Instrument Panel Glass

[PVacco]

Has any one replaced the glass in a instrument panel? I have a 51 Coupe and the glass in the instrument panel is cracked. The manual says that "the glass and retainer assembly is serviced as a unit and no attempt should be made to remove the glass or glass retainer from the glass mounting plate."

Before I ignore the warnings in the manual and take out the instrument panel and start playing with it I thought I'd ask if anyone has any experience in this area?

Phil

[Michidan]

The individual guage clusters on the Champion dash unit just come off with small screws. I was able to clean my glass without further dis-assembly by then poking a rag down inside.
But everything comes apart. Seems like you'll have to unbend some tabs to break it down further.

https://www.studebakerhardtop.com

[PVacco]

For those of you who are interested. With a lot of patience, I was able to bend back the metal crimps that hold the instrument panel frame and the the glass frame together as a unit and remove the glass that protects the instrument panel.

Now that I have it apart, I will cut a new piece of glass and clean the instrument gauges and reassemble the unit.

My Speedometer stops at about 8 mph when the instrument panel is held level. Does anyone know how to clean and lubricate these to improve performance?

[PVacco]

As I mentioned I was able to pry apart the instrument panel and replace the broken glass. I also cleaned up the inside of the instrument panel and added a light coat of wax to protect finish. Cleaned speedometer and re-oiled it, and reset needle to zero. Everything works fine and I'm happy with the results.

After Repairs: