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Instrument cluster - early 30's?


Tom Burtch

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Anyone recognize this? It is about 15 inches long and 6 3/8 inches high. The glass lenses are slightly convex.

The small gauges have 1 1/4 inch diameter faces and Stewart Warner script on the back.

I'd like to know the original application and also what gauge would have been in the empty round opening

Thanks, Tom

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Thanks for trying. I got this several years ago and don't know the history. It is a really nice art deco design which seems too stylish for a truck or bus.

There is no depth behind the face plate in this section with the open hole, so it may not have been for a gauge at all. Maybe for an ignition switch or perhaps an opening for a dash light?

I think I'll just clean it up and put it on display on my workshop wall for now.

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I looked over more instrument panels of the 30's today and found nothing. The frustrating thing is that search engines bring up so many worthless results.

Searching truck dashes was even more difficult.

I would agree that it is a dash from the 30's, perhaps mid 30's. Anything earlier had drum type speedometers and this has a dial type. Two other unique details are that the speedometer is oval and the gauges are S-W. That should narrow things down but so far no results.

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Guest Commodore

Well, I think Mr. 28 Chrysler may be on to something. That font style sure looks like the type the military used during World War II. Although, I would think the liquid type gas gauge would be obsolete by 1942. Also I think that the engine connected to this dash had full pressure lubrication. Splash lubrication did not have 50 psi of pressure.

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unusual for the two clusters to show up in such a short time period and nobody can identify them. Wonder if they were found in locations that were near to eachother. Could be a clue.

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Guest prs519

Hard to believe the collective wits of this forum have been defeated! The fact that two of them were posted (indicating that the panel may not be all that rare), and the fact that the speedometer goes to 100 mph, which I believe is inconsistent with the styling (which looks earlier), leads me to think it was of a rather high-end, or possibly, foreign origin. Were any established foreign manufacturers users of the MPH designation, rather than KPH? The British?

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Guest prs519

Hard to believe the collective wits of this forum have been defeated! The fact that two of them were posted (indicating that the panel may not be all that rare), and the fact that the speedometer goes to 100 mph, which I believe is inconsistent with the styling (which looks earlier), leads me to think it was of a rather high-end, or possibly, foreign origin. Were any established foreign manufacturers users of the MPH designation, rather than KPH? The British? Or, maybe the speedo is meant to designate in KPH, which would be a more reasonable speed, in my opinion, given the styling of the panel. Art deco, for sure.

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Guest prs519

Good point about Stewart Warmer. I do not know if they had any foreign subsidiaries, but I doubt it. I attach a photo which is of a Nash gauge panel, but which looks like it could have evolved from our mystery panel.

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS2S5jYVe3qKEKNPdd3XMKnivgoQPy21uOWSN6lON10pVnV0M2z

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  • 1 year later...

I missed the thread till now, but reading post one I knew it was 33 nash, as I have the 32 like posted....I always disliked the 33 dash lol

 

 

edit, to get the full ugliness of that "new for 33 dash" you need to see the entire dashboard.  It's grotesque with the center panel pushed outwards like a festering boil

Edited by F&J (see edit history)
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