Changing Guage Faces

[Turbo_Look_Guy]

Does anyone have any experience changing the guage faces on their 911? I've got a set of white ones but was wondering how much of a mechanic one needs to be to do this job. Is it a do it yourself job or am I better off giving it to a pro? Please note that I'm not very good with a wrench.

[Rick Lee]

I did this job last week - took about 1 to 1 and 1/2 hrs. per gauge from start to finish. It goes a lot faster once you past the first one. I was well prepared. Buy some 5-min. epoxy - the kind in a dual syringe. Buy a pack of multi colored electrical tape. I got I think 6 colors. Have some long, very thin flathead screwdrivers, a tiny flathead jeweler screwdriver and the gauge needle removal tool.

I started with the clock. It came out very easily. Label each wire and connector before you disconnect it. I put a piece of tape of the wire first, then another piece of the same color tape on the connector as soon as I removed the wire.

To be extra redundant - this is a lifesaver if any tape slips off, like it did in the hot and humid weather for me - draw a diagram once you get back in the house. Just make a rough sketch of the back of the gauge, draw the connectors, write in which colors go where and THEN make sure you write down the order in which each piece stacks onto the gauge - 1) outer bezel, 2) conic ring, 3)glass, 4) another conic ring, etc.

With the clock, make sure you note what time it read when you pull the hands off and whether the hour or minute hand goes on first or secong. I thought I wrecked my clock when I cehcked it the next day, as it still read the same time. But then I realized it was exactly 12 hours since I had reinstalled it. Before you reinstall clock, give the speedo a shove through the clock hole. Speedo can be tricky. If you use too much force to get the needle off, you could kill it or take it out of calibration. I just got lucky. You'll need epoxy for this one. I used a glass, whose circumference was just a bit less than the gauge, filled it with water and set it on top of the gauge face to matt down the face and epoxy for 15 min.

Then I went to the fuel/oil level gauge. I left the black parts in the back on, as they make a nice contrast with grey over them. It was pretty easy. Give a shove on the oil pressure/temp gauge through the fuel/oil level hole. Pretty easy here.

My major screw up was the tacho. Steering wheel and lever assembly covers have to come off. Not a big job at all. But the tacho needle was a major b^tch to get off and I think I ruined my tacho in the process. You'll have to hope you get lucky and don't require as much brute force. I'm looking for a new tacho now.

You may get stumped by how the outer bezels come off once you get a gauge out. It will look like sh^t too, but the rubber sleeve covers it up. You need to stick the screwdriver blade between the back of the bezel and the outside of the gauge housing. Give it a twist and go all the way around, like you would with a GI can opener. Then use a butter knife to pry it off evenly. Feel free to email me with questions.