I'm keeping the original, but hubby and I don't really know anything about restoring them. I know there are places [in my parts catalogs] that you can send them off to but I was hoping someone had personal experience from a certain place that they would recommend.
Is it something a novice could do themselves?
Should I send it off somewhere?
1946 Chevy Getting started on Bruno Follow the story in the DITY Gallery You can't buy happiness but you can buy a truck ... and that's pretty much the same thing.
I did most of the restoration of the gauges cluster and housing on my ‘46. This one was in somewhat better shape, as far as the housing and bezel though. It was all a learning experience. There is a Tech Tip, see the tool bar above and follow it to the section that discusses the speedometer work. That tip was very helpful. However, I still ended up having to send it away to get recalibrated. Not sure if I bungled some part of the rebuild or what. The experience was worth the time and effort from my perspective.
The vendors sell vinyl, precuts for the gauge faces and the odometer numbers. Application of those is a bit tricky, but patience and persistence will win that battle.
Bench testing the gauges is recommended will is fairly straightforward.
If the temp gauge tubing is intact you should be good to go, otherwise it will probably need replacement. Vendors sell those.
A lesson was learned the hard way on the glass cleaning. The numbers were initially painted on and at least on this one the paint was thin and didn’t take well to glass cleaner. Luckily I discovered that quickly and then used cotton tips to clean around them.
Thank you for the information and encouragement, Sparky! I would love to do it myself/ourselves. Maybe we'll gently tinker, and send it off if we get in a jam.
1946 Chevy Getting started on Bruno Follow the story in the DITY Gallery You can't buy happiness but you can buy a truck ... and that's pretty much the same thing.
Yes you can do it yourselves. You can't fix a broken gauge, but you buy those, as said, and you can do all the rest. From what I see, you have good graphics on the glass and keep in mind it is all available by piece. The gauges, the glass, the glass decals, the gauge faces, needles.........the rest is a gentle disassembly, careful cleaning, some spray painting and reassemble. A fun job and WAY cheaper than sending out. That is all they are going to do.
Here are the pieces/parts. You have two electrical gauges and two mechanical gauges. usually the mechanical will be OK, may just need a new tube kit. The electrical gauges may be OK also. The gas gauge can be tested using the fuel sender on the bench. The ammeter can be tested also.
@ 55Shaker - Thank you! I'll definitely check them out! (That's right next door). =)
@ bartamos - Thank you for the information! I like a bit of a challenge (hence me having a degree in design, owning a quilt shop, making chenille for a living, and buying a 74 year old truck). Haha Since hubby and I are restoring the truck ourselves I would love to be able to say that we tackled this as well.
1946 Chevy Getting started on Bruno Follow the story in the DITY Gallery You can't buy happiness but you can buy a truck ... and that's pretty much the same thing.
I'm kinda like you sis. I like to do what I can myself and take it apart and start cleaning and checking things out. Worst case senario bartamos has supplied a link to where you can buy the pieces needed or the whole instrument cluster.
"If you can't fix it with duct tape it's an electrical problem" 1949 5 Window 3100 In the Gallery Forum Veteran of the USAF My Website
Just checking in to see if anyone has someone they'd highly recommend. *waves*
1946 Chevy Getting started on Bruno Follow the story in the DITY Gallery You can't buy happiness but you can buy a truck ... and that's pretty much the same thing.
