I needed a project to do (Idle hands...) so I decided to rebuild the dash of my backhoe. This all started when my fuel gauge took a permanent hiatus a while back and I became increasingly annoyed with the fact that gauges didn't actually have any graduations on them, just green and red zones. I'll be posting my progress and welcome any suggestions the forum members might have as this project develops. So here goes! This is what I did today: My fancy new gauges arrived a couple of days ago. They are Stewart Warner World Wide series lighted gauges. Here is a pic of the new fuel gauge: It took me about an hour to remove the dash. Pretty straight forward. I did cut the wires running to the ammeter. I plan on replacing it with Voltmeter anyway. Here's the front of the dash: And the back: Not too pretty! I stripped all of the stuff off of the dash and I used some chemical paint stripper to remove the paint on the face of the dash. Then i took it to my friends shop, ground out the heavy scratches, glass beaded and prepped for powder coating. My friend has an old oven in his shop and does small part powder coating for a small fee. Here are the two halves coming out of the oven after a baking to remove any oils that may have been left on the surface. I'm hoping he can finish the halves a 100% tomorrow. He's going to use Satin Black because that's what he has. Continued.....
Tachometer refresh While I was waiting for that stuff to get clean I disassembled my Tachometer. I just used a small screwdriver and carefully peeled the bezel up until I could get it off. The gauge face looked fine and the internals seemed to be in good shape also. Here is the face: And the guts! I glass beaded all the surfaces and gave everything a coat of primer and paint. The bezel is a little dented but I can live with that rather than damage it trying to bang the dents out. Here is the finished product: Rear: And the front: Hopefully I'll have some time to post more before the weekend is out. Thnaks for looking!
Nice Job Okney, can't wait to see how she looks when finished
Hi, new to the forums. okney1lz, I'm very interested in seeing you progress with this project. The gauges on my 580BCK are horrible. My Tach gauge doesn't have a needle, no fuel gauge, and every one of them has condensation built up inside. Good pictures by the way.
Powder coating done............ I think the panels turned out great. This pic doesn't really do it justice: It sure does look different! I didn't have too much time today, but managed to start the wiring. The gauges light up and I'm going to rebuild one of the original panel lights for the Tachometer illumination. I got some new switches; a 2 position for the gauge lights and headlights, and a hi amperage one for ROPS lights which I would like to mount sometime. Any thoughts on a good way of achieving this? I also got a new shut-off cable. I did however forget to powder coat the two little side brackets so I blasted them today to get them ready. I'm thinking of replacing the ignition switch with a newer setup that doesn't require the push button. Left pre-heat, right run, far right start. I also need to source the little cover thingy's for the unused holes. I can paint the ones I have, but I am missing some and figure I can stop being miserly long enough to spend a few dollars on them! Anyone have a source for them? Another friend is making me a replacement anti-vandal cover and bracket out of stainless. He said I was going a little overboard! I just laughed. I have to work this weekend so hopefully I'll be back on this sometime Monday. Thanks for looking!
I know our Lowes has a drawer in the hardware section that has black plastic plugs in various sizes. I have used them on other projects and they seem to work well. Best wishes in your project.
Hey Okney1lz, nice work on the panel - the powder coating is a great touch. I started a thread a few months ago when I rebuilt my panel, in case anyone is interested in rebuilding the original gauges - not the easiest fix, but probably the cheapest way to do the job.
Oh, one other thing - two of those "extra" holes in the panel are for lights. If your new gauges have lights, then you're all set. If not, replacing them with originals is very expensive. I just got some panel indicators with round plastic covers that would fit through the holes, then used a Dremel to cut a slot in the cover and painted the cover flat black. The light shines out the slot and illuminates the panel without blinding you at night.
Thank you! Thanks for the information fpgm04! I'll check Lowes out. Papa Goose I most certainly used you write up as a reference! Silly of me to forget to give kudos where they are due. bstm23 welcome to the forums! This is the place you want to be if you've got a 580 B! There are a lot of very knowledgeable people who frequent this forum. I'm glad I stumbled upon it and you will be too!
Okney, Papa... Any pictures of the finished products installed in your machines? Also, any chance of getting a list of part no. for the gauges & sending units involved? Love to update the post-apocalyptic instruments in my 580b. regards... d2r