1924 Buick Gas Gauge Question

[JerryVan]

Can anyone provide a photo of what the dial face of a 1924 gas gauge looks like? Mine is bare brass with no trace of any printing at all. I guess I should also ask if a replacement gauge face is available or if anyone has a nice one to sell.

Thanks!

[Leif Holmberg]

Here is picture from what I think is 1925 it seems that the face is missing.

Leif in Sweden.

Edited November 5, 2009 by Leif Holmberg (see edit history)

[JerryVan]

Thank you Leif. What I need is the gasoline gauge face that's located on the gas tank itself, not on the instrument panel. I guess in 1925 they moved the gauge inside the car.

[Leif Holmberg]

This is how it looks on my 1924 4cyl.-1925 std..

Leif in Sweden.

[Hubert_25-25]

Fuel Gauge Restoration Precaution:  1925 Standard fuel gauge shown.

 

The copper plating on these fuel gauge dial surfaces is VERY thin.  Polish is not the way to clean these initially. With the carmelized fuel and exposure to air, it makes one tuff coating on the gauge face.    Consider Tarn X first and really watch it.  Limit the exposure time per the directions.  It needs some chemical strip, or all the copper is gone from the polishing, just to get the brass embossing to shine.   Use only a very light silver polish and soft rag when done, and watch that you do not remove the bronzy/copper color from between the letters.  I just wanted to let you know how fragile the copper is on these.  Probably why this thread was started. 

 

Any other restoration suggestions are appreciated.

 

 

Best Regards,

Hugh

 

Edited October 24, 2015 by gr8success (see edit history)

[JerryVan]

Thanks for the additional photos. As you say, these are delicate! Mine has no signs of any lettering at all anymore.

[dibarlaw]

Making sure that this for a Standard car since the Masters are larger and the 1924 has a double ended pointer.

[Hubert_25-25]

_{So what would this gauge face have looked like originally. Did they copper plate the brass face, then nickel plate, or is copper the top coating?} 

[Leif Holmberg]

 Coppar "paint" I think,(just becuse you can clean it and nothing will be left), and then black painted letters.

Leif in Sweden

[Hubert_25-25]

Leif,

   Thank you.  I may try this copper plate at home method.  I can practice on a piece of scrap brass and some old copper tubing first.   I could then letter with epoxy black paint and maybe even epoxy clear coat when done.   That should hold up in the gasoline vapor space and perhaps keep the shine.

 

Hugh

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoCyRQsDNco

[Leif Holmberg]

Hugh.

Looks easy to do,but just wonder how long it will keep the "shine",comparing to other copper "things",I think it needs to be polished a couple of time every year?Maybe it will be "green colored"after a short time.

Maybe someone who already have this copper plating ,can try this on a sheet metal pices and put it in a gas liquide for a couple of months,and see what had happend.

Leif in Sweden.

[Hubert_25-25]

I showed this gas gauge face from my car on another posting, but I can't find that, so sharing this now.  My gauge face was restored by a powder coater person that  lives near me.  I think the powder coating will hold up, since it is not submerged in fuel.  The powder coated part that I put in gasoline got soft to the touch, but did not come off.  Then I bought some POR 15 and I realized that it is actually fuel proof and is used as a fuel tank liner.  POR 15 is available in multiple colors and clear.  You can even get it in a spray can.  So here is another plan to restore a gauge face.

Paint the face with silver POR 15, or nickel plate it or use silver cad, or use a home plater kit.  Cut out the numbers and letters from black electrical tape.  My powder coater has a laser printer and cutter which would work even better.  Then use POR 15 clear to encapsulate it.   This would keep the plating from tarnishing as well if you plated the gauge face.  POR 15 may also be a good clear to use on a polished brass carburetor bowl.    Hugh

 

 

Edited July 12, 2018 by Hubert_25-25 (see edit history)

[dibarlaw]

Hugh :

 The gage looks great!  Much better than my efforts on the Standard and Master gages I did.

Standard gage is holding up well.

  The master gage has already began turning yellow and the numerals have become muddied. I used 3 coats of super glue to seal to top surface.

[ROD W]

This acid etched one, on Ebay is nice.   But too much for me at $235.

[Leif Holmberg]

It has the wrong "color"as well,all my faces has "copper"color and black on the digits.

Leif in Sweden

[earlsworkshop]

I realize this is an old thread, but since I am a new old Buick enthusiast, I've got to ask. 

I have a 1924 Buick 24-33 and the gas gauge face & needle isn't even visible through the glass.

How do you remove the gas gauge from the gas tank? 

Does it require removing the tank or can it be taken off with the tank in place?

I don't want to learn the hard way and damage the darned thing, it's hard to find many parts for a '24 Buick.

