Metal Monkey Dial Faces

[dapinky]

Page 6 of the M100 Electrical Manual (V6) gives a picture for the tell-tale lamps.

[Elanlover]

Thanks Dave. To me, it looks like there's only one real difference to be concerned about. The left side panel, 3rd icon from the right says the word "BRAKE" in the fed model but the UK OEM panel has the icon of the old drum brake with the exclamation mark inside it.

Would anyone in the UK have an issue with using the word "BRAKE" instead of that icon? If I don't hear back from anyone I'll tell them to use the same panels for Fed and UK cars.

[Nige]

I've sent Naomi scans of the warning lamps from my owners handbook. But I'm not unduly worried whether I end up with a symbol or the word Brake.

[Elanlover]

If that's the case Nige, then the design she sent me for the warning panel faces will work for you as well. SIR and some of those other icons won't light for you any way. Keeps it simple if she just has one set for all cars.

[Elanlover]

As a little add on to this project I wanted to find some chrome surrounds for the speedo cluster. Others have tried to find some but I've yet to see anyone come up with the perfect match. I ordered these off ebayand they were almost a perfect fit. Just a modicum of shaving off the corners on the two outside openings was required to get a fit. Perfect if anyone's looking to do the same and (I hope) a good add-on to the Metal Monkey dial faces.

Some before and after pictures below.

[nitroman]

Blair, what was the freight fee? It only says the reichmaster will post to Deutschland, and my German isn't good enough to converse with Herr Cromenführer.

[paulwatkins]

Blair, what was the freight fee? It only says the reichmaster will post to Deutschland, and my German isn't good enough to converse with Herr Cromenführer.

Matt, this seller is located in USA.
They look like the same items.

CLICK HERE

Cheers, Paul

[Elanlover]

Damn Paul where were you two weeks ago with that post???!!! I paid about 3 times that with all the postage, etc. Looks like they'd do the trick though - for less.

I found that the bottom outside corner of the two outside rings were nto an exact fit. The rings are rounded and our cluster mask ir more square in that area for some reason. I just took a dremel with a very small grinding bit and removed some of the plastic there toi make it rounder. Then they fit quite well. The rings simply clip into place. I added a drop or two of super glue around where I did the grinding of the mask just to make sure they didn't come off.

[Nige]

My Metal Monkey dials were in the post when I got home from a couple of days away today. In short they are superb pieces of work beautifully made and outstanding customer service. I intend to have them fitted before Donington so seek me out if you want to see them in reality. Photos below are the ones Metal Monkey sent me of my dials when they were finished but the photos do not do justice to the real thing. Mine will be white on black when not lit and the white will be green when lit.

[Elanlover]

Can't wait to see them installed Nige. I'm on vacation right now and won't see mine for a few weeks when I return. Interested to know how you plan on replacing the faces and doing the requisite "needle work".

[tweetdriver63]

Thanks Dave. To me, it looks like there's only one real difference to be concerned about. The left side panel, 3rd icon from the right says the word "BRAKE" in the fed model but the UK OEM panel has the icon of the old drum brake with the exclamation mark inside it.

Would anyone in the UK have an issue with using the word "BRAKE" instead of that icon? If I don't hear back from anyone I'll tell them to use the same panels for Fed and UK cars.

It looks to me like there are two other differences between US and UK tell-tales. What's that at spot 13 on the European version where the US is a blank? That could be a problem if you put a US set on a UK car, couldn't it? There's also the SIR in spot 2 and something else at spot 5 on the US that aren't on the UK, although I wouldn't think that would be a big deal, since they would just never light up on the UK car.

[Nige]

Can't wait to see them installed Nige. I'm on vacation right now and won't see mine for a few weeks when I return. Interested to know how you plan on replacing the faces and doing the requisite "needle work".

Metal Monkey sent full instructions based on the Vauxhall fit. There is good info on this site in the Lockwood dials thread and I'll update in this thread once I've fitted them. I have a full set (less voltmeter) of new instruments and intend to fit the faces to the new instruments and then fit the new instruments to the car. I just need to decide whether I want a mileometer that reads 0 or 52K .

[GeoffSmith]

What's that at spot 13 on the European version where the US is a blank?

Cat overhead - Japan only.

[tweetdriver63]

What's that at spot 13 on the European version where the US is a blank?

Cat overhead - Japan only.

HA! I assume you meant overheat.

I was seeing an image in my head of flying cats, or maybe a cat falling from a tree or balcony overhead, and thinking it was pretty amazing that they could devise a system to warn drivers about an impending cat-landing on the hood/roof. Do they only warn drivers of convertibles?

