benjwom23 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Haven't had much luck with google on this one so hoping somebody here can help.. I am currently in the process of a complete rebuild of my 1986 90, the exterior is looking pretty good but the original interior (which is currently spread through my dining room) is a bit tired to say the least. So for the dashboard I am going to build a new gauge binnacle and would like to recondition the original gauges. I have found refurb kits for series gauges on the bay which include new glass and chrome surround: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Series-1-2-3-Jaeger-Smiths-Gauge-Reconditioning-Kit-Glass-Seal-Bezel-/271776850906?hash=item3f4729a3da:g:XdMAAOSwibJTyDfk http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Series-1-2-Smiths-Gauge-Reconditioning-Kit-Glass-Seal-Black-Bezel-2-/282064653798?fits=Car+Make%3ALand+Rover&hash=item41ac5d0de6:g:uVIAAOSwmtJXWxhP Does anybody know if these will fit the defender gauges / if there are kits available for the defender? I haven't even looked into taking the existing gauges apart so not even sure if it can be done... Any advise would be much appreciated anyway. I want to retain a bit of a classic car look with the dashboard so considered buying a set gauges from triumph / mg or similar but figured I would have a nightmare with speedo / fuel / temperature calibration so for ease would rather stick with the stock LR versions. Pics of build as of a few days ago. You may notice that i'm not quite ready for an interior yet! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Gonna be 'extreme' You could look at upgrading to TD5 gauges/warning lamps, there's an excellent thread on here called 'wibbly wobbly speedo', detailing the process, if you can forego the classic look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjwom23 Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 I almost bought a Td5 speedometer and transducer a few years ago and I swear the speedo was about £40 from ebay. Seems to be £100+ now. Going to have a look at dismantling the gauges this afternoon to see if that is at least possible... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat_pending Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 The gauges contain some very delicate wiring, I made one working temp gauge out of three broken ones. With hindsight I should just have bought a new one, frustratingly fiddly and best left well alone if working. Unfortunately the bulb housings fall apart when the heat from the bulbs degrades the plastic, then just handling the gauges with loose bits inside can be enough to render them useless. On another note, the orange paint...why? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevm Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 10 hours ago, pat_pending said: On another note, the orange paint...why? Yes, I want to know about the orange paint too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Well I did too, but was too polite to ask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjwom23 Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 I suspect I will clean the gauges up and see what they look like. Or go down the Td5 route. My fat hands aren't all that great when it comes to fiddly... So the orange: The main reason is that everything used to be either oily black or a sort of rust brown covered in a spattering of oily black. There was always oil on the drive and I could never figure out where it was coming from. I thought if I went for a bright colour for every component under the car and bonnet then at least for a while I will have a fighting chance at eliminating some of the more major oil leaks. Plus Britpart use yellow so I wanted to stray well away from that. I'm determined to get a few more years out of it so everything has been cleaned down / acid bathed / galvanised / rebuilt / filled with dinitrol / etched and covered in enamel. Its grown on me: I think the orange and grey work quite well. Apparently you guys disagree judging from above! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 I was too frightened of the answer to ask ? Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 Freak Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 56 minutes ago, benjwom23 said: Apparently you guys disagree judging from above! I think most are thinking back to a certain notorious supplier of old who produced everything in Orange and called it "Extreme" as their key marketing ploy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Very smart, clearly some care's gone into that. Couldn't you get any orange silicone hoses or did you stick with black to keep it subtle? From memory the Defender gauges are peened closed so I'd imagine it could be damaging to dismantle & recondition them, and likely to take more time than is worth it IMHO. Just buying a set of VDO Vision gauges would be my route if I needed everything smart & reliable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjwom23 Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 OK you need to enlighten my naivety. Who were these 'extreme' orange people? 1 hour ago, FridgeFreezer said: From memory the Defender gauges are peened closed so I'd imagine it could be damaging to dismantle & recondition them, and likely to take more time than is worth it IMHO. Just buying a set of VDO Vision gauges would be my route if I needed everything smart & reliable. Thanks, I wont bother trying to open them then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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