1951 Pontiac Chieftain

[mercrocker]

Probably somebody getting vehicle maintenance "tips" out of a 1956 copy of Mechanix Illustrated. Shame their handiwork destroyed a precious glass all those years later....

[PhilA]

Probably somebody getting vehicle maintenance "tips" out of a 1956 copy of Mechanix Illustrated. Shame their handiwork destroyed a precious glass all those years later....

Unfortunately it's 2 glasses broken by their handiwork.

Windscreen urethane would have worked!

Such is life. I have found a supplier of the correct stainless beaded window divider channel on eBay, out of San Diego, so that'll remedy the missing piece up front and prevent a new glass from breaking in the same fashion.

The rear glass I just think popped out of the sash channel because window putty isn't the right thing for it, and it broke that way. New glass, a proper clamp and lubrication should see it good again.

Phil

[PhilA]

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Cleaned, straightened and painted.

Phil

[PhilA]

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Forgot I had the pieces in stock to make this. Adjustable voltage regulator to put on the temperature gauge to stop it over reading when the engine is running and the battery is up to 14.4V.

Phil

[PhilA]

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Installed board.

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Engine to temperature.

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Gauge adjusted.

Phil

[MLOR]

That's a real result!

...(I'm glad you cleaned the edges of that proto-board up.
They were making my teeth itch!)

[PhilA]

That's a real result!

...(I'm glad you cleaned the edges of that proto-board up.
They were making my teeth itch!)

Yeah, it wasn't going to stay all gnarly. It isn't the tidiest thing ever but it should function well enough.

Unfortunately the gauge has become a bit sticky in the middle of its travel. I need to investigate that. Giving it a gentle thump on top of the dash makes it move to the correct position.

Phil

[MLOR]

That's a real result!

...(I'm glad you cleaned the edges of that proto-board up.
They were making my teeth itch!)

Yeah, it wasn't going to stay all gnarly. It isn't the tidiest thing ever but it should function well enough.

Unfortunately the gauge has become a bit sticky in the middle of its travel. I need to investigate that. Giving it a gentle thump on top of the dash makes it move to the correct position.

Phil

Having to give it a thump is called "character"

[PhilA]

On a less important gauge, I would agree. I'm going to pull the dash out again (means I will also have reasonable access to loom up a couple sections of wiring behind the steering column that are difficult to get to) and have a poke about to see just why it's being awkward. The armature probably just needs adjusting in a bit to accommodate for wear.

Phil

[PhilA]

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Took the dash out and took a look at the temperature gauge. It would get hung up in the middle like this.

20200718_151910.jpg (240.02 KiB) Viewed 3898 times

Oiled everything up with light oil. Discovered the gauge would twist slightly when tightened into the bucket. Tweaked the armature frame slightly, now the needle moves freely.

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Tested, it doesn't get hung up any more.

I'll loom the rest of the wires up tomorrow that I couldn't reach now that the dash is out, then reassemble it all. I also tweaked the oil pressure gauge so it sits centrally on zero with no pressure. It's only ever accurate-ish reading do zero might as well be a correct point on the scale.

Phil