Without the numbers looks great, I'd say go for that. This build gives me faith in 4 doors, very nice job.
Fellow HAMBer ChromePlaterJosh will be doing the chrome so I have been working on getting all the parts ready to ship out to him. I have been cutting and massaging all the stainless window trim this week. I made the center strip for the split windshield. I rolled it first, then put a break down the center so it would have some volume. I also made a prototype connector clip out of aluminum and now I need to make a stainless one. You can see that the stock one was too narrow. Here you can see how poor the fitment of the stock trim is. Lots of careful cutting and filing to get them to fit nicely. I had to trim the rear window stainless because it was a few inches too long. I made a little hammer-form from a piece of flatstock and reshaped the end.
Any time time frame on when it is supposed to be at Gene's shop for paint? I live about 7 miles from his place and really want to see this thing in person. Didn't you post a couple pics on Pirate4X4 a while back? If so I am digging the progress, I was wondering how this project was progressing. Keep It Up!!
Believe it or not the project is still progressing. I just finished the gauges last night and I'm about to upload pics. I have also been working on getting all of the chrome and stainless parts out to ChromePlaterJosh's shop and that has been very time consuming. Once all the chrome is out of my garage I am starting on the interior and I bought a 65 Thunderbird interior from HAMBer Eddie which I will be fitting into the car. I am shooting for having the car at Gene's shop by the end of the year but it just depends how things go and also on his schedule since he is an extrememly busy guy.
Okay back to the gauge project, here is what I had posted on my tech week post: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=366909&highlight=kaiser This is how I put 12v modern AutoMeter gauges in the stock cluster of my '51 Kaiser Manhattan. I used Pro-Comp Ultra-lite gauges because I like the brushed aluminum face, it is similar to the stock Kaiser gauges. It's uncanny how similar the speedometer is. 3 3/8" fits perfectly into the stock cluster, and the 270 degree, 0-120 mph sweep lines up perfectly. I used part number 4487, found here: http://www.autometer.com/cat_gaugedetail.aspx?gid=3115&sid=11 Step1: Disassemble the stock cluster. I just used a small flathead screwdriver to pry the tabs back. Step 2: Trim the sheetmetal pod until the gauges fit. I used tin snips and a right angle die grinder with a barrel sander on it. Take your time with this until they fit nice and snug. Step 3: Fit the gauges into the cluster. I needed to adjust the depth of the gauges so they sat up against the stock lens. To do this I trimmed some material off the front of the AutoMeter mounting cups using my bandsaw. Step 4: Now we have a problem, two sets of numbers. I kicked around a lot of ideas and talked to Kris at Autometer and Shannon at Redline Gaugeworks and was able to come up with a solution I am happy with. As it turns out, on the Pro-Comp Ultra-Lite gauges I am using, you can use acetone to remove the screenprinted numbers. A little acetone and some q-tips and the numbers were gone. I ground a curve into a small flathead screwdriver to remove the Autometer bezel. These aren't meant to be removed so be careful. The numbers are disappearing. I also polished up the lens. It's amazing how 50 years of dirt can actually protect a part. This thing looks brand new with a little polishing. Step 5: Drill a hole for the odometer button. This button is also used to program the speedometer. I used the old white grease trick to transfer the location of the button onto the lens. Make sure you use a dull drill bit when drilling plastic. A sharp one will catch the plastic and crack it every time. They make special plastic bits but I have always had good luck with a dull bit. If the bit is too sharp you can sand it down a little too. Step 6: Install gauge...again. I used cardboard to temporarily shim the gauge forward. Once I figure out the exact depth I'll cut and form an ABS ring to permanently install. I also chose to leave the Autometer bezel off so the gauge can sit closer to the lens. I think it appears more "stock" that way, and less like there is an Autometer gauge stuck in there. Look better? Notice the small black dot near the "K". That is the programming button. That's how far I've gotten so it's all I can submit for Tech Week. I still need to finish up installing the small gauges and I might mess with fitting the stock Kaiser needle onto the speedometer for an even more original look. I'll post the finished cluster in my build-up thread here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272171&highlight=kaiser
After a lot of thought I decided to use the stock gauge faces over the Autometer gauges. Autometer does not suggest doing this, and I think they were honestly a little bummed about it because they spend a lot of time making their gauges extremely accurate and I just threw all that out the window by doing this. However, we agreed that this is a show car and the accuracy will be good enough. I removed the stock gauge faces and cut them down, then cut the plastic gauge cups until the faces fit. Next I used double sided tape to temporarily attach the faces for mock-up. I also picked up some PVC pipe and fittings so I could make spacers for the gauges. Once I was happy with the alignment of the gauges I pulled it all apart and glued the PVC rings to the gauges and the stock faces to the Autometer faces. Finally I fit the cluster into the pod and everything cleared. Lots of gauges stuffed in there but they fit.
Yeah I'm going to stare at the gauges a little longer before I decide what to do with the needles. I either need to get over to your place or we need to go to the hot rod dinner one of these Wednesdays. I haven't been out with those guys in a couple of months.
Looks great but I think you have the amp and oil guage mixed up. Keep up the great work. Very insperational!! Chad
Oops, nice catch. I took it all apart anyways to send the face plate out for chrome, but I'll try to pay attention next time.
The seats arrived today. Big thanks to HAMBer Eddie for being such a great seller. He went to a lot of trouble to make sure these things got to me in the best condition possible and was in constant communication. All in all very accommodating and an asset to our community. Time to learn how to stitch!
oh boy. this one is fun to watch. and i think all that hard work on the gauge clulster is totally worth it. especially once you get the flourescent orange dealt with... such a cool car.
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