In a day ’n’ age when wrecking yard inventory is generally comprised of late-model, disposable, appliance-type motor vehicles, old truck lovers must look elsewhere for old truck parts. Sure, there’s the Interweb, but as an analog dog in this digital domain, yours truly still enjoys the personal interaction of a good old fashion swap meet.
These days, more often than not, Mrs. Rotten ’n’ I are sellers rather than buyers at the swap meets we attend. This means we’re tied down to our store, unable to stroll in pursuit of desired doodads for Mrs. Rotten’s personal 1947 Studebaker pickup project at home. Even so, useful goodies can appear by surprise, right from our own rectangular plastic containers.
Last year while unloading our wares at San Diego’s Big 3 Parts Exchange, a vintage Stewart-Warner Motor Minder vacuum gauge emerged from one container. Soon afterward, out came a 1939-1947 Dodge truck cowllamp housing. The two seemed to get along well and before too long another container rendered a ring—a shiny, new, stainless steel trim ring from a re-pop Vintique-brand 1937 Ford taillamp assembly. Married up with the shiny new ring, the vacuum gauge ’n’ cowllamp housing looked as though they belonged together—especially perched atop the dash of Mrs. Rotten’s old Studie truck.
Even though potential was obvious, the new/old truck accessory didn’t make it past its mockup right away. Instead its parts waited patiently on a shelf in the shop. Then eventually, a solid year later while preparing once again for the very same swap meet, out popped another ring. This one was weathered and of mysterious origin, but a much more natural fit. So, what the heck—let’s go ahead and unite our doodad discoveries. As a functional vacuum gauge assembly, they’ll fit right in where they’re headed.
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So, here are the bits ’n’ pieces that will one day unite to grace the dash of Mrs. Rotten’s old Studebaker pickup. Apart from the too-shiny, stainless trim ring, we have an accurate patina match, but let’s not skip ahead. With the old truck’s mechanical issues still being ’tended to, there’s really no hurry for this accessory.An entire year later we’ve made yet another swap meet discovery—again amongst our own inventory. This ring in its weathered condition looks the part. With its bend-over retaining tabs, it’s a better fit as well.Obviously I’m a sucker for vintage motoring accessories. Before proceeding, however, it would be nice to know if our vacuum gauge works. Without a mirror in the shop, a timed tripod photograph seems like a decent Plan-B for testing.Now that we’re convinced that our gauge at least functions, it’s difficult to resist spit-shining the new/old trim ring, but let’s not take this step too far. With a spent section of the leading-brand kitchen scouring pad, we’re knockin’ off the flakey high spots—only.
Due to our old Dodge cowllamp housing’s slightly protruding lip, the other components don’t fit as precisely as we’d like. Instinct says “relief,” via 3-inch 3M Roloc disc on an angle die grinder, but wouldn’t you know it, they’re all in use at this time. Again, let’s go with Plan-B. Let’s go with the belt sander.
Now that we’ve achieved a tight fit, let’s go ahead and permanently attach our new/old trim ring to our housing. This could be rough on fingertips, but a rummage through the toolbox might render a painless alternative. Sure enough, a glaziers’ hook tool is useful for the ring’s bend-over retaining tabs.Almost as if they knew we were coming, assembly line workers at the South Bend factory have thoughtfully provided this hole, in just the right spot atop the dash. This is where our crafty friend, Jimmy, comes in. Jimmy is a little bashful, but he’s agreed to do some hand-modeling and he has a good idea.
Here at the drill press, a 3/8 hex bolt is secured as Jimmy drills through. Beginning with a 1/8-inch pilot hole, he’ll finish with some larger bit. This specific-purpose fastener will mount our vacuum gauge assembly and also allow the necessary wire and hose a passageway to enter the housing invisibly.Our housing and its base will require enlargement of their existing center hole. For this we’ll use a Unibit-type step drill bit, chucked up in a high-mileage Central Pneumatic 3/8 reversible drill from Harbor Freight.
Now that I’ve hogged out that hole, Jimmy can continue to button things up inside the truck’s cab. At this stage he has the wiring ’n’ plumbing chores pretty well completed. This would be a good time to test the light before final installation of the gauge into its rather tight confines.
Since our Stewart-Warner Motor Minder vacuum gauge was originally designed to be mounted quite differently, we’ll need to get creative here. Once again, Jimmy is pretty handy with “The Right Stuff” gasket maker. This Permatex product is usually available from parts stores—and it’s always available from Summit.This will definitely hold things together, and later create an attractive gasket-like appearance. Used in conjunction with clean paper toweling, grease ’n’ wax remover is helpful for gasket-goo cleanup. With the excess wiped away our assembly is taped together firmly for now.By this time we’ve allowed “The Right Stuff” to cure overnight. With temporary tape removed and chemical cleanup completed, we have ourselves a fully functional dash-top vacuum gauge. This new/old accessory could enable a conscientious driver to make the most of each drop of High-Test. At the very least, it’ll be fun to watch.
