Technical STEWART WARNER GAUGES

I am looking to install your typical in dash set of 3 gauges. I want 2" lighted gauges from the sixties to be period correct. Are there gauges to stay away from ( specific series xxx-123) ? When did they stop making them in the USA?

 

I bought this new set of S-W winged gauges and tach for my roadster about twenty years ago (still unused) never noticed the box said they were made in Mexico, didn’t really bother me much because that was becoming commonplace.
I started to be concerned after reading numerous complaints here about their bad reliabilty.
They sure are pretty though!

 

I have a full set of Stewart Warner gauges in my coupe. I did purchase them over 10 years ago and have never had a problem with them.jmho. Snowman

 

Sounds like you want the Deluxe series gauges. They went from the all white pointer to the needle with the black tail in the late 1970's, so to be really correct you'll want to stick with the all white needle. If you want mechanical gauges the oil gauges are usually still in working order, the temp gauges you'll have to make sure the bourdon tube isn't cut off the back, and even then I'd put a cigarette lighter under the bulb before buying to make sure it works.

 

To Denny,Ryan and Stud. yes that seems to be what I am hearing. And to Showman lets hope yours keep on working. Anyone else that has either good or bad experiences please chime in.

 

You can also send out vintage gauges for repair or conversion. I've been collecting what I want visually and will have the duds restored operationally.

What kind of gauges a car has says a lot about the car itself. I've seen some otherwise nice cars give off a sour vibe just because they're rocking an ugly set of instruments...

 

There are 2 types of early gauges you need to be aware of. Back-lit and side-lit. If it DOESN'T have a hole for the bulb socket on the back, pass on it. It's not that side lit are worse performance-wise, the external bulb makes them dim and prone to contamination (crap on the inside of the face).

 

Eliminating side-lit from your choices will put the date to the 70's or so. I don't know the exact date, but I do know the winged and big-logo versions only had a side light.

 

Trouble is that if you share what you know about the 'good stuff ', it's like telling the world about where you found that handful of gold nuggets. Pretty soon whatever elbow room you had turns into a shoving match and you're the one gets bounced. Anyway, my take has always been buy the best you can get. Gauges are the only indicator of what is happening to the assorted systems that create the 'auto' part of your mobile traveling machine. I prefer big to small. I like the older stuff because it was what I wanted back when I was younger and couldn't afford it. Now that I can, no matter how shrill the whiz or loud the bang, it's quality that gets my attention. Plus, a very old and wise Armenian wrote in a book of his that I read, "Go First Class and Don't Spare the Postage." That means in choosing anything try to get the Deluxe Version. Not good. Not better. Anyway, I like the mechanical gauges simply based on the idea that if you ran a magneto and the battery went sour they'd still be working. And, yeah, they offer a plastic/nylon/whatever it is line for those who don't like the vibrations transferred by copper lines to the oil pressure gauge. Hell I like noise. I think like John Cage taught, that it's music. I don't even want a radio because most of what I hear is beyond, or below my taste anyway. And, it's hard to concentrate on the road listening to Opera or Bach on a pipe organ, so forget it. I've been collecting stuff and have a question for those who know more than I do, which is probably a pretty big percentage, but that doesn't worry me. I want a Police Speedometer and see they have different ratios. What is the deal there. Can someone cogently describe what I need? And, a speedometer that reads past 120 mph? Are you kidding? I'm never going to drive all that many miles in Texas, at night, or Nevada. And, to my way of thinking the bigger the number, how accurate is it? Yeah, I've had a SW checked by a Buddy who was a Highway Patrol Officer and, you guessed it. His radar was way off. Ha ha.

 

Mine must be the later ones as,they have black tails. Snowman

 

Does anyone have suggestions on a good place to send vintage gauges to be tested, and repaired. I have a older set of Stewart Warners, have no idea of their working or accuracy condition?? Would like to send out and get checked to make sure I dont have to get replacements?

 

I will have to research the name but there is a guy in Vancouver Washington that gauge voodoo .

 

the Grey Ghost is the man in Washington state.

 

All my cars have early SW mechanical gauges. I usually find them at swap meets and if they don't function I've sent them to MoMa Auto Instrument Repair in Albuquerque, NM. But it's been about 8 years since I've sent them gauges. They were in North Hollywood when I was a kid and I've stayed with them because of the quality of their work.
1321 2nd Street N.W. 87102, 505-766-6661

 

If your looking fore a Police special speedometer you want to look for a 1:1 ratio or 1000 cable revolutions per mile. Some of the motorcycle units were 2:1 which means you would need a .500 gear ratio adapter to make it work on a automotive application.
If in proper working condition they can be accurate throughout the mph scale but I tend to worry about accuracy from 20 mph to 75 mph when calibrating on the test bench because of school zones to most state highway speed limits, if I have to sacrifice the upper speeds a little bit so be it. That being said once in the car it needs to be calibrated to a measured mile to be truly accurate, 1000 cable revolutions per mile (odometer reading of 10/10's) is 60 mph. That's done with the speedometer driven gear on the transmission or a gear ratio adapter.

 

Thank you e1956v. From now on, when I see them for sale, I will know what to look for. Stewart Warner has always been the only choice to make when it comes to gauges for a Hot Rod.