Guest LIghtningZ Posted September 6, 2002 Share Posted September 6, 2002 Ok just got an extra set of Tach and Speedo gauges (Thank you, very much Denny!!) and was able to disassemble and remove the green light covers and reassemble them in under an hour (this worrys me because i had no problems ) to make the lights glow red in the dash, i know someone said it would be a pain to do did they mean taking the dash apart?? also does any body Know what brand of glass dye i should use?? Thanks in advance Sam, Gawd i hate murphys Law!! P.s. is it just as hard to get out the other dash gauges has anybody taken these apart?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zone Posted September 6, 2002 Share Posted September 6, 2002 I have had all of the guages out and apart of my 75, 77 & 78), it is not hard to do as the dash does NOT have to come out. Speedo and tach come out the front, the other three come out the back. You will need to remove the heater control panel and pull the center console back a bit. I was also able to remove the green shields without taking the guage faces or needles off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LIghtningZ Posted September 6, 2002 Share Posted September 6, 2002 Alright how did you get out the green covers without taking off the needles and gauge faces or was that only one the small gauges?? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPMS Posted September 6, 2002 Share Posted September 6, 2002 Hey, Lightning, I colored the bulbs in my AutoMeter gauges with red glass paint I found at a chain hobby store. (Michaels / MJ Design) It worked fairly well, but maybe you can learn from my mistakes. 1) when you dip the bulbs, you'll get a thick red blob of paint at the tip of the bulb. I gently touched a piece of paper to the surface of the blob, and about 25% of it transferred to the paper. DON'T touch the bulb itself or you might leave a blemish. Just touch the paint and you should be okay. Oh, and you'll probably need at least two coats. Mine looked decidedly pink after only one, so I recoated them a second time with much better results. 2) Once the paint had dried, I grabbed the bulb and... *surprise!*... I was wrong - it was still wet. Very messy. Give it lots of time to dry. 3) The second time around I used a hair dryer on the glass paint, and ended up giving it a crackly finish. Not good. Don't be impatient - let it air dry. 4) The third time I waited 24 hours, put the bulbs into the holders and snapped them in place. Looked good, but after about an hour of use I noticed that my new gauges had developed a film on the inside of the clear faces. My best guess is that when the bulbs were illuminated and the paint got hot, more solvent broke out from under the skin and carried some of the paint onto the gauge face and glass. It's not horrible looking, so I'm living with it (for now). Perhaps it would be a good idea to light up the bulbs for an hour or two outside the gauges so any residual solvent can evaporate. Good luck, and let us know how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zone Posted September 7, 2002 Share Posted September 7, 2002 I just gave them a good pinch with needle nose pliers until I had it broken into small pieces, and then pulled out the pieces. Two of the smaller guages you can remove the face without removing the needle, So I think I did remove those faces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LIghtningZ Posted September 7, 2002 Share Posted September 7, 2002 Ok got done using red Krylon glass paint in a spray can on the tach and the speedo lights and they came out supper pimp!!! popped them back in to the gauges after letting them dry for like five hours and they have the perfect blood red hue but not to dark at all and you can see all the numbers perfect and still see the orange and red markings on the tach!! Thanks for the advice you guys, know im feeling brave enough to do the smaller gauges.... dum da dum dum ..dum da dum dum dummmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted September 7, 2002 Share Posted September 7, 2002 how do you get the tach out from the front??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LIghtningZ Posted September 7, 2002 Share Posted September 7, 2002 maybe this is where my trouble begins Len because i got these in the mail from Denny411 (this is where the more expirienced guys jump in!) how did your come out when you did Fairlady 327 Len?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zone Posted September 7, 2002 Share Posted September 7, 2002 Remove the 2 (one in front and the one in the back) screws and disconnect the wiring harness. It then slides right out. True it is easier if the steering wheel is removed. I pulled one from a Z in a salvage yard through the drivers sider window, (the door was smashed so I couldn't even get in the car). The car might have had a smaller steering wheel I don't remember for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted September 7, 2002 Share Posted September 7, 2002 when i got the car it already had the autometer tach. to do the speedo, i had to drop the dash to do it, so i thought, now people tell me its possible to get it from the front, i cant even get half my hand up under there to loosen the wingnut to pull the tach and speedo out from the front. the other three are easy, just undo the heater control console and reach up and bend out the retainer unplug and booom there you are, the autometers go in just as easy with some simple mods to those retainers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LIghtningZ Posted September 7, 2002 Share Posted September 7, 2002 Sweet i might as well do it while my console is out!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted September 8, 2002 Share Posted September 8, 2002 Speedo and tach can be done from under dash. There are wingnuts holding them in - stiff but I managed to get them out on my 240 no problem. Autometers look great in the dash,would love a set of Lunars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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