Great! Now I'm addicted to vintage gauges!

Dont think of it as collecting, think of it as investing in commotities, especially with the stock market the way it is

I kinda have a sick fascination with old gauges too, but just cant spent the money that way, EXCEPT for finding the last couple Big Logo flat glass SW's i need for my Roadster

 

ha ha .. ive been looking for an old 6 volt tach for the ford for a long time now.. but since it might be on the chopping block i guess i dont have to look to hard anymore.

 

aint that the truth?

 

The old VDO stuff is modtly European, Porsche, BMW, Mercedes...
The good thing about VDO gauges is that the modern internals pretty much bolt right in! They have not changed their attachments or hole sizing in over 40 years. The Jager and smiths stuff is also cool.

My all time favorite gauge set is from a 50 Studebaker Commander. Deep dish gauges with large numbers and hash marks, nice detail. I will have to see if I can find a pic.

I like these, but I am a little biased though, I designed them and own the company:
Mark






BEWARE! There are also alot of companies out there that say their parts are made in the USA, when they may be assembled here from foreign components.

 

:d:d

 

Who did your fitting?? Do you have a link or some contact information? What does something like this cost??

 

Questions:

1) When did the SW "Wings" series gauges (the originals not the repops) come into the scene? Or how about the different color line gauges (blueline, greenline, etc.)?

2) What was popular on the lakes in the 50's? I was guessing nothing fancy, but maybe that assumption is wrong.

 

this past weekend, i saw what i thought were s/w gauges in a 59 ford p.u dash panel. they all had little chrome visors on them.i loved the look.anybody seen any of these. could not tell if it was made into the gauge or not. and no,no pics..................yet

 

Here is a great little outline of SW's.

http://www.roadsters.com/sw/

But the most important thing after the admittance of addiction is properly displaying it prior to use.









"We are the White brothers......and we are addicted."

 

That link is FANTASTIC! Just answered a bunch of questions and also proved my theory that the "custom line" gauges are a little later than what I was looking for. GREAT info!!

Any idea who actually makes the MOON Equip. gauges? Were they made by VDO for Moon?

 

Original Moon were made by U S Gauge. The Tach is a Jones Motorola Mechanical. The three tachs on top are an Offy, California Speedtach, and an Equus (I think I spelled it right).

 

Modern Moon is made by Classic Instruments and Autometer.

 

WOW! You DO have it bad!! I can only hope to have it as bad as you one day!! OH NO!! The words of someone with a "problem" right THERE!

 

That isn't the extent of it all. I think the proper addiction would be "Antique Automotive Accessory Addicition" and we could have meetings but only discuss how to further the disease than ever come up with a solution or cure!

 

I was all proud and reading throught the thread wanting to tell about the S/Ws I found under dust at an estate sale for 5bux, but now I feel lame.
They still look real good in the galaxie though.

 

When I bought my '32 5w it had a whole dash full of curved glass eaerly SW gauges, 6 2" and a tach and speedo. I'm going ot use them again when the car is redone. They are mechanical, and all work like new.

Frank

 

Didnt Nads do a laymans mechanical water temp bulb repair?

 

I've been quite a Radatron fan for about 10 years now. I had some really nice stuff (NOS tach and dual guage set among others) I let go a few years ago when times got tough. I've just started getting back into them recently. I bid on all the ones you showed that were on Ebay, and actually won these!


I also won a Radatron compression test that has the same checkered flag logo.

 

Anyone have any information on Radatron production dates??

 

Hey Thanks!

I started a thread yesterday asking for help identifying some speedometers.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=341677
You answered one! 34 chevy.

 

When I was a little kid there was an airfeild within cycling distance from home which was full of WW2 aircraft . Besides just sitting in them and playing fighter pilot all day the oppurtunity was there to steal guages,all sorts of things. Unfortunately I lost most of them over the decades (kharma?) but still today I would love to get some affordable ww2 style oil pressure ,engine temp(manifold temp,pressure ,oil temp temp etc etc ) for my roadster but the the price of such things is incredible today and you still have to restore them.

 

Maybe not rare but I dont see many of them. I could see them desirable with baggers. I have a few of them now and still cant stop.

SW air pressure

 

I really like these - whats the story on these gauges?

Scooter my friend, how is the build going? You have put so much thought into this build that it is going to be one incredible ride !

 

It is a horrible addiction, I once had about 3K of guages and realized, I would never own enough cars to use them all. But I just couldn't help myself!!!!

I have a SW problem, but as much as I love the Smith's, they are not the most reliable. They would stick constantly on older race cars and Cobra's, cars with engines you wanted an accurate reading with!!!!

 

i have the addiction also, most of mine.
Al.

 

Don't forget the early "wico" and "u.s. Gauge" units. Sometimes it's nice to have something different.

 

This thread isn't helping, Scooter! I've been looking for a vintage tach and it's not easy. If I go mechanical (I'd love to) I'll end up spending a fortune on a tach drive disty for a 235. Something keeps pushing me to search for them both. Does that mean I'm hooked too?

 

ive always had this sickness to but never ever did i realise that other people were infected too. shud i book myself into the betty ford clinic for rehabilitation? i cant afford the gauges i want for my rod, off white face with gold bezel and curved glass. brand dont matter as long as they meet my criteria. maybe i could pull a bank job...........mrs ford, do you have a spare bed?

 

was it a tech on here? I'm searchin' but can't find it.