Restoration, Repairs, and Customization
By Brand
VDO instruments from the 356 onwards, and the 911 and 914 gauges that come with them.
VDO and Kienzle instruments, including the clock with the front reset knob.
Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Triumph, Lotus, De Tomaso, BMW, Volkswagen and Fiat.
Not sure what is in your dashboard? See the instruments and makers we work on.
Three kinds of work come across the same bench here, and they are not the same job. A repair puts a gauge back to working order. A restoration takes the whole instrument apart and brings every part of it back, including the gauge dial. Customization builds something that never left a factory looking that way.
We have been doing all three on Emerson Street since 1957, and the reason we can tell you honestly which one your instrument needs is that we are equally happy doing any of them. Send us a photograph and a description of what the gauge is doing, and we will tell you where it sits.
Most of what we see is VDO, Smiths, Veglia, Jaeger and Motometer, the five makers that account for the majority of what was fitted to European cars from the 1950s onward, and we take on Stewart-Warner and other makes as well. On the restoration and repair side the cars are mostly Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, De Tomaso and BMW, along with Volkswagen, Lamborghini, Triumph, Lotus and Fiat. Speedometers, tachometers, fuel, oil pressure, oil level and oil temperature gauges, clocks, ammeters, voltmeters, boost gauges and complete instrument clusters all come across the bench.
Repairs
Most of what comes through the door is a repair rather than a restoration, and that is usually good news. A seized movement, a needle that sits wrong or bounces, an inoperative odometer, a fogged lens, a speedometer reading consistently high or low: all of these are mechanical faults we correct on the bench without touching the cosmetics.
We will tell you which you need rather than selling you the bigger job. If a gauge only needs its movement freed and recalibrating, that is what it gets. Most repairs are finished within a week, though some run to four or five weeks depending on what we find inside and what parts it needs.
Our bench test is a flat rate, and if you go ahead with the repair it is absorbed into the final cost rather than added on top. You never pay twice to find out what is wrong.
Restoration
A full restoration means the instrument comes apart completely. The movement is cleaned, repaired and rebuilt, worn components are replaced, the lens and bezel are cleaned or renewed, the needles are repainted to their original color, and the gauge dial is refinished or screened again to the original artwork.
We work to OEM level restoration quality, which means the newly screened gauge dial looks no different than when it came off the production line. That is what concours judging asks for, and it is the standard we hold whether or not a car is going to be judged. Several hundred of our gauges have been shown at concours events and club shows across the country and around the world.
The gauge dial is the part everybody looks at, and it is where a restoration is won or lost. Gauge dials are also known as gauge faces, and whichever you call them, screening one correctly is the difference between an instrument that looks restored and one that looks original.
A full restoration typically takes about five to six weeks. Depending on where it falls in the queue it can be shorter, but five to six weeks is the honest number to plan around. Every job carries a two year warranty.
Customization
Our customization service gives you complete and total control over what appears on your gauges. We can stay in the same lane as OEM, or change patterns, fonts and logos. Whatever it is, we will do it.
Most of that work happens on the gauge dial. We will change colors across the dial or pick them out on individual markings, change numerals and fonts, add a logo or lettering, move a redline, build three dimensional gauge dials with real texture and depth, or carry a single theme across a whole set so the tachometer, the speedometer and the smaller gauges read as one design rather than five separate decisions.
The design is done entirely in house, which is the part that matters. You can specify every detail of what appears on the dial, change your mind halfway through, and see it before it is made. The aim is to build something meaningful to you and to your car.
Custom gauge dials for the plastic era cars, the 964, 993, 996, 997, 991, Boxster, Cayman, 718, Macan and Cayenne, have their own page with a form built for exactly that conversation. See custom gauge dials.
The rest of the instrument is part of the same job: custom pointers, bezels, chrome and gold caps, and a change of finish are all work we do here on the bench alongside the dial.
If you want an instrument changed rather than restored, tell us what you have in mind. Send us an inquiry with the car, the instrument and the idea, and we will tell you what is possible.
Inquiry Form
If you have any questions fill out the form and we will respond via email!
Terminology Sheet
Please refer to this sheet to properly understand our service terminology