Speedometer face for 1937 Dictator and J5 C-E

[garyash]

I've been working on reproducing the speedometer face for the 1937 Dictators and Coupe Express trucks. The artwork for the numbers is done, and I will make water-slide decals for them. I did a CAD layout of the part and had a test part 3D-printed in white nylon. It looks pretty good and the backlighting will work as the nylon is translucent. It seems most of the original parts turned brown or cracked. These should be OK for a long time.

What's the interest level in a new speedometer face? The only work needed will be to pop off the needle, unscrew two small screws, pop out the old part, put in the new part, and reassemble. I do not want to rebuild any speedometers myself, too many other projects here.

[(S)]

That looks great. It looks very similar to the M truck and 41 Champion..... Were they close layouts ? just a different background ? You should have no problem especially if you can do other models with just a tweak, or background change. Nice job!

[garyash]

No, this is not just the decal for the numbers- that's the easier part. This is for the full plastic part that makes up the speedometer face plus the numbers and lettering. The original gauge faces have all turned brown and cracked. The faces were made of gray semi-transparent celluloid plastic, painted white on the front, and backlit with small bulbs. No replacements have been available for decades.

I have already done the decal set for the 1941 cars and 1941-48 M truck instruments and odometer wheels, have them if you want a set.
See http://www.studegarage.com/instruments.htm

[37CpeExpress]

Looks very nice Gary. I am restoring my J5 currently and am definitely interested. Let me know when you’re ready to produce, and the cost. Thanks for taking the time to do this! Darin

[Georger]

Me too, looks great.

[garyash]

I got the prototype part finished off and tried it out in a 1937 speedometer. The fit is good, the screws go in the holes, looks OK. I just ordered a batch of parts from Shapeways, should have them in early February. The price will be $75 each, which is for the finished part with the numbers and marks. If you want one or more, send me a PM. I'll send you a PayPal invoice. Here's a before and after picture.

[garyash]

I got some of the final versions of the 1937 Dictator/CE speedometer faces done. As always, they took a lot more work than I anticipated. I gave the fronts a light coat of gray paint to get close to the originals. The plastic and thin paint let a little light through for the backlighting to work. Let me know if you want one - $75 each. The old face is held on with just two small screws - take them out, slide out the old face, slide in the new one, replace the screws. I also have the water-slide decals for the odometer wheels at $10/set, though you have to apply them yourself. If you ever built model airplanes in the old days, you can do this. I have instructions for the odometer.