[MikeK]

Unfortunately the original wasn't much to write home about, either! Yes the needle stayed on but the entire design was based on differential magnetic induction. That made it real cheap to manufacture but has many drawbacks such as: accuracy +or-5% if your lucky when new, +or-10~20% a year later; directionally affected by the earths mag field and nearby ferrous objects; no damping, much needle bouncing while driving. Yes, that is the original.

The Model T guys are lucky, there is an excellent replacement meter with a quality D'arsonval shunt current movement that addresses all the problems: LINK If they made one for the A that would be great. I suppose you could adapt the innards to an A bezel if you have the skill.