Blog

 Below are photos from our visit and of our booth and the 2012 Spring Carlisle Auto Show

 Below are photos from the Charlotte Auto Fair at the Charlotte Motor Speedway 

Photos from Charlotte Auto Fair - Spring 2012

 We recently repaired and restored the instrument cluster, wiper motor and glove box door for our customer Chuck Stone.  Chuck has been gracious enough to send us photos seen below with the parts installed in his 1966 Corvette he has been restoring. It's wonderful to see our work in a beautifully restored vehicle!

1966 Restored Corvette

 Contact us at 1-800-722-0854 or e-mail us via our contact form so we can partner with you in the restoration of your classic vehicle be it a 1966 Corvette or other classic car. In addition to Instrument clusters, wiper motors, glove box doors, we can also supply you with carpet, trim parts and tires to match your classic automobile!

See photos from the Corvette Expo in Sevierville, TN where we have a booth. The event is from March 23-24. Drop by and see us if you are in the area!

Photos from Corvette Expo - March 2012

Since the early 70’s D & M Restoration has rebuilt many speed warning clusters. We are frequently asked questions from customers who try to install a ’67 speed warning speedometer and encounter several problems. We hope this article will clear some of this up.

In 1967, the Corvette offered an optional speed-warning speedometer. The idea was that the driver would set the small, pale yellow needle on the speedometer to the speed that he didn’t want to exceed. When the main speedometer needle reached the place where the small needle was set, a little hairspring on the large needle would make contact with a peg on the small needle, completing a path to ground. That in turn would set off an external speed-warning buzzer. In order for this to happen, the metal faceplate had to be insulated from making contact with the speedometer main frame and the front of the cluster. This was accomplished by the installation of two fiber washers and two plastic screws, which mounted the faceplate to the speedometer main frame. A piece of electrical tape was also placed on the outer edge of the odometer frame so that any short would be prevented should the frame and face touch.

The face plate also had a flat brass strap that went to the left side of the speedometer frame (looking from the back). It made a 90 degree contact on the speedo/tach mount plate. Note: This 90 degree bend was on the strap and had to be kept from contacting the frame by using electrical tape. When the speedometer was mounted to the backplate, it had to make contact with the plate in order to achieve a good ground. But this was not possible due to the rubber pad and two rubber grommets on the mounting screws. So a brass tab with teeth on it was attached to one of the mounting screws. It then made contact with the frame when the brass teeth on the tab went over the grommet and made contact with the mounting plate.

The needle used on this speedometer was totally different from the stock needles. Because of this, the same style needle was used on the tachometer, minus the hairspring. These needles were almost ¼ inch taller than the stock needles.

In l967, the cluster remained unchanged except for the tachometer and speedometer lenses which were changed to plastic ones (like 1963). The small gauge lenses (4) were glass. They were all still concave but because of the longer needle shaft length on the speedo and tach, if not modified, the needles would make contact with the lenses. In order to prevent this when installing the lenses into the cluster, the small glass lenses were installed normally with the rubber pads first, then the lenses. But on the speedo/tachs, the lens was installed first, then the rubber pads were installed on the backside of the two plastic lenses. Then the lens holding plate was installed. This gave just enough clearance for the needles.

Mike Freeman
D & M Restoration
www.dandmrestoration.com
support@dandmrestoration.com

Additional Tip:

The following is a tip for those of you who are doing their own restorations on ‘64/67 Corvette dash clusters:

When installing glass lenses back into your cluster after you restore it, make sure you have clearance on all sides of glass lenses. Make sure the lenses are not touching the side(s) of the cluster anywhere. Then you can install your plate that holds all 6 lenses in place. If you do not do this, it’s very likely that when a temperature change occurs (i.e., going from your garage to outside or the cooling off in the evening), the glass lenses will crack across the lenses if they are touching the cluster. This would make for a bad situation causing you to have to take the whole cluster out.

