Folks Of Interest Early Stewart Warner gauge thread

Those tachs were very cool looking & of high quality, but they were a bit involved. Apparently, the "hockey puck" sender that got sandwiched in the distributor was specific to the particular model (of distributor). Here's a copy of the info from my 1957 S/W dealer's catalog, which tells what goes with what. I guess that was Stewart-Warner's answer to the electric Sun tachs (which hit the market in 1946), but they were a little more complex. Studebaker used them for the 6,000 RPM tachs in their mi 1950's Golden Hawks.

 

Yep.....the "sending switches" is what I have for my early 1955 Studie and 1956 Fury.

 

In search of a nice 40-220 winged water temp gauge #412212 (Catalog #210) for our "Suddenly" tribute car. Here's the original gauge panel and the one I made. The 240 gauge is just a place holder at the moment. Please help if you can. Thank you!!!

 

@Bruno Columban I do not have any of those. Perhaps Greg @fleetside66 (here on the HAMB) has one as he has an infinity for the SW Wing Series. You can check with John here on the HAMB, too. @continentaljohn

Not sure if you're on Instagram. It has become a great place to find vintage gauges. If you are, I would check with the following users, we're the vintage gauge guys.
Pat Swanson @greyghostgmc
Rory @zephyrspeed
Larry @scorpion_hook

All those guys are legit and wont rip you off. I'm always droppin' vintage gauges on my Insta, too. @tjmhotrod

 

Thank you so much for the info!!! Very kind of you

 

I installed a Stewart Warner voltage gauge in my 56 T-Bird. The problem is it reads low. I have checked it with 3 different test gauges pulling power and ground from the back of the low reading gauge. The 3 test gauges all read the same 12.6 volts, while the SW gauge reads just under 12 volts. On the back of the gauge near the bottom and centered is a nut,I was wondering if it is used to calibrate the gauge.

 

I found a decent 40-240 wings WATER Temp gauge locally yesterday. It’ll work just fine until I can hopefully locate the 40-220 SW #412212 I’m after…

 

Here’s the panel I scored yesterday. Was buying something completely different when I spotted this in someone’s garage. It’s a SW Ensign, or Straight Five, most likely from a truck since it’s only got an 80 mph speedo.

 

Wow! What a score! Outstanding gauges and panel @Bruno Columban As you probably know, that's a Large Logo oil pressure gauge (very desirable) and the rest are vintage Wing Series. Hopefully the temp gauge works and doesn't need a recharge. Those bezels will clean up very nicely with 0000 steel wool and some Mothers Polish.

I have run a quick bench test on 12V electric gauges using a 9V battery, mainly just to see if they have any signs of life.




Recently, I bought a vintage dash panel filled with gauges. The only reason I wanted it was for the dash panel as I could care less about the gauges that were in it. For the hell of it, I tested the old SW electric gauges for signs of life. Sure enough, true to vintage SW quality, they immediately came to life.



Bye the way, this gauge looked rougher than yours, it came out of an old boat. I just hit it with a little 0000 and polish real quick.

 

@BJR im not certian theres any Calibration that can be done, i do not believe so. Those Volts gauges are sealed and set from the factory. Not to put @alchemy on the spot, but he may know, he's a pretty smart cat and would have some valuable insight. He's torn into a lot of gauges in his day.

I do like this vintage Stewart Warner Volts gauge. Their older gauges were higher quality.


When i bought my 63 Chevy II, it had an Auto Gauge Volts gauge. When I would hit the lights or use the turn signals,,that gauge needle would move back and forth I swapped it out for a better and more accurate gauge.

 

I’m not sure I own a volt gauge, but I’m sure I couldn’t adjust one. I’d call Rusty in Colorado (what’s his handle?).

 

@e1956v
Rusty....he's the man!

 

@Speed~On your gauge shows static position of needle much closer to ten volts than @BJR gauge pictured above????

 

Yes sir, you are correct, but neither gauge is receiving power so they're both in their resting positions. As soon as they receive current, they should provide him with an accurate reading. I think from the trouble shooting BJR has done, his gauge unfortunately is reading low and there's not much he can do to resolve that. I don't think he'll have much luck replacing it with that specific (identical) SW volts gauge he has. I think he'll have better luck using a different series SW volts gauge, or perhaps a different brand.

I don't have that older SW Volts gauge I pictured above. I wish I did, I would just send it to BJR and have him see if it gives him a more accurate reading so he could run that. He could buy me a taco at Back To The 50's
I'll dig through my gauges and see if I have anything.

 

Thanks for the mention but I have nothing on that one

 

If you compare the two gauge faces they are different.

 

So, what is there to lose by moving that screw on the back, to see if it changes the static position of the needle?
@BJR

 

Yea it's worth a try. I will report back.

 

Moriarty is correct.

 

Good to know.

 

You can ground it from the two bolts that hold the mounting bracket. There is a fiber washer under the bottom center bolt and the bolt is cut off flush with the nut with no screw slot or any way of moving it.

 

Cut a screwdriver slot with Dremel before loosening lock nut?

 

@Speed~On It definitely cleaned up nicely. Making a new insert for the panel from some great aluminum left over from 58 Fury sportone trim… cheers![/QUOTE]

 

Not completely finished, but I’ve got the new aluminum insert sorted out except for a couple indicator lights. The material was a left over remnant from the sportone trim insert off a 58 Plymouth Fury named Christine…

 

Finished it last night. Pretty happy with how it came out…

 

Probably the most complete array of SW instruments adorn Brian Bass Dallas based 32 roadster

 

Hi all
Sorry to post here as I don’t know how to create new topic
I am new here. Just asking as I been struggling to find these gauges for my project.
2 set of Oil gauge 0/75 and 2 set of GAS gauge. like the one on picture I uploaded. I took these pictures from websites to show which gauges I am struggling to find.

thanks Peter

 

You've come to the right place, and I'd say the right thread, too.

The good news is you have great taste in gauges and you're doing it right.

The bad news is you've chosen difficult to find and expensive gauges.

There's guys that regularly check this thread that may have those. You'll probably have your best luck on Instagram following @partswapper
(East Coast Mike) He's also here on the HAMB. Also, the HAMB Classifieds is great too. You know the drill though, that 2 5/8" SW Fuel gauge is probably gonna run ya $550 to $600 if you can find someone willing to part with theirs.

I'll keep my eyes open and let you know if I find those.

 

I sold a 2-5/8” smooth bezel fuel about a dozen years ago for $500 and I still regret doing it. I’ve only got two left.

Good luck. It’s only money.