Projects The bucket of ugly! A de-uglifying thread...

So, changing the subject a bit, has anybody seen a good post around here about taking apart and restoring S/W gauges? I have a cool multi color vacuum gauge that I had squirreled for the firewall on the ugly 'Bucket, and I heard a mighty crash the other day out in the shop. Unfortunately, my vacuum gauge fell off the wall and dented the rim, but also cracked the glass. I need to figure out how to replace the ring and glass without making it look as though it was done by a five year old child.

 

Chip, that's probably a green stripe. The "green stripe" vacuum gauge is different from the other green stripes has a multi-coloured face like you describe.

 

Yes, iirc, that c-cab was in one of the Hot Rod "truck & van" issues, the same one that had hot rods black Chevy van project with the wild willy painting on the side. Maybe 1975?

 

Chip we have a good guy over here that rebuilds all kinds of gauges. Look up "The speedo shop"

 

IIRC, the Butcher Shop C-cab was featured in Street Rodder (although it could've been Rod Action, but I wouldn't bet my $$$), & may have been a cover shot. Possibly a centerfold too, but the coverage was well done, & a couple of pages - some in color. I have it, but God knows where - I sure don't... , since I've long since stripped out the mags to keep only the stuff worthwhile.
Marcus...

 

On the subject of orange paint, I had this one painted PPG "Poppy", and found a matching powdercoat color "Bittersweet" for the frame and wheels.

 

The other day he wouldn't let me leave until he lent me some magazines with his friends cars profiled.

 

You betcha it was cover and about six pages inside. Street Rodder May '73. I can't scan it right now, but it's safely resting in the smallest room in the house...

 

So where did you find the dates for Freds Fun Run, Nitrobrother? I looked evrrywhere and couldn't find them. I was thinking it was last weekend (first weekend in November), but since I couldn"t find anything, I made my own!

 

Couldn"t take the T, it sludged up the oil. I suspect it might be sucking some coolant past an intake gasket or something. Not so bad that it made chocolate milk, but there was some dark goopy crap in the bottom of that pan. Gonna pull it this weekend and see whats up.

 

That's one Bob doesn't still own. Not sure of it's story. I'll pump him for info on it the next time I see him. His taste in cars is wide from gull wing Mercedes to this little MG TC. He hated the way both of them handled. He just got back from helping set up the course for the Mexican off road race. About the time I think I know his story he ones up with something new. I wish he was on the computer but he is one of those guys that just doesn't care about it. Bob isn't one to do big work on his builds but always gives credit to those who do the work. Not saying he doesn't get his hands dirty. Right now he is moving the radiator forward on his 48 moor door so an electric fan will clear the magneto.

 

Hey Chip,
I have done some amateur restoration on many old Stewart Warner gauges. Pretty sure I have the same vacuum gauge as you (a Greenline "Motor Minder"?). In your case, what you're gonna want to do is find a cheap Stewart Warner gauge that is the same size as your vacuum gauge. That will be your sacrificial lens and bezel. You'll also need a small 1/8" regular screwdriver, maybe a 1/4" regular screwdriver, and an assortment of small pliers.

Start with your broken gauge, so you get the hang of it. Fold up a towel and place it on your workbench. Place the gauge face down, and start slowly prying the bezel with your 1/8" screwdriver from the back side. You just wedge the bit in between the bezel and the gauge housing, and give it 1/8-1/4 turn or so. Make sure you keep A LOT of downforce on your screwdriver when you do this so you get a good "bite". Move about half the width of the screwdriver and continue to work your way around the circumference. Use your small pliers to pinch the bezel's lip back into a round shape as you go (gets rid of the "can opener" look).

Eventually, you'll make it about 3/4 of the way around, and you should be able to pop off the bezel at that point- keep a small amount of the bezel still rolled over so you have a starting point for reassembly. There is a secondary bezel underneath that guy that holds the glass in place as well as a small gasket to keep out moisture. If yours doesn't have bulb provisions in the back of the housing, there is a thin blue plastic that wraps around the housing to keep out dust. Now is the time to clean all of those pieces. DO NOT use any kind of solvent or cleaner, just a damp cloth. Anything else will wipe the paint off your gauge face and you'll be ready to turn that gauge into a projectile (ask me how I know)! You can also get a paint pen and detail the needle if yours is looking dull. I think Krylon makes these, and just use the plain old orange one (they have a flourescent one that looks too bright compared to the original needle color - ask me how I know).

Once you get everything all cleaned up and you're happy, you can move on to prying apart your sacrificial gauge. Same procedure minus the cleaning part, and ideally more refined than your first attempt. Take your new bezel and lens and transplant them to your desired gauge. Here's where it's a little tricky to really make things look nice. This is another time to practice on the old bezel and sacrificial gauge... Place the gauge face down again, and MAKE SURE ALL YOUR PIECES ARE BACK IN THE GAUGE - the plastic strip, the inner bezel, the rubber gasket, the lens, etc. Ask me how I know! Using the screwdriver again (might be easier to use a larger screwdriver this time), press and turn the blade to work the bezel back into shape - same way you pulled it apart, but push it back to gether this time. This isn't very fun, just warning you. I have found that if you use 3-4 wraps of electrical tape on ONE side of a small pair of pliers (that have a wide nose, not needle nose), you can "clamp and roll" the bezel back into shape after you kind of rough it in with the screwdriver. Make sure you are only clamping the outer lip of the bezel and not trying to pinch the lip/step on the front of the gauge bezel as you work your way around. Also make sure your electrical tape stays in good shape as it gets worn through after four or five pinches.

