- To begin I bought a new one off eBay for $8.00
- Step 1 - Remove the old ammeter
- Step 2 - Using a cuttoff wheel, grind off the "lip" on the underside of that stainless bezel that seals it to the gauge. Be VERY careful not to mar the front part.
- Step 3 - Again using the cutoff wheel, remove the bezel from your new voltmeter.
- Step 4 - Remove the guts and the dial from the voltmeter. Also remove the illumination wiring. You won't be needing it.
- Step 5 - This part is optional. To make the gauge look "original", I used some of that aluminum tape and covered the needle with it. It would probably be easier to just paint it with chrome paint.
- Step 6 - Attach the new dial face to the mechanism with those 2 screws. Make sure you know which is the top and which is the bottom...it looks the same both ways! It's best to mark it before removing the original faceplate.
- Step 7 - Paint the trim ring that goes on the inside of gauge black. Also paint inside of gauge black (mainly the top section as it does show when the gauge is together). Trust me, this will make sense when you see the gauge in person. I'm sorry, I didn't take any pictures of the work in progress....who knew!
- Step 8 - Reinstall the guts of your voltmeter, then attach that inner trim ring with JB Kwik Weld. Allow to dry.
NOTE: It's better to use too much JB Quick than not enough. Any extra that squeezes out the sides can be cleaned up with a knife. - Step 9 - Make sure the top "lip" of the inner trim ring has no paint on it. The stainless bezel attaches to that. Attach the stainless bezel using more of the JB Kwik Weld.
- Step 10 - When dry, clean up and excess JB quick that squeezed out the sides. It may require a little sanding (very fine grit). Wet sandpaper will also work. Again, being very careful not to mar that stainless bezel.
- Step 11 - This part is also optional, but if you want the gauge to look its best, paint (black) the part where you just sanded (some of it will be visible when the gauge is installed) FYI, I used a spray can for all the stuff that was painted black.
- Step 12 - Now you're ready to install the gauge.
As you can see I've made a custom faceplate for it so that it looks "OEM" and I reused the stainless bezel from the original ammeter.
Not to shabby.
Now to explain how the dial face was done....
First off, the design of the voltmeter is very basic so I didn't need to use Paintshop or anything like that. I did however print out the "fonts" that were used on the dial face. I still have the master graphics, so rather than go into great detail, if you're interested in doing this to your Cub, I can just send you one of these dial faces. Just send me a PM. All I ask is that you cover the cost of the copying and laminating ($1.20) and the price of a stamp.
This is what the dial face looks like:
The spacing of the mounting holes is designed specifically for the "Faze" brand gauge. You can find them on
for about $7.95 here at Faze Gauges – Competition EL Gauges. Other brands may work, but why take a chance. Also, this whole project took a few hours. So if you don't have the patience and a steady hand, don't bother trying this. It goes without saying that if you rush it, you won't be happy with the results, and you'll probably get mad at me! Print this page for reference.
Method:
edit: working on formatting the article and getting further info from bryan .............. Rudi
