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Re: Cleaning gauges (TR3 instrument bulbs)

To: triumphs@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: Re: Cleaning gauges (TR3 instrument bulbs)
From: kinderlehrer@mindspring.com (Kinderlehrer's)
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 00:04:51 -0400 (EDT)
Jim,

I picked up a box of bulbs at my local NAPA store, they are Wagner 1446.

Bob

>Peter,
>
>I just cleaned the six gauges in my TR3. I don't know if they're the same
>as on
>the 6 but I bet they're similar. In my case I'm disassembling the whole car so
>the comparison isn't so direct, but what I can tell you is that they were all
>equally dusty inside, and all look like a million bucks now. In addition
>to the
>glass needing cleaning, one of the needles (ammeter?) was beginning to show a
>bit of rust. I applied white-out and it looks fine. On my car, the gauges
>don't
>receive bulbs for illumination; rather, they have a translucent ring through
>which the light shines from the bulb mounted nearby in the back of the
>dashboard. These rings all needed cleaning too.
>The chrome ring holding the glass in is removed the same way on the small ones
>as on the speedo and tach, with a slight turn and a pull, however I'd
>recommend
>removing the gauges from the car where practical because it may take a
>fair bit
>of elbow grease to get them off and it's handy to be able to turn them
>over for
>more leverage etc. In some cases I also bent the three tabs out a bit to make
>the rings easier to rotate. The rubber tends to get soft and turn into
>something
>more like caulking - it really holds on.
>
>On Saturday I returned to the box (which was sitting opened on the basement
>floor) where the new-looking gauges were awaiting reinstallation into the
>newly-wrinkle-painted dash, only to discover that the cats had found
>another use
>for said box. I was rather disappointed in their lack of toilet training, and
>did even go so far as to mention it to their owner, very politely of course.
>
>My big problem now is finding replacement light bulbs for dash illumination.
>They are a screw-in style, 12v, 2.2 w bulb. Do you know of a source? The
>Canadian Tire guy insisted on asking me what model of car my sample was from ,
>and when I told him Triumph, he asked if that was a Ford. Once again I asked
>myself why I subject myself to such abuse, over and over.....
>
>Regards,
>Jim Wallace, Ottawa
>'60 TR3a
>TS81417
>
><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
>From: Peter Zaborski <peterz@merak.com>
>Subject: tr6 gauges
>
>"... Although they looked nice in the daylight, it was only in the
>darkness that I realized what a huge difference the clean glass has made.
>The tach and speedo look just great illuminated by the normal gauge lighting
>(something often lamented by many owners as being totally inadequate - I say
>not true, with clean gauges the lighting is great!).
>
>Of course now the illumination of the other gauges sucks big time when
>compared to the freshly cleaned speedo and tach. I am therefore very tempted
>to do the same with the smaller gauges. Of course they are going to be
>somewhat harder to remove. What I'm looking for are tips from those who have
>removed the smaller gauges on a TR6 on how to make this task easier. I need
>only to remove the glass and trim ring so I probably won't need to
>disconnect the leads (or oil line). I don't want to dismantle any more than
>I need to.
>
>Any insights appreciated greatly!
>
>- --- Peter Zaborski  CF58310UO  Calgary,Canada ---



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