Economical White Face Instrument Gauges

Good luck, Ron. In my experience, the cost of the gauge faces is insignificant compared to the labor cost of tearing the bezels off the OEM gauges, removing the needles, reattaching all the new stuff and re-rolling the bezels back on. FYI- this can normally only be done once; then the chrome-plated brass bezels work-harden and spilt or crack.... and you are SOL for any decent appearance.

Thanks for the warnings. I've made an e-mail inquiry into the cost already.

As far as work hardening and only being able to remove the bezel's once, and being SOL, well, on that note, I fear many Pantera owners may feel just a bit uneasy right now.

As you know, the vendors who sell the white face gauges also include white face silk screened tach and speedo backgrounds. I know several Pantera owners who have gone the white face route on their Panteras. The problem is the OEM tach and speedo look to me like they have bezels that have to be rolled off also, but I haven't done this procedure and wouldn't do it myself, so I don't know for a fact that they don't screw off the tach and speedo. But, the bottom line is, if anyone is SOL, then a lot of people are SOL, right?

So, on that note, I'll make another inquiry to Palo Alto Speedo to see if they have OEM replacement bezels for Veglia instruments, so no one feels SOL.

Thanks for the warnings. Caveat emptor, eh?

While we're on the subject, any idea what PIM sells the white face gauge package for? High end gauge package and low end package or even ball park estimate?

Their website says call for prices, and it so happens they have the same working hours I do and last time I called them I had to call back because 'they had a full house' and they don't have a catalog for sale, 'it's all on their website,' I was told.

[This message has been edited by ron norman (edited 10-11-2003).]

Ron, Hall sold the white face gauge package for around $350 but they came with black bezels. The tach & speedo have little tabs on the bezels that you bend over to hold them on. I imagine you might get to bend them two or 3 times before the tabs break off. Anyway, I wanted black bezels all the way around so I ordered black bezels for the speedo & tach. Hall also sells a matching oil temp and clock about $60 each as I recall. Changing the faces on the tach & speedo is easy enough (once you get them out) but you have to be careful pulling the speedo needle off and putting it back on. I put it on and thought I was against the stop post and I am reading about 20 MPH high so I'll have to pull it again. You might want to test drive before you put it all back together and have someone check your speed. I thought it was new tires or something wrong when I had the tranny rebuilt, but as I checked the odometer against some mileage markers the mileage was dead on. I looked closely at the speedo needle and saw that it was a few degrees off the stop post so I figure that was where the error is coming from. I think the white gauges look cool especially against the wood grain dash kit. But you are looking at your $500 + budget for the month of October.

Gary #06984

Gary, it seems I could spend $500+ a month forever.... Thanks for the price estimate.

Jack, you're right ("Good luck, Ron"). Palo Alto Speedo quoted $450 to $550 to do the job.

And for anybody who has a need for a replacement bezel, they don't have originals but they have a vendor who custom makes them, and they then roll the bezels on with a lathe for a proper fit. $25 to $45 per instrument, so no one's SOL. But a Pantera vendor may be able to do it for about the same price and you could help to support our marquee at the same.

It's all just a hobby for me, so I like to learn what I can, but sometimes a hunch plays out better in a different way than I wanted.