348 replacing fuel and/or oil temp gauges | FerrariChat

348 replacing fuel and/or oil temp gauges

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by jrobbins, Jan 16, 2006.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. jrobbins

    jrobbins Karting

    Aug 9, 2005
    93
    Ottawa, Canada
    Full Name:
    J.D. Robbins
    My lenses on my fuel and oil temp gauges are seriously scratched. Someone must have tried cleaning them with sandpaper.

    I took apart my instrumentation and to my delight see that the clear plastic lense on the gauge is removable.

    Does anyone know where I can buy just the lenses or am I still stuck buying the WHOLE gauge?

    J
     
  2. No Doubt

    No Doubt Seven Time F1 World Champ

    May 21, 2005
    72,740
    Vegas+Alabama
    Full Name:
    Mr. Sideways
    Take the lenses to a local glass/hardware shop. They'll cut you some new ones for almost free. Or you can buy a glass cutter and do it yourself.

    Or you can leave them off entirely. Or use plastic instead of glass.

    Many inexpensive choices.
     
  3. jrobbins

    jrobbins Karting

    Aug 9, 2005
    93
    Ottawa, Canada
    Full Name:
    J.D. Robbins
    I'm not too sure about that.

    These lenses are plastic and they have a very strange curvature on them. Equally, they have notches to keep them in place.

    The aren't flat. If they were, I'd go have new ones made easily. However, in the Ferrari tradition, nothing is simple.

    J
     
  4. No Doubt

    No Doubt Seven Time F1 World Champ

    May 21, 2005
    72,740
    Vegas+Alabama
    Full Name:
    Mr. Sideways
    If you must match the curvature and your local glass shop can't or won't manage it, then your local eyeglass shop can.
     
  5. Miltonian

    Miltonian F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2002
    5,966
    Milton, Wash.
    Full Name:
    Jeff B.
    I just looked my oil temp / fuel gauges out in the garage, and the lenses look pretty flat to me, but I'm not going to take them apart right now to see.

    Do you have a bench grinder in your garage? If so, you can buy a buffing wheel for a few bucks, and a few grades of polishing compound, and you can probably buff out just about any scratches if you can keep a good hold on the lens while you're doing it. If you're not careful, it will probably get ripped out of your hand and thrown on the floor and smashed.

    I remember polishing the lens on a Mazda Miata dash a few years ago, got the scratches right out for almost nothing in expenses.

    You might also be able to hook a buffing wheel up to a hand drill and do the same thing. You start with the more abrasive compound, then get finer, and finer.
     
  6. Ricambi America

    Ricambi America F1 World Champ
    Sponsor Owner

    I use a polishing compound on mine -- from the autoparts store. It was designed for motorcycle windscreens, and works quite well. Remove the lens before using the compound, because it'd ruin the surrounding black trim if you're not super-careful. My lenses looked brand new after about 5 minutes with this stuff.

    d
     
  7. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,574
    The Brickyard
    Full Name:
    The Bad Guy
    Hey Daniel you insomniac.

    A friend of mine uses auto detail polishing compound and a buffer.
     
  8. Ricambi America

    Ricambi America F1 World Champ
    Sponsor Owner

    Oh, it's not insomnia. A very inconsiderate wife bopped me on the shoulder and said, "your baby is crying... go fix it"

    :(
     
  9. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,574
    The Brickyard
    Full Name:
    The Bad Guy
    Oh I see, so you turned on F-chat to read the lil tyke a bed time story. What a nice Pappa you are. :D
     
  10. jrobbins

    jrobbins Karting

    Aug 9, 2005
    93
    Ottawa, Canada
    Full Name:
    J.D. Robbins
    Update:

    I went to the eyeglass store and they ground me almost identical plastic lenses. The curvature is very close but there are no notches. I can add a notch using a tool I have.

    I'll let you know how it all turns out soon!

    J
     

Share This Page