Go Back   The Ford Barn > General Discussion > Model A (1928-31)

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-06-2018, 05:02 AM   #1
Jim M
Senior Member
 
Jim M's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sebastian, FL
Posts: 479
Default Good quality ammeter

Does anyone make a good quality ammeter??? I am on my second one and it fell out yesterday. Seems like they are VERY flimsy.
Jim M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-06-2018, 05:59 AM   #2
Growley bear
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 777
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

Good ammeters are out there, just not new manufactured stock. I found a couple on ebay. I think I paid around $20.00 each but they are accurate dependable, and of good quality. What you want is the D'arsonval type movement in the gauge.
Growley bear is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Old 04-06-2018, 07:46 AM   #3
Growley bear
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 777
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

Tom Wessenberg has designed some tools which are a big help in disassembling an ammeter. In some cases they can be repaired/improved.
Growley bear is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-06-2018, 10:08 AM   #4
Jim M
Senior Member
 
Jim M's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sebastian, FL
Posts: 479
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

Anything will be an improvement over what you can buy now from China.
Jim M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-06-2018, 01:14 PM   #5
1930-Pickup
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: southern California
Posts: 725
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

Quote:
Originally Posted by Growley bear View Post
Good ammeters are out there, just not new manufactured stock. I found a couple on ebay. I think I paid around $20.00 each but they are accurate dependable, and of good quality. What you want is the D'arsonval type movement in the gauge.
I can find good vintage ammeters pretty easily on ebay, but they don't fit in the small space of the A instrument panel, and/or they don't look authentic.

Growley- are you finding good quality authentic looking meters? Could you please post a photo?
__________________
"That's my wild unsubstantiated guess, and I'm sticking to it regardless of the facts!"
1930-Pickup is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-06-2018, 07:49 PM   #6
msmaron
Senior Member
 
msmaron's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Wauconda, IL
Posts: 3,600
Send a message via AIM to msmaron
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Buy from Dan Bixby. He on,t carries originals.
__________________
Mark Maron
Ill., Region MARC & MAFCA
MARC JSC Member MAFFI Trustee
National Facebook Admin.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MARC.group/

A7191-Sport Coupe
29 Roadster
29-Town Sedan
29-Original Special Coupe
msmaron is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-06-2018, 08:00 PM   #7
1930-Pickup
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: southern California
Posts: 725
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

Quote:
Originally Posted by msmaron View Post
Buy from Dan Bixby. He on,t carries originals.
Untouched, or rebuilt, or NOS?
__________________
"That's my wild unsubstantiated guess, and I'm sticking to it regardless of the facts!"
1930-Pickup is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-06-2018, 08:21 PM   #8
Jim M
Senior Member
 
Jim M's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sebastian, FL
Posts: 479
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

How do we contact Dan?? Just did a google search and didn't come up with anything. Would like to talk with him
Jim M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-06-2018, 08:30 PM   #9
1930-Pickup
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: southern California
Posts: 725
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim M View Post
How do we contact Dan?? Just did a google search and didn't come up with anything. Would like to talk with him
Put 'Dan Bixby' in the search box for this forum. He has several items for sale here, so you can contact him that way. Please keep us informed.
__________________
"That's my wild unsubstantiated guess, and I'm sticking to it regardless of the facts!"
1930-Pickup is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-07-2018, 08:11 AM   #10
Growley bear
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 777
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

Quote:
Originally Posted by 1930-Pickup View Post
I can find good vintage ammeters pretty easily on ebay, but they don't fit in the small space of the A instrument panel, and/or they don't look authentic.

Growley- are you finding good quality authentic looking meters? Could you please post a photo?
I'll get a couple PICS today. Finding the proper size is a challenge, but they're out there. One thing to remember is that Ford did not have his name on the face of the ammeter.
And as someone else said, almost anything is a vast improvement on the new stuff out there now. I bought one a couple years ago and it fell apart during shipping. It was well packaged very poor quality.
Growley bear is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-07-2018, 06:09 PM   #11
daren007
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Saint Cloud Mn
Posts: 745
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

Avoid China at all cost. Don't ask why I said this.
daren007 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-08-2018, 07:46 AM   #12
Jim M
Senior Member
 
Jim M's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sebastian, FL
Posts: 479
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

Got in touch with Dan and he had one. Look forward to getting it in. Will update when installed. Thanks for the tip and thanks to Dan for the quick response. What a great group!!!!
Jim M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-08-2018, 08:28 AM   #13
daren007
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Saint Cloud Mn
Posts: 745
Default Re: Good quality ammeter

I replaced my original model A amp meter with a aftermarket. Before I had it installed the needle fell off (found out this happened to a friend also). Open it up and reinstalled the needle and at this point I found out how cheaply it was made compared to the original. After I finally got it reinstalled but with a hose clamp to keep it in place because the tangs broke off removing it to fix the needle problem it read backward. Not a issue . Just switched wires. Now the meter works but not very accurate. I used the studs from the aftermarket to rebuild my original meter. Now I am happy.
daren007 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:30 PM.