The 1963 Corvette began the second generation of Corvette. According to the auto section of howstuffworks.com -

For one the first time in the Corvette's history, wind tunnel testing helped refine the final shape, as did practical matters like interior space, windshield curvatures, and tooling limitations. Both body styles were extensively evaluated as production-ready 3/8-scale models at the Cal Tech wind tunnel

 The vehicle's inner structure received as much attention as its exterior aerodynamics. Fiberglass outer panels were retained, but the Sting Ray emerged with nearly twice as much steel support in its central structure as the 1958-62 Corvette. The resulting extra weight was balanced by a reduction in fiberglass thickness, so the finished product actually weighed a bit less than the old roadster. Passenger room was as good as before despite the tighter wheelbase, and the reinforcing steel girder made the cockpit both stronger and safer. Symbolic of the car's transformation was the first-ever production Corvette coupe -- a futuristic fastback that sported one of the most unique styling elements in automotive history -- a divided rear window. This feature had once been considered for an all-new 1958 Corvette, and Mitchell thought enough of the backlight backbone to resurrect it for the 1963 redesign. The rear window's basic shape, which was a compound-curve "saddleback," had been originally conceived by Bob McLean for the Q-model. The rest of the Sting Ray design was equally stunning. Quad headlamps were retained but newly hidden -- the first American car so equipped since the 1942 DeSoto. The lamps were mounted in rotating sections that matched the pointy front end with the "eyes" closed. An attractive beltline dip was added at the door's trailing upper edge, a result of cinching up the racing Stingray at the midriff. Coupe doors were cut into the roof, which made entry/exit easier in such a low-slung closed car. Faux vents were located in the hood and on the coupe's rear pillars; functional ones had been intended but were nixed by cost considerations. The Sting Ray's interior carried a new interpretation of the twin-cowl Corvette dash motif used since 1958, with the scooped-out semicircles now standing upright instead of lying down. It was also more practical, now incorporating a roomy glovebox, an improved heater, and the cowl-ventilation system. Also on hand was a full set of easy-to-read round gauges that included a huge speedometer and tachometer. The control tower center console returned, somewhat slimmer but now containing the clock and a vertically situated radio with a dial oriented to suit.

At D & M Restoration we are experts at restoring instruments, radios, clocks, headlight and wiper motors as well as glovebox doors for Corvettes. In addition we currently have a 1963 Corvette Cluster for sale, for more information click on our1963 Corvette Cluster for sale link - , call 1-800-722-0854 or e-mail us at esales@dandmrestoration.com.

D & M Restoration is well known for repairing and cosmetically restoring instruments (Speedometers, Tachometers, Gauges, Radios, etc.) in our customer's classic cars. We also have select items fully restored and in stock ready for purchase - Check out ourrestored items. Perhaps you or someone you know would be interested in one of these items - especially as the holiday season approaches!

If you are getting your instruments restored by us or buying one of our already restored items, be sure to check out our online store to complete your classic car restoration needs with items like carpet, tires and trim parts.

Call us at 1-800-722-9854 ext. 11 for any of our web store questions. We will take any orders over the phone and answer any questions you may have on items we have for sale or services we provide.

CNN/Money has just posted a fascinating article about classic cars that have been hidden away in barns and garages just now coming into the light of day and reaping rewards for the owners/finders. Some of the models that have been hidden away include a Bugatti that was left in it's garage for half a century recently sold for 4.4 million at an auction. Other vehicles include a 1964 Shelby Cobra, a 1948 Tucker, a 1965 Ford GT540, a 1953 Ferrari 212 Inter Coupe and a 1958 Porsche Speedster. Some people like to keep the vehicles in a "as-is" condition but many want to restore this fantastic find to a brand new condition. Do you know of or do you have what could be a potentially valuable vehicle sitting in an old garage or barn or know someone who does? We have over 35 years of experience of restoring the instrument panels in classic vehicles including speedometers, tachometers,gauges, etc. We also have an online store where we sell trim parts, tires, carpets and restored parts that could be what you need to restore one of these treasures back to full glory. Have we restored parts for you? Have we restored a vehicle that reaped big reward for you? We would love to hear your story! Leave a comment below, submit photos and your stories! We would love to feature you on our web site or Facebook page.

D & M Restoration is known for our restoration work on classic car instrument panels for customers and we are very thankful many customers have discovered our restoration services via this web site. In recent times we have opened an online store providing products that are also needed in classic car restoration projects currently including carpets, tires, trim parts and we also have some of our own restored parts up for sale as well including clocks, clusters, fuel gauges, radios, speedometers and wiper motors.

We strive to offer great deals while providing the best products. Is their anything you would like to see us offer on our online store that is not currently listed?