The Galactica

[gadget73]

probably like me... doesn't like buying tires and still wants to be able to get to the tire shop with the old ones when new tires are needed... so burnouts are a no-no.

however, powerslides on snow and ice in mine are fair game... though I never have anyone filming that.

The tires are now pushing 7 years old, and have about 4/32 left on them. I think they will probably last the summer and then they are done. Maybe at that point i will find out if it will do a burnout. I've not tried in years, brakes and tires are expensive. Those pads have 10 years and some 60k miles on them.

[87gtVIC]

old geezer.

[johnunit]

I forgot how clean that car is. Looks beautiful. Glad to see the cam nonsense is done with. That could have been engine-ending.

[gadget73]

It didn't used to be remotely clean. Has some issues again. Somewhere on here are pics from when it got backed into and smashed the freshly painted fender and door. It has black junkyard parts on it now. The rear quarter is also stoved in from me being stupid and probably not having the wheel spacers torqued down correctly. I need to get all that fixed and fresh paint back on those parts. The passenger side and the top of the car look great, the driver's side, not so much. All of the damage is on that side.


Dug out my Stewart-Warner gauges to test. The voltmeter is dicked though. It pegs out with less than 5 volts applied to it. Oil and water gauge seem to read about what I would expect. Thinking of getting one of those DIN gauge things that goes in place of a radio, and putting that into my factory CD player pod to go under the dash. Now the question is what to do with the gauges. I seem to remember the temperature gauge read sketchy, and now with the dinked voltmeter I'm considering just buying a different set.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sww-82758

is the voltmeter, oil and water are matching.

[pantera77]

The din gauge is neat, though I'm not sure how accurate it actually is. At least it gives you some idea what the engines up to, and I do love it's 80's greatness.

[johnunit]

Those Stewart Warner gauges look great. Match the factory 80sness while looking high quality. Everyone (and especially Autometer) have to slather big advertising on even their classiest looking gauges..

[87gtVIC]

I would stick with your current gauges Thain. I like the look of the Stewart Warner set. Now chance you cannot rebuild the voltmeter?

You can make up a panel or purchase one from ebay to house those three in a din slot. Gonna look good when you are done. I remember you talking about installing gauges in that factory cd player piece for YEARS now. Maybe we are getting close to it actually happening.?

[gadget73]

I can't even get it open. Its crimped together. If I managed to peel that open, it would never go back together. NFC how a voltmeter dies like that, I've honestly never seen that before.


I bought the DIN thing, will see how it fits and whether it takes the gauges how I expect. Once I know it all physically fits, I'll worry about replacing the thing. I do need to find out if my existing oil pressure sender works with the S-W or if I need to change it. Will also see if the factory sending unit works with temp, or if that needs the specific S-W sender as well.

and yeah, projects move on a rather slow timespan around here. There were a few years where I was just in "fuck this" mode and I rebuilt vintage hifi gear instead. Now I'm working on the car, and my lovely 1958 Fisher 600 receiver is in pieces.

[87gtVIC]

Yeah the crimp is a bitch to remove. I purchased an autometer tachometer. I disliked the glass and bezel as they did not match my other sunpro gauges. I used a tiny flat head and slowly and carefully worked up the edges of a scrap sunpro amp gauge as well as the new tachometer. I swapped the glass face and the bezel and crimped the new bezel on with a blunt something trying not to pierce it through my hand should I slip. I succeed and have matching gauges while the makes are different. Did take some patience to remove the bezel and not destroy it.

[P72Ford]

I seem to remember the temperature gauge read sketchy, and now with the dinked voltmeter I'm considering just buying a different set.

Are these the ones you got from me, from the white coupe?

I believe the temp sender in the car was not correct for the gauge. Although I may be wrong.

[gadget73]

yeah, that set. I don't quite remember full details on it either. May have been we left the Ford sender in, but I know something was whacky about it. Its definitely not the same resistance as a standard box sending unit. I mapped it out last night and it seems like a Chevy sending unit will get it done. I can get one of those a lot cheaper than the official Stewart-Warner piece. No specs on the S-W part so I figured it out myself with a variable resistor and a power supply.

Need to do the same on the oil gauge and see if the sending unit I currently have will work for it.

yeah, I'm being cheap about this.

[sly]

yeah, that set. I don't quite remember full details on it either. May have been we left the Ford sender in, but I know something was whacky about it. Its definitely not the same resistance as a standard box sending unit. I mapped it out last night and it seems like a Chevy sending unit will get it done. I can get one of those a lot cheaper than the official Stewart-Warner piece. No specs on the S-W part so I figured it out myself with a variable resistor and a power supply.

Need to do the same on the oil gauge and see if the sending unit I currently have will work for it.

yeah, I'm being cheap about this.

This kind of cheap is the best kind of cheap as you KNOW it will work when you're done.

[P72Ford]

yeah, that set. I don't quite remember full details on it either. May have been we left the Ford sender in, but I know something was whacky about it. Its definitely not the same resistance as a standard box sending unit. I mapped it out last night and it seems like a Chevy sending unit will get it done. I can get one of those a lot cheaper than the official Stewart-Warner piece. No specs on the S-W part so I figured it out myself with a variable resistor and a power supply.

Need to do the same on the oil gauge and see if the sending unit I currently have will work for it.

yeah, I'm being cheap about this.

I am almost 100% that the white car had the original sender hooked to the gauge.

This kind of cheap is the best kind of cheap as you KNOW it will work when you're done.

^ This. Plus, most people don't know anything about this. Most folks would hook the thing up and just assume the gauge was junk. Let alone have the knowledge of how a sending unit/ gauge even works, and then be able to test the gauge/ establish a suitable alternate sender part number based on the resistance values.

You can call it cheap. I would call it smart.

[packman]

Car looks great! Sounds better! Though, from the way it sounds, you can't just say "it's a stock TC" anymore.

Packman

[gadget73]

old 0-60



today 0-60:



If i was smart, I'd know how to edit that into a cool video with side by side action, but I can't be bothered to learn this stuff.