[Nige]

Well, my dial faces are finally fitted. Anyone who has ever done this job with the Lockwoods or any others will know what a fiddle it is. I had it all back together yesterday only to discover that the Tacho was over reading by something like 1000-1500 RPM, despite having carefully marked the needle positions before I removed them so I had to take it all apart again today. The same goes for the boost gauge which is still to do.

I have a few other things still to sort. I changed the filament bulb in the voltmeter for a LED and now have no dial illumination anywhere, despite having changed back to a bulb, no obvious loose wires or blown fuses . Some of the tell tales have stopped working as well, most noticably the handbrake warning light, I need to get back behind the panel and recheck all the twist fit lamps.

The Metal Monkey dials were a pretty straightforward fit though. Being made of steel they do not have the same amount of give as the plastic of the Lockwoods or the original faces. I needed to drill out the holes for the needle stops a little as my first attempt to refit a needle stop resulted in it breaking because the hole was too small, fortunately I had a spare. Also the alignment of the holes with the mounting clips on the instruments themselves was almost perfect, but not quite, again plastic dial faces would probably have fitted but the rigid nature of the steel meant that I had to take a small file and a scalpel to the plastic of the instruments to trim a 1/2 mm here and there.

Overall I'm really pleased with the way they look and will post some pictures of day and night once I get the illumination working. The white on black is certainly easier on the eye than the original red on black.

[Elanlover]

Nige, where's the pics! Not all of us are going to Donny afterall I just got mine today and will be working on them shortly. Good package with a nice write up on instructions. You can really feel the weight of the stainless steel in the dial faces when you pick them up. I'm glad I got the warning lights faces as well. they look nice and give it a "stealthy" look. Probably won't see all the icons when the sun shines onto them as well like we can get with the plastic film ones. Overall, this is a nice piece they've done and I think it will be well worth the money. I'll let you know what comes out of the heater dials she's working on.

I hope all you Lockwood dial boys don't get too jealous!

[Paul.P]

I had it all back together yesterday only to discover that the Tacho was over reading by something like 1000-1500 RPM, despite having carefully marked the needle positions before I removed them so I had to take it all apart again today.

Emmm, didn't have to remove any of the main dial needles with the Lockwoods, i know what a pain it was getting the FBT ones right !, but looking forward to seeing them Nige as i require a new set for some spare dials i have, by the way, what was the final cost ?

[rip]

You can really feel the weight of the stainless steel in the dial faces when you pick them up.

Excess weight on a Lotus.

[Elanlover]

I had it all back together yesterday only to discover that the Tacho was over reading by something like 1000-1500 RPM, despite having carefully marked the needle positions before I removed them so I had to take it all apart again today. The same goes for the boost gauge which is still to do.

Nige, I noticed (as I was doing the FB3 gauges last night) that its really easy to get the needle lined up, push it on, then find out you rotated the needle a bit with out even knowing it thereby throwing off the calibration. I found, after some trial and error, that the best way for me to get the needles lined up was to put a bit of double sided tape on my finger, attach the needle to it, then carefully put the needle on ever so gently. Remove finger and have a good look and if satisfied, push needle down permanently. Don't know if that helps at all for you (or future installers).

I have a few other things still to sort. I changed the filament bulb in the voltmeter for a LED and now have no dial illumination anywhere, despite having changed back to a bulb, no obvious loose wires or blown fuses . Some of the tell tales have stopped working as well, most noticably the handbrake warning light, I need to get back behind the panel and recheck all the twist fit lamps.

According to the package I received from them (which included LED bulbs for FB3) the LEDs are unlike the normal bulbs in that they are polarity sensitive. If the bulb doesn't work when inserted they advise to remove bulb and install the "other way around" to reverse polarity. I wonder if you have this issue which might cut the current to some other guages.

I believe I've sorced some twistlock LED bulbs for the speedo cluster. They are on order and I'll report back when they arrive as to their fit.

I needed to drill out the holes for the needle stops a little as my first attempt to refit a needle stop resulted in it breaking because the hole was too small, fortunately I had a spare. Also the alignment of the holes with the mounting clips on the instruments themselves was almost perfect, but not quite, again plastic dial faces would probably have fitted but the rigid nature of the steel meant that I had to take a small file and a scalpel to the plastic of the instruments to trim a 1/2 mm here and there.

Once I install all my dial faces Ill be sending the originals to Naomi so she can perfect the design. Future orders should be perfect from a fitment perspective. The FB3 dial faces seem to be perfect (she had my OEM faces to work with).

[GeoffSmith]

What's that at spot 13 on the European version where the US is a blank?

Cat overhead - Japan only.

HA! I assume you meant overheat.

No. Just my perverse sense of humo(u)r.