Speedo / Tach / Gauges: 1952 Champion speedometer

[Charles Test]

My 1952 Champion speedometer is very dim at night.
I cannot read the numbers or see the needle very well.
Am I missing bulbs or is it supposed to glow-in-the-dark?

[RadioRoy]

The numbers are supposed to be glow in the dark and the bulbs have ultraviolet lenses over them. If you search this forum you will find many discussions on this matter.

The problems are two fold:
-the paint on the numbers has lost its luminescence over the years
-the purple filters on the bulbs are dirty and dusty

The dirty filters are easy to fix, but the paint on the numbers is less easy to fix.

[52-fan]

I took my Commander's gauges apart and painted the needles with luminescent paint from a hobby store. My numbers seem okay after cleaning. I have not driven the car at night, but testing it in the driveway it seems to work.

[TWChamp]

Last spring when I bought my 50 Champion I thought all the dash bulbs were burned out. My car had been restored 20 years earlier and hardly driven until I bought it. For the first few weeks I could barely see the dash lights, but then after parking the car outside in the bright sunlight, that night while driving 110 miles home, suddenly the instruments were well lit. It seems the glow paint needed to be rejuvenated by the sunlight.

[RadioRoy]

I took my Commander's gauges apart and painted the needles with luminescent paint from a hobby store. My numbers seem okay after cleaning. I have not driven the car at night, but testing it in the driveway it seems to work.

I did the same many years ago. The tip of the speedometer needle got too heavy for the spring and it favored either the left side or the right. Once it came off the peg, it hung low on the left/slow side and once it got over center, it hung high on the right/fast side.

Make sure you don't make the needle tip too heavy with paint.