red. I think this is very doable but it may change the skill level from a 3 to a 4 scale for the DIY'er.

Questions: Is this worth doing? Should all the gauges turn red at 5500 rpm or should it be a lower rpm? Does anyone know the pulse frequency at 5500 rpm?

[bperry]

I re-did my '74 gauges (tach and speedo) back in the late 80's
I repainted the needles and cut out new glass for the tach.
I was surprised that the tach used a plastic lens.

I have a few words of caution when painting the needles.

Make really sure that the paint on the needles is really really fully dry before
you re-assemble the gauges.
Perhaps even hit it with a heat gun a little bit to cure the paint.
The problem I had was that soon after I put the gauges back in and
the temperature got HOT here in Texas, the needles on the tach and
speedometer started sticking to the resting post and they finally
got permanently stuck.
It SUCKED!
I had to fully disassemble the gauges to free
the needles.
I ended up heat curing the paint a little bit and puting a tiny bit
of vasoline on the post to prevent any future sticking.
So far so good....

What really sucked about the speedo is that I already had to
open it up twice before.
- Once to fix the odometer to get it to work again.
- A second time because when I was puting it back together
for the odomenter fix, the original paint on the tip of the needle chipped off.
(originally I wasn't planning on re-painting the needles)

-- bill

[bandjoey]

Does it help to paint the can inside? White? Silver? Doesn't matter?

U made this look so easy I'm going to try it.

What did u ask for at the glass company?? Any special type? Thickness?
Thanks

[Rob-O]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

I measured the glass and it seems to be a nominal 1/8" thick. I went to a glass place but they wanted $28 for each piece. I suppose I should check other places but I also wonder if one can cut th glass themselves.

Also, has anyone seen the LED's in a 'warm white' color? I think that may look more original while providing the added brightness. I just don't know who carries the warm white color (I didn't see it in the 'store' on the eBay link).

[Rob-O]

Oh, three other points. When I restored mine (minus this cool upgrade), I used a 'Testors' red color paint I found at a hobby shop (Hobby Lobby here in Texas) for the needles. It was a Chevy something red and dries quickly. Also, since I didn't want to spring for the glass at $28, I used a "Mother's" headlight restoration kit from Autozone to polish the plastic lenses. They came out great/perfectly smooth and clear, but you can still tell that they're not glass. Lastly, for the low fuel red cover that is faded, I used a red colored 'tab' from a hanging folder. You can find them at Staples or other office supply stores. Works perfect and looks good when the bulb lights it from behind.

[timothy_nd28]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_bump.gif) This thread corresponds to my near future partII thread

[scotty b]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_bump.gif) This thread corresponds to my near future partII thread

This thread still isn't in the classics forum ? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

[timothy_nd28]

Does it help to paint the can inside? White? Silver? Doesn't matter?

U made this look so easy I'm going to try it.

What did u ask for at the glass company?? Any special type? Thickness?
Thanks

Re-reading thru this, I forgot to answer your question. I have noticed that many gauge cans are already painted white inside. However, thru the years they have yellowed. Other cans are not painted at all, so I would recommend painting or repainting the inside of the gauge can while you are in there. You will need to use extremely flat white spray paint for the best results.

[gothspeed]

Simply amazing!!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)
Thank you for posting (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[PThompson509]

Oh, and are there LED instructions for the blinker indicators? Light/Bright light indicators? Oil/Generator? and Low Fuel?

Or do we have to stick with the old timey wimey light bulbs?

www.superbrightleds.com has replacement bulbs for the blinkers and such - they work ok, but you really have to get the polarity right, otherwise they just don't work. Lots of colors to choose from - I went with blue and it's quite nice.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

I measured the glass and it seems to be a nominal 1/8" thick. I went to a glass place but they wanted $28 for each piece. I suppose I should check other places but I also wonder if one can cut th glass themselves.

Also, has anyone seen the LED's in a 'warm white' color? I think that may look more original while providing the added brightness. I just don't know who carries the warm white color (I didn't see it in the 'store' on the eBay link).

Glass cutting isn't the problem - it is cutting the glass then tempering it - try going to a stained glass shop and see what they can do (bound to be a LOT cheaper).

As for the colors, check out the above website - I really like the stuff that superbright has, and have used them extensively for lots of projects - like a 3rd brakelight that sticks to the chrome just below the roof.

Cheers, Peter

P.S. Excellent job on the LED strips in the can!

[john77]

Finally got all the parts to start this great DIY project. One gauge down, two to go. Compared to the new LEDs on the speedo, the old bulbs on the tach don't even look like they're on.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i2.photobucket.com-17027-1423794744.1.jpg)

[euro911]

... and almost 2 years since Tim upgraded a set of gauges for me (the ones you saw him modify in this very thread), I finally installed them into a panel and applied power to them. These gauges are actually for my wife's '71, but I thought I'd try them out in the 'BB' until her car is ready for them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

These are sitting on my work bench right now and illuminated with 14 volts from a DC power supply.




They shut off at approx 9 volts and at 10~11 volts, they're very pleasant to look at, so I'll adjust the dimmer control to achieve that illumination setting after they're installed in the car.




Thanks again, Tim (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) ... I'll finally be able to see these at night (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Cuda911]

Great work!!!

Regarding replacing the regular bulbs with LEDs, see Post #156 in my thread:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...7472&st=140

There are also two links in that post that have short video clips showing the difference in brightness between the original bulbs and LEDs.

Not nearly as good an improvement as the mod in this thread, but relatively easy to do.

[euro911]

I swapped out most of the incandescent bulbs with LEDs several years ago. They helped somewhat, but still not good enough for my tired eyes.

The LED strip lights are so much better - there's just no comparison (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

[rnellums]

I'm really pumped. My Next-Gen LED gauges are arriving from Tim tomorrow!!!