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We have received and are testing the final production samples of our new gauges. This has been a joint venture between us (Special Edition/Beck) and Intermeccanica. The goal was to make a QUALITY gauge in the vintage 356 style. As you can imagine, it is not easy for two small companies to take on something like this with a company as large as VDO... and there were some compromises along the way in order to get these produced. In the end I feel we have created a retro-modern gauge that is very similar to the original gauges, MUCH higher quality, 2 year warranty directly from VDO (no more China-crap gauges that just don't last)
A few more modern indications on the gauge faces, but I don't feel they detract from the look or vintage feel.
We were able to keep the oil temp and fuel senders the same.
They are 100mm, just as the originals (replicas, both old VDO and China are 105mm) We are working on several solutions for retro fitting these gauges to your existing 105mm holes.
GPS speedometer with 200,000 pulse per minute refresh rate.
Electronic odometer and trip.
Fully sealed gauge cases (old style gauges can fog up and get dusty inside)

We are testing these in a car now and once approved we will begin the production runs.

We do not yet have final pricing, but the goal was also to keep them inline with what the old VDO gauges cost, and all of our cost estimates and amortized tooling costs indicate that we will meet this goal.

 

VDO new gauges

1957 Beck Speedster(Speedster)
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The agreement was that they are to be sold exclusively through Beck and IM.  Whether or not that will be the case is yet to be seen, so only time will tell... I will make them available to anyone who calls, regardless of manufacturer.

 

We are willing to sell to the other builders too, however, they have to be willing to spend the extra coin.  Unfortunately it seems as if some of them would rather have a $2 piece of junk and replace it 5x, rather than do it right the first time for $10.

 

Once we have an acceptable solution for the difference in gauge hole size, then they should work in any speedster.  It may require a change to your fuel sending unit and oil temp sender (depending on what your builder used) and will require the addition of the GPS unit.  The rest are simple + and - connections and illumination.

Originally Posted by chines1:

The agreement was that they are to be sold exclusively through Beck and IM.  Whether or not that will be the case is yet to be seen, so only time will tell... I will make them available to anyone who calls, regardless of manufacturer.

 

We are willing to sell to the other builders too, however, they have to be willing to spend the extra coin.  Unfortunately it seems as if some of them would rather have a $2 piece of junk and replace it 5x, rather than do it right the first time for $10.

 

Once we have an acceptable solution for the difference in gauge hole size, then they should work in any speedster.  It may require a change to your fuel sending unit and oil temp sender (depending on what your builder used) and will require the addition of the GPS unit.  The rest are simple + and - connections and illumination.

Thanks, Carey. Looking forward to them being available.

Alan: They have a rubber seal currently, but it is just small enough that you can suck the gauges through a 105mm hole.  The Spyder is an easy one; gauge insert like they are photographed on, in hammertone.  For the speedster we are working without local laser cutter on additional trim rings that would sit behind the gauge.  We are thinking 4-5mm wide with an angle cut edge matching the angle of the bezel.  Done in mirrored or polished stainless it shouldn't be noticeable....

Originally Posted by mtflyr:

Cool stuff Carey.  Just what I'm looking for rather than a conversion on my Km to MPH if possible that we'd recently e-mail discussed.

 

Do you know if the trip gears will be metal?

 

 

Thanks,

 

Pete

I'm in the same boat, currently KMH in a Vintage that was not set up with a Euro look (two color tail lights, etc.) and I would like to go to MPH, this just makes that change even more attractive. Also, being in Peoria, I could get my car to Bremen for the switch.

 

I'll be interested to see how this works out.

 

Again, great looking and thanks to you and Henry for another contribution to the hobby!

Joe, the only reason the speedo is on the right is due to cable length.  With a GPS speedo, that problem goes away.  However, the wiring harness would have to be tweaked to accommodate the swap.

 

Carey, I would consider this to replace my old tach. However, I'm thinking due to the hole issue, it would be best to do all gauges or nothing.  I can't see the appearance being that hot with a trim ring.  It would seem to me that adding some glass & paint might be a better retrofit.  I'll probably just opt for repairing or replacing my existing tach with same.  They sure will be sweet on brand new builds, though :-)

Pete: no gears for odometer/trip  It is electronic/GPS

 

Tom: yes, I think it would look strange with 1 100mm and 2 105mm, plus I'm sure the colors and lighting aren't exact, so it would be best to swap all 3.

 

Oldyeler: gauge face is 5mm smaller, lights are in a slightly different location, and the electronic odometer and reset aren't the same.  I am sure someone could do the change-over with some work and/or possibly a new face, but it won't be a simple swap over.

 

Marty: yes, your gauges were hand made by NH or Palo, using readily available VDO components and a custom silk screen.  Hartmut told us we were crazy and only HE could make those gauges and VDO would never, ever be able to do what he does for such a small volume industry...  ;-)  Looks like VDO had the same recipe... and being that THEY were the makers of the ingredients, it's no surprise.

Nice.  Please keep us posted on your progress on these Carey.  If you come up with an elegant solution for retrofitting the gauges into the 105mm holes, I'll be interested in a getting a set.

 

For the fuel gauge, what sender will be used?  Would be a nice option to be able to use a capacitive 5V fuel sender .. for those of us with larger tanks where the VW sender doesn't have enough stroke.

 

Yes, the tach movement was too slow and the GPS speedo stopped working at 52MPH.  We worked directly with the tech from VDO and they changed the filters inside the gauges and corrected both items.  The new (and final) samples were shipped to me, installed, tested, and approved.  We are looking at having the first batch of gauges in about a month or so.  I'll update the thread as soon as they are available.

Originally Posted by Joe Fortino -2008 Beck - Geneva, IL:
Originally Posted by chines1:

Joe: like Tom said, it is actually easier to place these gauges in any order since there will be no speedo cable. 

 Missed the GPS part, as my wife tells me "reading is a skill".

I was rereading from the beginning and that cracked me up!!

so where are these gauges made?mexico? Ive thrown away many vdo gauges& changed to firreia(there's that spellen thing again) they had less issues&worked longer when beat almost to death.this was back in the late 80''s~2000 era. I think ferira also went to mexiaco at some point during that era.stuart warrner had... well massive issues.but then again it usualy comes back to.....what the mfr specified as a price point(like there was a price point of $200000.00&up boat stuff) some gauges didnt last a month. I think automeeter might be the best choice.hope your's work out,they should in these cars.but time will tell. I already have automeater for my car when these take a crap. no there not peroid...but neither is the rest of the car,it's a vw hotrod with a makeover&plastic surgery.

Tooling was done in Germany, production is out of their India plant.

I'd be naive to think they will be 100% perfect right out of the box, but again, we are offering them with a 2 year warranty. VDO has been very accommodating to changes and fixes overall... so all we can do is move forward and support the product just as we support all of our products.

While there is always the concern of cost when tooling a new product, we were less concerned with cost than quality.  I think you'll find that theme in all the parts I make.  Obviously I don't want to produce something that is 100x the cost of its counterpart, but if I can get a lot more quality for a little more money, why not?

 

 

I agree with your thinking. way tomany people&company's count pennys&miss the big picture.the product needs to last ,look good and perform a service that is disireable.this usualy cost a little more, but is well worth it in the long run. ( I personaly dont think it cost more to make a quality product, but the less/some more desireable junk is a little cheeper in cost but a lot cheeper in quality thus costing more in the long run)

  my fliber flab is around 1994,the gauges have never been powered up, they will either work or not. if not I will just frown and replace.if they dont work to my satisfaction, then it's an upgrade!!witch always brings a smile. I hope you sell lots of smiles with these.

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