Ford instrument cluster- glass "seal"
Well, I am getting there. I finally went with 3.5mm O-ring cord. The original looked square section but probably from years of being compressed it took on a flat surface at the glass. Corresponding with Hans Wyenendaele on FB, who has restored many Ford clusters, was most helpful. He pointed this out and supplied a lot of good information to me.
He also pointed out that the originals O-rings are two pieces with a gap at the sides. When I looked at an old photo of my bezel, sure enough, there was a gap there. Original designers probably thought it would not be supported there by the curvature of the sides. I took license to pack it out with rubber in my case to make the seal one piece. Actually, I think the O-ring it is more to cushion the glass rather than a seal otherwise why would you leave a gap at the sides?
Hans also pointed that my speedometer had a Stewart Warner face on it, but the case is a Waltham one. "Bubba" must have changed it for some reason long before I acquired the truck. He drilled two extra holes in it to fit the Waltham case. As much as I hate it, I had to drill another hole on the tab at the top of the face so it would fit parallel with the fascia. Bubba missed that.
So now to source a good Waltham speedometer face to get it right.
Almost finished photos: Yes, it should be a 50 PSI oil pressure gauge but the senders for them are scarce. I have a NOS 50 PSI gauge waiting but I have a new 80 PSI sender in the interim for the NOS 80 PSI gauge.
And yes, it should be a Battery indicator, but they are even scarcer. I wired the truck up for a late war round gauge Ammeter so it will be a lot easier to refit a more period correct set of gauges for my 1942 truck with a Ford Ammeter.
The bezel is painted Dulux Colorbond Classic Cream. A good match for original Tacoma Cream (thanks again Hans). A remnant can be seen on the red Trucks's bezel. That is the restored steel one used on the cluster shown. Likewise the before photo of the fascia. Thanks again Euan.
Hope this is of some interest.
Cheers
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F15-A 1942 Battery Staff
Jacques Reed
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