1966 Triumph Spitfire Restoration - Cleaning up the gauges

[@Uswesi1527]

Great job. Well done. Thanks

[@shanevanwey5213]

I appreciate your attention to detail and the video. Just picked up a '65 Spit and will be doing a lot of this type of work as well. One question, did I miss something with he replacement gasket/oring. I thought I saw you grab it from a bag, but then I never saw you install it when you reassembled the gage.

[@WoodAndRestoration]

So the o ring from the bag goes between the gauge and the dash panel, i probably missed installing it when i was filming. It’s a square profile o ring but i dont think anyone would notice if you used a thin round profile one instead, it’s just there to prevent rattles and scratching the dash hoard. There’s also a seal that i made with some black butyl strip caulking that seals the chrome bezel to the glass and keeps everything from rattling around.

[@shanevanwey5213]

Ahhh, I see now. So dampener between gage bezel and the panel then… man, your car was gorgeous to start. I’ll post a link of an intro video of what I am starting out with… of course it was only $600 to start… I might think I overpaid at some point, haha… looking forward to using the rest of your videos during my Spitfire journey!kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqqlhZikfrCka9U

[@doug8715]

I am restoring my Jaeger tachometer from my 1966 Triumph Spitfire but cannot get the hand off. Have you ever done this? If so, how do you get the hand off? Thank you!

[@WoodAndRestoration]

I’ve had luck using a couple of plastic pry tools like www.ifixit.com/products/ifixit-opening-tool to lever it off, just pry on opposite sides with equal pressure. Make sure your prying as close to the shaft as possible or you might pull the plastic needle off of the metal piece that it rotates ob

[@hekkenschutz]

In a world of fake reality television We appreciate analog awesomeness 😊

[@lorenzoanthony6807]

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[@timothywyatt722]

@Lorenzo Anthony Instablaster ;)

[@lorenzoanthony6807]

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[@lorenzoanthony6807]

@Timothy Wyatt It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy! Thanks so much you saved my account!

[@timothywyatt722]

@Lorenzo Anthony no problem xD

[@johngault8659]

Are the small gauges 2 1/8 inch and 3 3/8 inch for the tach and speedo? if they are can you post the part numbers for the square orings please? Thanks

[@jeff3238]

Unfortunately, no - I got then from Victoria British who are no longer around. I really think you’d be unable to tell any difference between square rings and regular one if you found some slim ones though

[@mikeg5877]

thanks, this was helpful

[@ariadnabenedito9263]

It's a good work but how we know it works??? we have to check if the tachos work, to verify the gauge and voltage limiter and after all we have to checking all elements and calibrating them because only cleaning it's not important for its funtionability

[@jeff3238]

I thought I filmed testing then, but maybe not. The speedometer was seized when I got the car, I had to take it apart and very gently work the gears side to side until they freed up with a tiny bit of oil to help. The others worked fine. For the mechanical tach and speedo, you can use a drill in reverse to spin the input shafts, which will confirm that the needles function. For the electronic gauges, you can use a battery to confirm that the gauges work. I think they are regulated to 5v, and I have replaced my 5v stock regulator with a solid state one. As far as calibration, I doubt these were all that accurate when they left Coventry. I will be able to test speedometer accuracy with GPS once the car is on the road..

[@derekporter7651]

I need to paint the face of a Smiths instrument where the black paint has peeled. What paint should I use? If you can help, I would be very grateful.

[@jeff3238]

I honesty don’t know. I’d look for specialists in gauge restoration or smiths gauges online. My guess would be you’ll never get a perfect match and it might be better to get a new decal made

[@matthewmilam4760]

Is there any cleaner you can use on the face that is safe for the white painted letters and numbers?

[@jeff3238]

Not that i’ve found. A clean q tip is about the most aggressive thing I can recommend. Even air duster can blow the paint around. If I had some spare junk faces I’d experiment, and maybe look at sealing with very very light coats of matte clear after cleaning to keep the paint in place.

[@doug8715]

I too have a 66 Triumph Spitfire. Where did you buy your glass and o-rings. Also, you said in the video you could have bought new bezel's, where would you buy these? I want to give all my gauges a fresh look. Thank you for the video!

[@WoodAndRestoration]

I got the glass and o rings at Victoria British before they closed down. You might try calling local glass shops to see if they will cut new glass for you. I think you could use thin regular o rings if you wanted and it would be fine. Bezels were also available at VB before they shutdown. :(

[@doug8715]

@@WoodAndRestoration Yes I use to get a lot of things from Victoria British but since Moss Motors bought them, I am having a harder time finding what I need at times. Thank you for your reply.

[@WoodAndRestoration]

@@doug8715 so I just happened across this on ebay- might be worth a shot. www.ebay.com/itm/Jaeger-Smiths-Gauge-Reconditioning-Glass-Seal-Bezel-Kit-Triumph-Spitfire-Vitesse-/272858359356

[@doug8715]

@@WoodAndRestoration Thank you!

[@bronhodgson5752]

Do you restore and repair broken tachometers that are the same model as yours?

[@jeff3238]

I haven’t tried, i think both of my tachs are good. What I found on the speedometer was one of the shafts was seized into place. I had to use a tiny bit of penetrating oil and tap and twist it to get it freed up. I could certainly take a look or offer advise if you need help though.