Who Rebuilds Smiths Gauges?
- Thread starter OldBalz
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Check out these people. I purchased a voltmeter and an oil pressure gauge from these folks in England. The price, including shipping, was cheaper than the Smith gauge seller in the US. By cheaper I mean I paid less for both gauges, delivered, than the price of just the oil pressure gauge from the US supplier.
https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/s/instruments-gauges/smiths-cobra
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Thanks!
The dismantled tacho looked like this:
You have to be very careful cleaning the faces - it's very easy to damage the thin paint.
As it was working reasonably well, I repainted the ring (bottom right) black, and reassembled it.
After:
There was no need to paint the instrument cover, as it lives in a cup/bucket.
The cups/buckets had suffered from road rash, the bike having been down the road on both sides:
(Dropping the bike was a previous owner's efforts, I hasten to add.)
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It may be already posted but got a copy of this book after reading a recommendation on 'BritBike.com (IIRC)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Smiths-M...chometer-Revcounter-Repair-save-/322863616087
so will have a look at some spare gauges some time.
I did get a pair of 'rebuilt gauges off the eBay seller mentioned already in this thread, still unused so have no idea of their performance as yet but the crimping is very rough but out of site.
It was an odd experience, contacted him about rebuilt gauges outright but with the present mileage on them (instead of the usual zeroed) no problem was the answer so payed.... a week or so later I see my credit card has been refunded to the purchase amount ? .... no reply to emails sent so ended up getting pair off his eBay auction.
I do have some doubt about who is actually doing the work.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Smiths-M...chometer-Revcounter-Repair-save-/322863616087
so will have a look at some spare gauges some time.
I did get a pair of 'rebuilt gauges off the eBay seller mentioned already in this thread, still unused so have no idea of their performance as yet but the crimping is very rough but out of site.
It was an odd experience, contacted him about rebuilt gauges outright but with the present mileage on them (instead of the usual zeroed) no problem was the answer so payed.... a week or so later I see my credit card has been refunded to the purchase amount ? .... no reply to emails sent so ended up getting pair off his eBay auction.
I do have some doubt about who is actually doing the work.
o0norton0o
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Time warp, thanks for that link for the smith gauge book
I've already built a test rig to drive my gauges with a portable drill.
My speedometer is working perfectly, being driven off my front wheel with a rear wheel gearbox which I reversed the spin direction on to make it work on the front wheel's left side. It reads the same speeds as my GPS which I mounted between the gauges. So the speedometer is good.
But,... my tachometer is whacked, so I need the book and probably a few parts that I hope I can get a nissenger to fix my tach myself.
I've already built a test rig to drive my gauges with a portable drill.
My speedometer is working perfectly, being driven off my front wheel with a rear wheel gearbox which I reversed the spin direction on to make it work on the front wheel's left side. It reads the same speeds as my GPS which I mounted between the gauges. So the speedometer is good.
But,... my tachometer is whacked, so I need the book and probably a few parts that I hope I can get a nissenger to fix my tach myself.
I will add my experience with Joel Levine at Precision Instrument Repair. The speedometer I received from him was reading 20 mph too high. I called him to let him know there was a problem with the unit and would like to send it back. I was very polite and just wanted him to fix it correctly. The cursing and accusations I received from him were totally out of line and extremely discourteous.I have since talked with several others who have had very bad service from him. There is a reason he never attends any rallies or events, as he would have a very difficult time with the attendees. In my 45 years of dealing with numerous British parts suppliers he is the only one that cheated me. I had Nissongers fix the speedometer!
N0rt0nelectr@
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I had a speedometer rebuilt by Joe many years ago. It died just after the warranty was out. Had another place rebuild it and they claimed to find faucet seals instead of the correct rubber parts under the "shock" mounts that hold the mechanism to the case. I don't use him any more. Did just get a copy of Matchless News and there is an advertisement for Smiths Magnetic and Chronometric Instrument Repair in it. Scott@smithsgagerepair.com I don't know the quality of work he does never having used him.
John in Texas
jimbo
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I prefer to do all my own work where possible, and it is possible to restore the instruments.
As other have said, if they're working OK but are cosmetically bad, it's actually quite easy.
My tacho before:
TachoBefore by peter_hatfield
The instruments are easy to dismantle - don't lose any parts:
The cups/buckets were knocked about, but they are easily filled and painted:
InstrumentCupsPainted by peter_hatfield
New seals and bezels are readily available from any Brit bike shop, and cost peanuts.
Now the interesting and imaginative part.
We made up some mandrels with an old wood-working lathe, and used the lathe to compress the rubber seals:
TachoInLathe-1 by peter_hatfield
This will make the bezel protrude below the instrument housing.
Using an old bearing attached to a length of steel, start the lathe running, and press the bearing hard against the bezel:
TachoInLathe-2 by peter_hatfield
The finished result:
Instruments&CupsRefurbed by peter_hatfield
awesome! I am going to try that lathe trick, one question; where do I get decent glass, bezels, and seals? How about these?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/UK-MADE-SM...ash=item5441b16063:g:TnwAAOSwGtRXzwiy&vxp=mtr
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That kit looks to be correct.
You require two seals: one for the bezel to glass, and one for the instrument housing to glass.
I bought mine RGM: https://www.rgmnorton.co.uk/buy/chromed-smiths-magnetic-speedo-bezel_2178.htm.
They were somewhat cheaper last year, though.
N0rt0nelectr@
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Where would you find the tool to roll the bezel onto the gage?
John in Texas
John in Texas
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I used Scott about two years ago for my speedo. He replaced the glass and bezel, cleaned out the spiders, replaced the rubber grommets, lubed the internals, and checked and adjusted calibration. I'm not sure what other magic that he worked but I'm happy. Since getting it back I've put about 3500 miles on it and all has been perfect. Great work at an affordable price. Also about a one week turn around. After the first season of riding I put the bike away for the winter and because of some life changes the winter storage turned into a one year lay up. Just got it running on Friday in preparation for the Arizona winter riding season. It's still spot on per my GPS.
marshg246
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I've had many redone by http://www.vintagebritishcables.com and have been happy with all. He is a wealth of knowledge and has always answered my questions quickly. On request, he can keep the odometer reading the same - important when restoring an actual mileage device. He is also a good source of cables (kind of obvious from his URL!).
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