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Whitephrog

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I had my dash covered a few months ago with Cherry Red vinyl from AH Spares. I had a friend with a custom/restoration shop in Knoxville do the gluing for me. He did a great job but left the hole cutting to me. This week I finally got the nerve to start that process. The first cut was an anxious moment but eventually I did nice clean cuts on all the holes.

Then came time to install the gauges and switches. The first gauge I pulled out of my parts box was a NOS tachometer manufactured in Dec 1958. I got the tach installed and was admiring my fine work when I noticed what appeared to be some dirty specks on the glass. Upon further investigation I found that the "specks" were on the inside of the glass and were in fact dried bug larvae. The tach appeared to be tightly sealed but then I noticed that a piece 50 year old tape that that covered the bulb hole on the rear had come slightly unattached. Just enough for the bugs to enter.

The bad news is that I've yet to be able to remove the chrome ring to get to the rear of the glass.

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "Bugeye"!
 
Then send something in that eats the something that eats the something that eats the ...

Nah - take it apart and clean it.
 
I don't remember offhand how the glass and ring come off on yours.....but on my Jag tach and speedo, the ring rotates to unlock it from the housing.
 
The chrome bezel rotate clockwise to come off however it hasn't moved yet with lots of effort on numerous attempts. Held in place by fifty year old bug dung I suppose.
 
Those gaskets can get stuck to the glass and some people will have already taken them apart and used sealant when they put them together. Usually I have to bend the clips back to get the bezel off and then clean all the crud off.

Also a good idea to take the speedo apart and clean the old grease out because it will harden over time. Don't forget to regrease.
 
I'm almost ready to glue my vinyl on my dash. Haven't decided which glue to use though. Leaning towards good ole' fashioned contact cement. Anyone have any advise on that? I'd rather use something less stinky.
 
Use a very small screw driver around the outside of the trim ring to pry just a bit to break the seal. Then twist the ring. Didn't work, more screw driver work. You can and will get it off, just takes patience and careful work.

Note that there are three as I remember ears kind of on back of trim ring, give these extra attention.

I removed all of mine to clean lub etc. never broke anything. Replaced O ring, thats what has deteroted and turned to glue like stuff but it should be hard and crisp at this point.
 
Well done. I worked on one of my gauges for a while, then gave up. Someday... :smile:
 
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