Trying to find some gauges for my 32' roadster and ran across this one on ebay. Mechanical speedo and 6 volt amp meter. Is this doable for a 8ba flathead? What would you do???
Looks more like a mechanical TACHOMETER. How do you know that's a "6 volt" ammeter? Ammeters measure amperes-they don't care what voltage is in the circuit.
The panel & the tach alone are probably worth the $600. If I liked it & needed it I'd buy it, sell the two smaller gauges if they are questionable, & replace them with some 12 volt gauges that suited my needs. It's a cool package for sure. JH
Looks like a Tach, not a speedometer. But if it can make you do 4000mph, it would certainly be worth the cash! Who is the manufacturer?
I must be from a different planet than you guys. $600 for that gauge cluster seems pretty steep, there's nothing very visually interesting about a mechanical tach and two gauges. What is it from?
Yeah, you have to be pretty nuts in the head to be into the vintage gauges... They are spendy. I just can't help myself sometimes. In person, they are so much more tactile than modern gauges... and often more so than vintage OEM gauges.
as was asked, is it for something special?????????if so i gotta know WHAT!!!!!!!!! hell that's enough cash for a pair of www from Radir..the big ones!!!!
Yeah... crazy, huh? And those aren't even that bad. Some of the 2 5/8" stewart warner gauges are worth way more. Typically, a nice water temp gauge is close to $1000 just by itself.
Maybe I should sell the absolutely GOERGOUS gauges from my '47 Diamond T, they make that set up look like ****. I could pay for the entire project!
If it completes the look your going for $600 is nothing compared to the time and expense of getting it right. If the rest of your car is period correct and that means something to you, do you really want to stop at this point and put a set of modern/vintage looking gauges in it? I'd buy them if I needed them.
I'm not say'n you guys are wrong, I just have a hard time wrapping my head around that for those particular gauges. I mean, if they were from an Auburn, a Packard, or big old Chris Craft, in a neat engine turned stainless panel, and I know curved gl*** SW's are pricey, but those? I'm just say'n...they don't look "special".
If ya want it ,buy it. I have seen and fallen victim to spending too much on something because I needed it. But, you can't put a price on a sense of satisfaction and completion. There is a time to be frugal and a time to spend money, the trick is knowing when. Now for crazy prices, somebody sold a tiki mug I still make and sell for $400 plus dollars on ebay. I sell the limited edition for $60 now! Obsession is a *****!
The tach is fairly special if it's early... The other gauges really aren't. The 3-hole gauge S/W panel is pretty rare. In any case, if that's the tach I think it is then it's worth about $200 to $250. The panel is worth $200 to $300. The accessory gauges are a toss up. They look fairly cool to me and the fact that I've never seen em before makes em kind of neat. In any case, this stuff is all worth different amounts to different folks I guess.
I might be mistaken but I believe that gauge cluster is the same thing my dad had in his 62 ChrisCraft 24' run about. Its float n around the pond down in the country on the farm. The grand kids play capt. in it. I think that RPM thing gives it away.
$600 is a lot of change but you didn't get hurt on that price at all . I say Very nice condition ! So , are you going to tell use what you are putting that tach gauge set in ? At that price you should at least show us a pic !
Late fourties style 32' roadster. It is period correct car. I just think if I put in after market gauges it will cheapen all the other goodies that are period. Next question? How would I make that tach work out? 8ba flathead 40' ******. Probably will be 12v system..Thanks for the advice. New gauges and a insert will set me back 500 alleast. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't buying a 5$ gauge. I just don't know much about them.
That's the hard part and where you can spend even more dough. You have to find a stewart warner tach drive and they are PRICEY... It runs off the crank I believe. If you do a search, I think you can find some posts where fellas have made their own to avoid the big dough. Another option is to put modern guts in the tach and get rid of the mech stuff.
Dave, I pm'd you on how the get the tach drive to work on a flatty. Another option to save $$$ is to use newer style electric tach that has a bezel you like. Take a high resolution picture of the dail/face of a tach you like. (make sure the dial sweep on the one you like and the newer electric tach are the same). I know people who can take your high resolution picture of the dial/face you like and can make it into a stick-on decal. Take your newer electric tach apart and put the vintage style dial/face behind the lenses of this unit. The rest is history. You save a bunch of money and 99.99% of those who look at it will not know the difference unless you tell them.
The Jalopy Journal
