John Bell Gauge Repair Customization Review

[Rodney Nelson]

Hi Everyone,

As some of you know I have been killing myself the last few years working on restoring 1972 911T. I am no where close to needing to use my gauges. However, I really wanted to start working on some more of the fun parts of the 911 vs. the bare metal body I'm currently working on.

I have read all of the reviews and comments about some of the well knows gauge repair shops taking forever to get gauges repaired with insanely high prices. For me customer service is king and if you can't return my calls, be upfront about timing, and in general run your shop in a professional manner I really do not want to deal with you.

I have been watching John Bell post info about custom gauges he is working on and I did a post a while back regarding how bad my gauges were. John contacted me via a PM and told me if I sent him my gauges he would test them for free so I knew what I had. However, I was just not ready yet so I waited a few more months and finally decided I was going to give John a call.

We talked via email back and forth and dialed in what I was really after. I decided that the gauges were such a significant part of a 911 that I was going to go all out with all of the customization I could. John was extremely fair on the prices and sent me detailed PDFs of what the final design was going to be.

So, I pulled the trigger and sent John my gauges. He contacted me a few times and sent me update photos along the way. When the gauges were ready to send back John sent me final pictures before he boxed them up and shipped them.

Here are some pics of how bad my gauges were that I sent him...

[Rodney Nelson]

I went back and forth with John talking about all of the options. To confirm John sent me the below image of the final layout of my new gauges.



When I received the box from John everything was packaged with the utmost care, with Styrofoam inside panels, huge bubble wrap, and each gauge was inside a plastic bag. Packaging is important!



Ok finally time to look at the Gauges...

1. Clock. I wanted reliability and I also wanted the silver button look. John suggested going with a new VDO mechanism inside with a silver button that is more pronounced in appearance compared to the early clocks that have a push style knob to make the adjustments. This one has smooth glass and the ability to wire up a switch to make my clock adjustments...

[Nditiz1]

+1 for John he does great work.

[Rodney Nelson]

2. Speedo. For the speedo I really wanted the Km/hr. look. There were a lot of different options. I decided to go with a 250 km/hr. option. I actually sent John 2 speedos and one was out of a 914. It just so happens that the 914 has different spacing between the trip odometer and the bottom of the gauge which allowed for more room for the km/h, light symbol, and high beam indicator light. So, I decided to use the 914 case. I also, like the red slashes just above 50. John can put them where ever you want. He can also do a 300 version but he will need a later gauge as a starting point. And since I'm doing a full resto and have no idea how many miles are on my 911 he zeroed out the odometer.





3. Tach. For the tach I decided to go big or go home! 10K tach with an adjustable RPM redline light button! And down low a volt meter. It is a work of art!

[Rodney Nelson]

4. Pressure / Temp Gauge. The Triple gauge, the most custom gauge of them all. Stops were pulled on this one. John's sample image he sent me sold it instantly. The third gauge and Air Fuel Ratio Gauge. And of course, it has the pressure and temperature numbers. This thing is awesome.





Check out the back... nicely labeled, perfect.



5. Gas and Oil Level. This one is the closest to stock, but man it looks nice and super clean. He did change my gauge over to the numeric version instead of just the level lines. All the gauges have newly painted needles, faces, trim rings etc.





In Summary:

In summary I would say that John Bell is very talented, a super nice guy, keeps you updated, ensures what you want, helps you make the right decision, is patient, delivers a high quality product, is timely and reasonably priced.

Thanks for my gauges John!!!!

[Rodsrsr]

Agreed....He did a great job on my gauges.

[Dan J]

John dd some work for me as well
Work was very well done , Would definitely recommend

[911 SLANT]

Great guy and fair prices. He did my 2.8 speedo and 10k tach. Work of art

[jbell959]

Thank you Rodney and everyone else for the kind words.

This set was fun to work on...

[7783911]

The only person I trust with my Gauges!

[Buckeye]

How would I contact John ?

[Buckeye]

Never mind. I see his email above

[Jonny042]

Outstanding!!! Both the clock and the triple gauge are two things I didn't know I needed.... until now....

[Rodney Nelson]

Originally Posted by Jonny042

Outstanding!!! Both the clock and the triple gauge are two things I didn't know I needed.... until now....

You Need These!!! He can also put a volt meter in the triple gauge instead of the AFR. But knowing how obsessed you are with your MFI perfection, you are definitely going to need the AFR!

[Racerbvd]

Wow, those are works of art.

[rxtrom]

John has done a speedo for me as well. Very happy with the results!!

[MrBonus]

That's really cool. If/when I rebuild my gauges (probably sooner than later), I will reach out to him as I'd like to have an identical tach.

[efalke]

looks great

[88911coupe]

Wow stunning, is it pretty simple to hook up the volt meter? Whats required?

[Bob Ashlock]

John has figured out how to blend great technology, art and craftsmanship to produce these outstanding gauges!