[samsag12]

Hello to all fellow enthusiasts and DIYers. I recently acquired two meters, one of a Fiat 1100D and the other of a Premier President. Most fiatians on the forum may be knowing about my previous two meter restorations. Being inspired from the comments and suggestions i float this thread on TBHP community to share my passion with you all. I am attaching the pics of both the meter.
I am also posting the link to my previous meter restorations.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1743297-post68.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1749335-post82.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1750969-post83.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1753169-post91.html

The Fiat 1100 D meter



The Premier President Meter



Old Gas filled Vaccum temperature nozzle

[FiatMyLife]

Sagar: What exactly you plan to do? Just clean it up?

[samsag12]

I intend to do full refurbishing on these meters which include disassembling the whole meter, cleaning the meters from inside by removal of glass, rewiring the bulbs, changing the fused ones, repairing the console(the most difficult part) , followed by sanding, priming, and painting. Then 3 step polishing and reassembling.
BTW if there is any valuable input from your side, do post it.

[FiatMyLife]

How will you check if the meters are working or not?

[samsag12]

Made some progress yesterday. Disassembled the Delight meter and thoroughly cleaned the meter pods from the insides too. Will post the pics of them later as the console is being worked upon at present. It was cracked from 3 locations so was very delicate to touch. Applied the adhesive and now the pieces are in place for further minor filling job. A very shoddy paint job was done on the console before as the black paint is still visible over the round chrome bezels of the meter. Pics with description attached.

Crack on the console visible.



Bottom mount also cracked

After mending the flaw

The shoddy paintwork carried over the console before.

[samsag12]

Originally Posted by FiatMyLife

How will you check if the meters are working or not?

Sir have taken it to the meter walla to get it checked. He told that the temperature meter of both the meters cannot be checked and also told, in his words, that (sahaab ye kaale meter ka taan ka sira pura nahi hai, doosara meter lagaana padega) but apart from that all others are working fine. Am planning to get them checked once again when i finish the restoration. I am in no mood to get the temperature pod of delight replaced as told you before. Will convert it to the electronic one at a later stage.

[manishalive]

Very simple to check the meters. For the coil in side the meter use a multimeter to check for the continuity (resistance). Latest generation multimetrs will beep on having continuity.

For the sensing element, the procedure is similar to a thermostat testing, dip in hot water abd supply the meter 12V supply, you are game.

[samsag12]

Thanks a lot Manish bhai for providing me the solution to test the temperature meter. Now i will not have to roam around for getting them tested. BTW i still don't have a multimeter so any good brand available to purchase, as i am planning to do so in near future.

[manishalive]

Originally Posted by samsag12

Thanks a lot Manish bhai for providing me the solution to test the temperature meter. Now i will not have to roam around for getting them tested. BTW i still don't have a multimeter so any good brand available to purchase, as i am planning to do so in near future.

The best one is the Fluke Multimeter but it is the costliest, next you can go for any brand, Oprpat also makes them. Meco is one Indian company having repute.

[samsag12]

Originally Posted by manishalive

The best one is the Fluke Multimeter but it is the costliest, next you can go for any brand, Oprpat also makes them. Meco is one Indian company having repute.

Thanks a lot for pointing out some good make multimeters. But i am still confused over the brand. Will check out with some dealers selling it. BTW Oprpat= Orpat or something else. Have inquired about the prices today and the range stated was somewhere around 200-500Rs.

[SuperSelect]

Good luck for you project - awaiting the final result....
By the way, I loved the picture with the glass of "chai". I'm a chai addict too, good to know there are more like us !!!

A small query: As the body is plastic, do you think the cracks can be fully camouflaged / made to disappear with filler and paint ? Might they not resurface due to expansion / contraction ?

Just a doubt, I may be wrong..

[samsag12]

Thanks a ton for your wishes Ravi bhai. Good to hear some like minded people who share the fiat passion along with the thirst for "chai". Restoration projects like these require passion, hard work and a cup of tea to engage in hard labour.
Regarding your query of crack repair NO you are NOT AT ALL WRONG rather you had pointed out a very good thing which i really appreciate. To overcome this problem i am planning to attach a couple of heated staples (the one which are seen on TV packing boxes) on both the sides of crack to prevent tension among the joint. But the plastic is very fragile(may be because of the 40 yrs of age) and brittle so working on it is very tedious.

[samsag12]

Finally the refurbishing of all the meter pods is complete. Each and every meter is carefully cleaned from inside. Also cleaned the various glow lights and noted a very interesting thing that all the lights are complemented with the markings of their attachment (oil, ign, right turn,left turn) on the washers. Was amused to see this. A picture is attached for reference. Tomorrow these meters will be fitted on the mounting plate as the plate has been painted and left to dry the whole night.

[FiatMyLife]

Are the meters AutoMeter make or Yenkay?

[samsag12]

2 of them are Autometer. But i have nothing to lose as this meter came dirt cheap to me because of the cracked casing. I doubt if i can change them now as finding a replacement meter for them is very difficult. BTW did Autometer make meters originally came in delight or not.