Type III Gauge Overhauls (pic)
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:57 pm
Gauges pop right out right to left. Huge clips at 3 and 9 oclock, just push the gauge firmly towards the front of the car, press the sides of the clip and shove the gauge back towards the driver's seat. Removing the speedo cable first is easier on the dash opening. Nifty.
Fuel gauge idiot cluster has a big plug on the back you can remove all at once, or you can painstakingly remove all wires. I chose the latter so I could polish the contacts and DeOx gel the push-on connectors.
The chrome bezel rings are a snap to remove, just push them out at the retainer tabs with a screwdriver until the tabs pop underneath. The odometer reset knob pulls straight off, the clock adjust stays with the "glass" (plastic) You can then polish the rings and the "glass" (plastic) on the grinder with a little car wax and toothpaste. Plastic gauge glass is trickier than the bus real glass, you have to go slow and move constantly across the cloth wheel. Several splotches in the plastic required some deep polishing, but you have to go slow to keep it cool. The chrome came back beautifully.
[albumimg]658[/albumimg]
The light diffuser rings I cleaned only with spit and a paper towel to maintain the matte black finish on the driver's side, the white paint on the inside I just wiped off.
Non-functional clock came back with a light spray of WD-40 on the movement and a battery charger on the + and - terminals while I helped the escape movement weight remember the arc it used to swing past the magnetic coil disc on the printed circuit board. It needs to swing a good 150* to release the escape wheel. This is an interesting variation on a classic clock movement, it uses a spiral worm gear to drive the escape wheel. It was very tentative originally, but as I pushed lightly on the minute hand for several minutes, it became more authoritative. Nice quiet clock.
Reassembly of all gauges began with a light wipedown to get rid of any errant lint, bezels down then outer rings, then "glass" then diffuser rings.
The gauge you then push down lightly while you pry the bezel outwards at each tab until the tabs click over and grasp the gauge. Quick'n'easy.
Dressed the vinyl dash pad pods and reinstalled the gauges left to right by just pushing in firmly until the 3-9 clips clicked.
Beautiful they are.
Colin
Fuel gauge idiot cluster has a big plug on the back you can remove all at once, or you can painstakingly remove all wires. I chose the latter so I could polish the contacts and DeOx gel the push-on connectors.
The chrome bezel rings are a snap to remove, just push them out at the retainer tabs with a screwdriver until the tabs pop underneath. The odometer reset knob pulls straight off, the clock adjust stays with the "glass" (plastic) You can then polish the rings and the "glass" (plastic) on the grinder with a little car wax and toothpaste. Plastic gauge glass is trickier than the bus real glass, you have to go slow and move constantly across the cloth wheel. Several splotches in the plastic required some deep polishing, but you have to go slow to keep it cool. The chrome came back beautifully.
[albumimg]658[/albumimg]
The light diffuser rings I cleaned only with spit and a paper towel to maintain the matte black finish on the driver's side, the white paint on the inside I just wiped off.
Non-functional clock came back with a light spray of WD-40 on the movement and a battery charger on the + and - terminals while I helped the escape movement weight remember the arc it used to swing past the magnetic coil disc on the printed circuit board. It needs to swing a good 150* to release the escape wheel. This is an interesting variation on a classic clock movement, it uses a spiral worm gear to drive the escape wheel. It was very tentative originally, but as I pushed lightly on the minute hand for several minutes, it became more authoritative. Nice quiet clock.
Reassembly of all gauges began with a light wipedown to get rid of any errant lint, bezels down then outer rings, then "glass" then diffuser rings.
The gauge you then push down lightly while you pry the bezel outwards at each tab until the tabs click over and grasp the gauge. Quick'n'easy.
Dressed the vinyl dash pad pods and reinstalled the gauges left to right by just pushing in firmly until the 3-9 clips clicked.
Beautiful they are.
Colin