[vidguy]

One thing led to another and In tracking down my turn signal blowing fuses.

I removed and cleaned my Column, replaced the turn signal switch/wires, removed the rally gauges and dash bezel, replaced radio speaker and will put in new upgraded AM radio, repro dash bezel and overlay.. Oh and repainted the scratched up lower metal dash. Might as well..


Having the gauges out got me thinking.
They work fine, and are very clean. Maybe they are faded but I can't tell as I have nothing new to compare to. I wouldn't want these to fail in a year and have to remove them again, getting too old for that.

"What if I got the repro 67 rally gauges and sold these?"

I have talked to Pete Serio about restoring my gauges previously.
I suppose keeping them is worth the cost of the resto if you truly care about their originality.

Are these old AC Delco gauges just better than the repros? Should they stay in the car?

[gtospieg]

The originals probably are better than the repros...I bought the repros and they have been great for 7000 miles so far, but I didn't have rallye gauges to begin with. I probably would've restored originals if the car had come with them. Pete Serio actually steered me towards the repros due to the cost of FIRST finding and THEN restoring an original set. You MAY be able to get more for your originals than the repros cost if you find someone who HAS to have original....Good luck, been following your thread, waiting to see the finished product

[GT182]

I'd say the originals are worth restoring just to keep the car original. Makes it worth more than if you have all kinds of repo parts on it.

[vidguy]

Originally Posted by gtospieg

Pete Serio actually steered me towards the repros

Thanks, Does the reproduction set come with the Oil Pressure/Temp gauge pod plastic lens? I cant tell in the descriptions or pics. I know the lens on that pod is pinched in place unlike the large housing lens which lays on top, but it should be mentioned in the descriptions.
I think I will go with a new reproduction set and stash these for now.

[Peter Serio]

Yes, it comes with the lens pre-installed over top of the 4th pod.

[vidguy]

Originally Posted by Peter Serio

Yes, it comes with the lens pre-installed over top of the 4th pod.

Thank you Peter.

[vidguy]

Painted the Gas Gauge needle. It comes yellow. I tried a few paints and realized to get close you have to use one of the Fluorescent colors. The model enamel was all wrong I dabbed a few versions with a paint brush on the middle of the speedo and gas gauge needle needle to see how they looked. Realized I could not get the paint to flow well, either with the brush. You can see the middle of the Gas Gauge is kinda chunky. This fluorescent marking paint is not meant to have a smooth finish. The needle came out smoother.
I carefully taped the gauge up, leaving the needle exposed and sprayed the red then some orange. Came out a little mottled but you cannot tell unless very close. The color looks very close.

The gauges are very nice indeed.

I followed Peter's instructions on removing the Speedo needle and it did come off pretty easily.

The reproductions are light blue inside compared to the originals.

[vidguy]

I have the reproduction gauges in the bezel. I started to apply the reproduction decal and saw that it fit terribly.. I also had to hand craft the heater insert decal to fit at all well. I had to cut and piece it together and in the end it came out pretty nice. I had to use extra spray adhesive as the decals have really poor adhesives.. I could not use my original heater control plate as it was pretty badly damaged after cleaning.. I already have a decal from the 90's on my console.

I am going to recover that one also with this decal that came with this REM kit. I can't recommend this kit..

I had saved my original overlay. It has some minor damage around the lighter but other wise actually looks great.. I ended up using that as it was 100% better than the crappy decal. I can't recommend these.. I have a the aluminum backing plate and the decal adhered to it, it could probably be removed and repositioned to align a little differently... as I didn't burnish, rub it too much while I was test fitting it. If someone wants this I'll make a great deal on it..

Here are some pics:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FoNQQclIkkJJpDIm1