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[dibarlaw]

Earl:

The gage bezel should be removeable with the tank installed. Just get a good grip on the bezel and turn counter clockwise..... If this was 1926 that is and even that would have been iffy once the fuel got gummy around the fittings. I used a rubber strap type wrench and it would not budge. To remove mine on my 1925 Standard took the removal of the tank. The bezel was split and I had no gage. I purchased a 1927 tank just to get the gage. That one was worse to get out. I soaked in all sorts of fluids to break the 90 year old fuel turned to glue. I tried not to destroy the bezel. I used a thin rubber strip and a hose clamp and tapped for what seemed a week hoping the solvents would work. After that week I was able to get things apart but the glass broke in the process. 

 

On my rebuilt units (as shown on my July 14th 2018 post above) I can go out and remove them with the rubber strap wrench at any time.

 I made a new bezel from aluminum to replace my broken one. Since then Huber_25-25 has had Meyers early Dodge make correct reproductions of the Bezel. After all this yours may be slightly different. 

 There is much more to this thread which may be helpful. Do a search and you should be able to find more.

 

[earlsworkshop]

Thanks for the info Larry.

 

[dibarlaw]

Earl:

 Thanks for the photo. One just does not see these 1924 4 cylinder coupes very often. My friend that I just got a set of top sockets from a 1924 Model 35 Touring for me to use for parts. He is restoring a 1924  4 cylinder Model 34 roadster.

[Hubert_25-25]

Earl,  

     I hope this provides some assistance.    http://www.myersearlydodge.com/ will have some parts as well.    Attached also is my fuel gauge or gas gauge rebuild procedure for 20's Buicks  Hugh

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2020 by Hubert_25-25 (see edit history)

[earlsworkshop]

Thank you Hugh.

AS can be seen in my photos. the gas gauge on my 24 Buick is unreadable. 

But, I have a wooden paint stirring stick to check the level. 8-)

[Hubert_25-25]

Earl, 

    The photos are of my 1925 model 25 and are similar to you car.  The gauge is difficult to be removed with the gas tank in place.  The top of the gauge is barely above the rear metal frame plate.  Much easier to remove that gauge if you drop the tank.  There is a drain plug on the bottom of the tank.  Another thing you have to work at is to get the plug out.  I found this method of using a steel body working dolly and a hammer works well for both this plug and the one on the bottom of the vacuum tank.  You can not use any heat because of the gasoline and the fitting is soldered.  You are basically trying to put some vibration into the threads before trying to turn the plug.  Once the old steel plug comes out, use teflon tape and install a brass plug.   There is no bad time to drop the entire gas tank.  Not too difficult and you can clean out the tank.   You will also likely find that the fuel pick up screen is non existent, and that would be good to fix as well.      Hugh
  

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by Hubert_25-25 (see edit history)

[Crazyfamily]

My original fuel gauge for the ‘27 is coming along, did some cleaning on it this morning.  Once I get the edges cleaned up a little better than I will be using mask and acid etch the markings back onto the dial, then before unmasking I’ll use a fuel safe black coating to mark the gauge hopefully permanently! 

 

just an idea and another approach to restoring or at least making due with the original fuel gauge!

 

Big difference from what it was originally when we got the car,  it didn’t move and was caked w gelled varnished fuel!

 

 

[dibarlaw]

It is interesting how these aluminum pieces blister. I wonder if the rolling process on making the original sheet thickness causes voids in the layers. My aluminum sill plates on the master did the same thing.

[Crazyfamily]

I shared this in a new post but wanted to make sure everyone saw it and it was more appropriate to post it here since it’s on topic.

 

I had a little extra time this evening and wanted to go at my first attempt to DIY Etch some aluminum before doing the final etch on to my original fuel gauge.  
 

This was literally 5 minutes total worth of work, yes I’ll take much longer when the etching is on the actual fuel gauge dial to inside its as close to perfect as possible, however this was 2-3 minutes of etch time and a quick spritz with black spray paint and a quick scuff with sandpaper.  I don’t think I’ll be using sandpaper to scuff the fuel gauge dial off when I inlay KBS Coating Fuel Tank Sealant (Black then Clear) as I am going to experiment with using 00000-0000 Steel Wool.  I am planning on doing quite a few more attempts doing the entire process before the final etch on the actual gauge dial as this process is a one time process, with etching there is no second pass at it as once you remove the masking/stencil you’ll never be able to properly apply it again without ghosting occurring!

 

So, without further ado, here is my first attempt at etching, If I say so myself I think it looks great!  
 

^This is on a paint can lid and obviously the oval in the middle will not be there in the final etch as in the stencil it’s just to allow the slit the pointer arm rises in.😊