Eventually, your bezel will be rolled back onto the housing and you can give yourself a high five. Yes, you will be able to see slight evidence FROM THE BACKSIDE ONLY that you have been inside the gauge, but if you did everything right, the front will look brand new. Professional gauge restorers have some kind of can opener looking, bead roll thing that they use to remove and install the bezels, but the cave man style screwdriver method can be done well if you are patient. I think I was doing this in about an hour per gauge, and I have the wonderful privilege of doing so about two dozen times now... Hope this helps. If you are confused or need pictures, I will try to get some posted at some point.

 

Not a very detailed picture, but I went inside every one of those gauges to repaint the needles and clean the glass/gauge faces. The only one you can tell I've been in is the vacuum gauge because the bezel is kinda screwed up from my "clamping and rolling" with the small pliers. After this, I used the tape on one of the jaws with great success. I have a sacrificial bezel I still need to swap into that gauge to make it perfect. Thanks for reminding me!



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Great DIY tips on this gauge work, thanks!

 

I've never seen the tools to remove and recrimp the gauge bezels before, I'd be very interested in seeing them if you have a pic / link sonewhere, Tim. This is the tool set to remove and replace the needle, it's called a handjack.

 

The little white nylon tube has different sized holes in each end for pressing the needle back on.

 

Here is a little better view of the handjack itself.

 

I found the info on the National T-Bucket Alliance site. Weird thing though: There were a couple of the Tucson 'Bucketeers in the same hotel at LARS and after Chip and I got back I looked up any info I could and found a bunch of info, but couldn't find it this time.

 

I've never personally seen one, either. This image showed up in a Google search, and that's how the tool was described to me.

 

I do like this T sorta a cross between a street T and a Fuel Altered Kinda

 

I like that one too, Fuzzy. It's Randy Bianci's "Sunkist" T. Lots of images of it (and it's Moonkist brother) on google.

 

Ryan had a post about gauges he had to repair. I believe he has the tools for removal of the bezels...

 

Does any body have the number for the guys running the Fred's Fun Run down in Tucson tomorrow? One of my clients is franticly trying to find out when and where.

 

Chip, that info's been really hard to find, maybe call the host hotel and see if they have a POC?

Hotel Tucson City Center InnSuites Conference Suite Resort
475 N Granada Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85701
Phone: (520) 622-3000
Fax: (520) 623-8922
Toll Free: 1(888)784-8324
tucsonstmarys@innsuites.com

 

Ha! Found it on Facebook!

NTBA PRESENTS
...........15Th ANNUAL
...........FRED'S T BUCKET FUN RUN

NOVEMBER 7th & 8th 2014
TUCSON, AZ

! ! ! NEW LOCATION ! ! !
A FREE event for those who bring
(drive or trailer ) their T's

Friday Nov 7th will be a progressive breakfast, lunch/dinner, shop tours as a sponcer thank you. We will be leaving the host hotel @ 10 am
Saturday Nov 8th is a show and shine at Hooters, 6335 E. Tanque Verde Rd, Tucson,Az 85715 Registration will begin at 9AM. There will be a Poker Run where you can win $$$$.

Host Hotel is Hotel Tucson City Center
475 N. Granada Ave
Tucson, AZ 85701
520-622-3000
Mention Fred's Fun Run to recieve the $59 a night special. A free buffet breakfast included. Trailer parking ! !

If you have any questions call
Fred Weller
520-401-0702

 

I've seen the tool on eBay, not that expensive IIRC.

 

Thanks Blownfuel! My client called down to the host hotel, and they said they knew nothing at all of this event, so I'm afraid he had a little tantrum and didn't go... As NitroBrother mentioned earlier, at our hotel for L.A.R.S. this summer, the founder of the event was staying a couple of rooms down and invited me personally to the event. Unfortunately, I am too damn busy and there is soooooooooo much going on in town this weekend for me to be able to go. Maybe next year.

 

Thanks Tim!

I have done this method before, but wasn't too happy with the can opener effect that I came up with. Guess I'll have to try again and be a bit less apelike in my work. I already have a junk temp gauge to donate the ring and glass. Soon... Soon guys, I promise.

 

You know, that's really odd, because I saw on one of the other forums (NTBA, I think) that someone else had called the hotel and said they knew all about it. I found the info on Fred Weller's Facebook page. I also sent him a friend request figuring that would keep me better in the loop.

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Had an interesting little boo-boo the other day. Decided to try a K&N stub stack on my daily. Took it around the block, dropped it down a gear and laid on it, just flat fell on its ass, wouldn't rpm, went dead-dog rich. Ran like the choke was still on. The light goes on in my head, drove home, popped the air cleaner lid off, laid a thick rope of plasticine around the perimeter of the stack and put the air cleaner lid back on. Sure enough, less than 1/2" between the stack and the air cleaner lid. As soon as I laid into the throttle, the thing was starving for air.
The lesson here isn't that stub stacks are crap and don't work (they are usually good for a gain) the lesson here is don't assume, and check clearances whenever you add something to your combo.

That t bucket convention sounds like a fun deal. I'd like to check that out some day.