Gauge wanted

[mriz]

I posted in the classified section also but wondering if anyone has a volt/fuel gauge for a 77 20Z. Jim

[MEZZZ]

Jim,

I read thios when you first posted it and fought off the urge to tell you I had one. I bought an extra set a few months back to use for the Speedhut overlays. After reading your post, I decided to go ahead on my week off and tackle the job. I do have the volt/fuel gauge that I removed from my car and it is operational. If you still need one, let me know.

On a side note, my clock (surprise) didnt work. I was told when I bought the 5 gauges to use for the Speedhuts, the clock didnt work either. I figured it would be a nice one though to tinker with and try to fix per Escanlons thread. The best I got was the movement "jumped" for a couple seconds. I then bought a "working" clock on Ebay, only cost 10 bucks so I gave it a try...it was dead too! Last month I saw another listing for a clock from a "78 model with the quartz movement in it and the guy said he would guarantee no dead on arrival.

I used it for the Speedhut overlay, plugged it in the dash and IT WORKS! I actually have a clock and for the past 24 hours, an accurate one at that.

Anyway, I digress, let me know if you still need that gauge.

[sblake01]

I believe Jim got his vot/fuel gauge. I had offered him a virtually perfect one for a 77/78 but he declined since he had found one closer to home.

[MEZZZ]

Thanks Stephen, in that case I will keep it as a spare

[mriz]

Yes, suprisingly I got one close to home but I thank you for the offer . When I had my gauges out I replaced the stock bulbs with LED's and like them better. And as far as the silver paint goes I can't help but think he forgot to add black to deepen the silver as it's too close to the stock color. Jim

[sblake01]

I did the LED dash bulb upgrade on my 810 and I like it because the stock bulbs in that car always seemed kind of dim but my Z still has the stock bulbs and they've always been okay. BTW, I think the color looks great on your car especially when compared to your old avitar.

[MEZZZ]

No problem on the gauge, I figure us silver "77 guys need to help each other out. I have to say when I read your post, I was expecting it to be a bit darker but as Stephen said, a 1000% improvement.

I am so tired of staring at my terrible attempt at a silver paint job, I want to change it. Ive been leading towards a charcoal metallic but saw an Infiniti G35 coupe today in a platinum color that looked great. Darker than silver but more silver than charcoal with just a wonderful array of light coming off the curves. Had I not been on a bust street I might have whipped around and attempted to nab a paint code.

[sblake01]

Oh those are some gorgeous colors! I looked at Infinitis a couple of months ago and they actually have three platimun colors. Liquid Platinum, which is somewhat like mriz's color, Desert Platinum, which is a little darker, and Platinum Graphite, which is a more charcoal-ish silver.

[MEZZZ]

I plan on visditing a dealer soon and tracking down the color. I've had an eye out for quite awhile, every now and then I see a car and think, thats it! I agree with you, whatever of the three it was, it was gorgeous. The sun was setting and the light bouncing off it was great. I am not really a fan of silver, my first new car was silver and no matter how much I waxed, it always looked the same ('79 Honda Civic).

I wish I could have gotten a color code to make sure it was the one I wanted. I saw a new 350Z not long ago that looked very close if not the same but this Infiniti had me longing for the paint shop.

[mriz]

I like the infinity colors but I could not go too dark as the body is not perfect . I choose from a BMW book and tried to get somwhere between the sliver and graphite. As Stephen and you said a clear improvement and I am not disapointed ,I was just expecting a few shades darker . I think you hit on it with platinum being the inbetween and it will look good on your Z. On the gauges with the led's I took out the green lenses in the back of the housing also . Just test them out before you install them to make sure you like it .Jim

[MEZZZ]

I have awhile before I paint it, I still have the interior to finish, all parts bought, need to have some welding done first. Then I am going to do some suspension work and then finally body/paint. In other words, still some time to decide but I have leaned towards a charcoal since day one. Like you, I guess the quyality of my bodywork will dictate how dark I go. The car id pretty straight now, one ding on the pass. side door. The pass. fender has damage low from improper jacking I am guessing, pretty mangled. I will get a new fender. I am pretty confident I can get he pretty decent to accept paint.

On the gauges, I replaced all stock bulbs while the gauges were out. I did take all the green lenses out while there. I got the reverse Indiglo gauges from Speedhut. I read they were a quality product and I didnt like the stock lighting at all. I looked into alternatives and figured this was the way to go. I was going to remove the stock bulbes but with the reverse indiglo, it was hard to see the needles, even after painting them flourescent orange. Leaving the stock bulbs in helped alot and I still get the numerals lighting up very nicely.

I went with a silver face and dark blue numbers/letters. A little ricey? Probably, but I actually like the look and wanted something a little different.