I am new to the forum so i would like to say hello to everyone. I purchased a large lot of Studebaker and Packard parts and once i started researching i found you guys. I also have a question, i recently acquired a McCulloch VS57 and boost gauge from i believe a Studebaker Golden Hawk. Does anybody have any idea what year this would be from or what this gauge is worth? I am having a hard time finding any information on it. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jeremy y
FWIW, when I was setting up the VS57 on my bird, the Studebaker guys were the best source. Start here. http://www.myersstudebaker.com/
I don't know anything about that particular gauge but I am in the market for an old boost gauge. Let me know if you want to sell it.
decotrain - Head over to the "Studebaker Drivers Club" site. https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/ They should be able to help. Mike
It is a gauge for the supercharged Hawks from the mid to late 50's, made for Studebaker specifically for those cars by Stewart-Warner. It's basically what is called a compound gauge, which is essentially a vacuum & pressure gauge all rolled into one unit. There is a very high percentage that the gauge does work. Although they are not what you might consider "rare," they are hard to come by, since there are only a finite number of donor vehicles & spare replacement parts. I've had a few of these in the past & the worth (like anything other part) is based upon condition. Yours looks pretty decent, with the needle resting one the zero mark. A lot of times, the needles tend to wander off of the zero mark & the gauge has to be disassembled & recalibrated. However, I do see that your does have some debris that has migrated under the glass through the lighting openings & needs to be dealt with (unless you can live with that). Within the past year I did sell one to another HAMBer for $150, but I had to remove the bezel & glass to clean out the crap (similar to yours). If I were to buy your gauge, as is, $100 is where I'd be, given the fact that I'd have to remove the bezel & glass, clean it & reassemble it. With these particular gauges, Stewart-Warner decided to devise a different sort of inner ring (that supports the glass & gaskets) that was painted white (probably for better reflectivity of the light). I found that the white paint tends to flake & might need to be dealt with, so you don't get any debris working itself loose & settling on the underside of the glass. Also, with yours, the needle has yellowed faster than the numbers, so the needle should be repainted to match the intensity of the numbers.
Fleetside66, thank you very much. That is exactly what i was hoping to get here. Someone with some a lot of knowledge, some facts about the gauge, and even some info on previous sales of the same gauge. You couldn't have given a better response if you had rehearsed it. I cannot thank you enough. I wish everybody on this forum could see how perfect of a response you have given me. My hat is off to you! Many thanks, Jeremy
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