Contact Steve Goines (SteveGT)

 

IIRC, someone on our site has already done custom faces. Finding their thread might be another story. :yup: I believe they did their own but I don't remember any more details as I like the look of the stock gauges and didn't pay much attention to the thread.

Harold

P.S. I just did a search for "white gauges" and got several hits. HTH

 

Yeah, contact Steve. He does all my decal work and many of the other decals you'll find in Opeldom. It's more or less what he does for a living.


Even cooler, he might be able to make decals that match the red/purple/turquoise/fucia/indigo of your paint.

 

I already chatted with him 3 months ago about it but life has been getting in the way. Super nice guy but I refuse to bug him anymore about it. I even offered some Omaha steaks or chuck e cheese. He hasn't logged on much lately and he's been busy.

I would like to use gauges courtesy of jvandyke in post 95

 

You,mean gauges like this.That is the gauge-foil what goes to a other US-GT owner.

For more give me a pm
Norbert

 

still looking for someone who can print these. I dont expect it for free and will pay dearly. Had someone lined up a year ago but do not want to bother him. This is one of the final pieces to my restoration. pretty please

 

I have over the time developed the skill to take the glasses off.. But the needles seem to elude my big clumsy hands.. anyone hve a good trick or tool for getting the needles off (and back on) the speedo and tach without damaging them..?

 

It was tricky but I just used my fingers. I bent the first one I tried.

 

Charles,

Would you please share your technique for removing glass? Slowly peel up ring?

 

Yea its more feel.. but Ill try to remember how I do it.. (been a few months since i did it last)

The key is the screw driver you use, it shouldn't be too wide or have a heavy wedge. To wide or to too thick of a wedge and its hard to get under the chrome trim lip.

The "cabinet screwdriver" works best.. (Its also my favorite for adjusting carbs)

Also a larger heavy duty "jewelers screwdriver" (Listed as a 5/32 x 2-1/2 in. Screwdriver at Sears) works work to.. I sometimes use them in combination.

Get under the chrome lip and lift a tiny bit. It doesn't have to be much at first. Trying to too much at first will make it go slower and your more prone to damaging the rings.

Go forward a 10mm or so and do it again about 5 times..

Then go back to the beginning and lift a little higher..

Now getting the screw driver in there so the tip is on one side of the inside lip of the housing, and slowly move it around and gradually open the lip of the chrome..

When you get all the way around.. look for a gap in the inner lip of the housing.

From there lift the chrome ring a little more and grab the chrome ring and try to twist it like a jar top.. with a little work and such you should get the chrome over the lip of the housing and be able to twist it off..

Doing it this way doesn't cause as much force on the whole ring.. so the face you see should be unaffected.

I will try to take pictures and such when I do it again.

 

I got frusterated doing my second console

Yea its more feel.. but Ill try to remember how I do it.. (been a few months since i did it last)

The key is the screw driver you use.

The key is thin and not too wide or have a heavy wedge.. (The 3rd from the right in this picture)

To wide to too thick of a wedge and its hard to get under the chrome trim lip..

Get under the chrome lip and lift a tiny bit. It doesn't have to be much at first. Trying to too much at first will make it go slower and your more prone to damaging the rings.

Go forward a 10mm or so and do it again about 5 times..

Then go back to the beginning and lift a little higher..

Now getting the screw driver in there so the tip is on one side of the inside lip of the housing, and slowly move it around and gradually open the lip of the chrome..

When you get all the way around.. look for a gap in the inner lip of the housing.

From there lift the chrome ring a little more and grab the chrome ring and try to twist it like a jar top.. with a little work and such you should get the crome over the lip of the housing and be able to twist it off..

Doing it this way doesn't cause as much force on the whole ring.. so the face you see should be unaffected.

I will try to take pictures and such when I do it again.

I started grinding the back lip off, not all of it but most of it, my gauges were filthy, I also sprayed the bezel with chrome paint, I had no idea you could remove the dial, did not even attempt it, that screwdriver method is a lot of work in my opinion but it works eventually. Either way I did it, it was worth the effort, they are 200% improvement, my husband even shows them off to everyone who comes over.. I do get a kick out of that, I will admit, how many husbands show off to their friends the work their wife did on a car? The chrome bezel brightened them up quite a bit too, FYI.

 

Charles;
The screwdriver that you're referring to actually has a "type" name, it's called a "cabinet" screwdriver, for it's narrow head to help cabinet makers "sink" screwheads without tearing up the wood around the hole, like a wide blade would do. Don't mean to sound nit-picky, but, having had a father the sold tools for 40+ years, you don't call any old screw driver a "screw driver".
Sorry, I'll go back to my corner now........

 

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Thanks Gene.. never knew the name..

 

let me dig them up. last I was told they needed a little work size wise??

 

Here is one set from jvandyke

 

and here are ones from Norbert

 

I'll print some up.
I'm pretty sure I can find some vinyl laying around.

I love the smell of vinyl.

 

A lot of the problem with these and printers is that it is not in a correct format for them. They want it in Vector or Illustrator. They can convert it, but I think they find that all the rough edges and stuff appear in Vector, and there is hours of cleanup. Steve could do it, but he probably would have way too many hours in it, and it isn't something he does for fun, it's his business. So even with the artwork, he would have to pretty much clean up all the artwork, and redo it basically, might cost around $500 or better. I can have the gauges professionally whited out for around $250.00. I am seriously considering having a set done. Now to have them calibrated and such cost more, but for around 800-900 you have all new gauges and they are white faced.

 

FWIW

The first file is a vector file already and appears to translate perfectly when resizing the display so there should be no resolution issues with it.

The second one is not a vector but still appears to have a high enough resolution that it would print OK.

The printers I use print from a PDF format almost exclusively. Our art guys take files from a dozen different formats and convert them to PDF for the printers.

 

Vinyl shrinks!!

I printed out a few sets of vinyl faces back in early July. They've been seasoning in blue GT since then.

I pulled them out today to put one on the tach I'm playing with and noticed that the vinyl had shrunk on the paper by 5% or so. A half inch total on the 12" edge.

I thought, "what the heck" and installed the vinyl on the face anyhow. Yeah, even with the reflector ring on it shows it's shrunk.

I noticed a few other things but will address them in another place.

 

Vinyl shrinks!!

I printed out a few sets of vinyl faces back in early July. They've been seasoning in blue GT since then.

I pulled them out today to put one on the tach I'm playing with and noticed that the vinyl had shrunk on the paper by 5% or so. A half inch total on the 12" edge.

I thought, "what the heck" and installed the vinyl on the face anyhow. Yeah, even with the reflector ring on it shows it's shrunk.

I noticed a few other things but will address them in another place.


View attachment 157105

Its probably got the same principal behind it as a shrinky dink.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RycEOlAyuXs