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Fri Feb 21, 2014 4:17 pm

Hi

Anyone taken a bus fuel gauge apart before

I have tried removing the chromed bezel on top of the glass after removing the 3 small screws on the back and nothing. I am mindful brute force won't cut it as it's a 12v gauge 66 year part and hard to replace.

Anyone know how to take these or or is there a 'knack' to it

Thanks

Lee :shock:

Fri Feb 21, 2014 4:48 pm

In order to access the guts the chrome ring needs to be removed. The glass will come with it. The hard part will be removing the ring without cracking it. I have used a small, thin screwdriver to pry up one side untill the ring could be forced off the case. Everytime I did it at least one crack appeared. They aren't huge. But if you are like me it pisses me off to start a restoration by ruining irreplaceable components. It is because the rings are tissue thin chromeplated brass.

You could always send it out to one of the custom gauge companies (Hollywood Speedometer) who do wonderful work. Perhaps Samba member OES (Ryan?) can do gas gauges. Good Luck!

Sat Feb 22, 2014 4:15 pm

cru62 wrote: In order to access the guts the chrome ring needs to be removed. The glass will come with it. The hard part will be removing the ring without cracking it. I have used a small, thin screwdriver to pry up one side untill the ring could be forced off the case. Everytime I did it at least one crack appeared. They aren't huge. But if you are like me it pisses me off to start a restoration by ruining irreplaceable components. It is because the rings are tissue thin chromeplated brass.

You could always send it out to one of the custom gauge companies (Hollywood Speedometer) who do wonderful work. Perhaps Samba member OES (Ryan?) can do gas gauges. Good Luck!

I wonder if you heat the chrome ring in some way, it would expand a bit a easier to remove?

Sat Feb 22, 2014 4:28 pm

As cru62 said, its very difficult to get the ring off. I ruined the first one I tried, but the gauge was toast anyway. The metal is very thin and brittle, and there isn't much of an edge to pry on, but it is possible. Go very slowly, only prying it open a TINY amount at a time.

On my second attempt, I got it off and back on, but its not perfect, as the edges that meet the dash showed some small ripples. No one else would probably notice, but it bugged me. I did make them disappear a bit by using a soft rubber o-ring as a 'washer' of sorts. Now, the ripples settle into the rubber and its almost invisible.