When that little hole at the top is open . . . . .

Tgrasher

Well-known Member
unlike a box of chocolates, your pretty sure what your going to get. Not the worst I've had as far as mud dobber damage but getting the gauges to work is the real problem. Does anybody else work on their own gauges?
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@Tgrasher I have worked on them, Dad even has some new glass around for those clusters, A friend that bought an 800 from dad and restored it even went so far as buying an automotive temp gauge and removing the shell and cutting the gauge down to the correct size, then painting it the correct color and installing new decals, his entire cluster has all new paint and decals
 
I am going to have one to sell soon. Not mint but pretty close. Gauges work except fuel (needle free so may work) and temp gauge would work with a new line. I have spliced in a new line in the past. I will post here when I get it together. I am waiting for a fuel gauge decal.
 
Judging from the oil pressure and temperature gauge range, appears that your cluster gauge is for a diesel and has the later left to right tach sweep. To fully restore it you would need to paint over the cluster & gauges faceplates and apply decals. I haven't done one in ~15 years and the only decals I have left have been damp and are unusable. The pic is a decal set, I had used the temp gauge decal sometime in the past. I've only restored the earlier brown gas clusters (12v only) with tachometer sweep right to left.

The oil gauge is a Bourdon tube mechanical gauge, pretty much bullet proof. I can't make out the letters on the top of the gas gauge but it appears to be a SW 240-30 ohm resistance gauge. I don't see any ID on top of the temp gauge, may have been changed out from the fluid expansion gauge type, back side looks like SW but may be Delco?

SW electrical gauges can be replaced by removing the movement out of the 2" gauges like the pics and compatible 240-30 ohm senders which you already have if SW. The gas/temp face plate on the round gauges doesn't make any difference as the electrical movement and frame inside is identical in both and with the SW gauges in the Case SW clusters. The original Case face plate will fit.

The tach & speedometer are magnetic flux drag cup type. If you can spin the brass end of the movement with your fingers in the direction of tach sweep and the pointer jumps, it is probably functional. If stuck, most can be soaked free. Do not use any tool or leverage other than applied by your fingers as it will break the magnet from the shaft and be unrepairable. If soaking cover the plastic counter as penetrate may damage it, like melting the numbered reels together.

Any glass store can cut a new glass for the cluster gauge, at least, in my area for about $30.
 

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Joe (Wa) thank you for explaining some things that I was lacking knowledge on. I have rebuilt these gauge clusters before, but I must admit, doing it without a good understanding of the intricacies of the gauge functions. This cluster is off of a 64' 730d, and by prior standards, looks pretty good except for the face plate. I plan to call Joe D. and see if he will do just the face plate. You mentioned the decals, is this something available out there? On one's I've done before, I used an air brush and hand touched up the numbers. I have, over time, scavenged clusters from a nearby scrap yard, so I have a few spare parts. I remember back in 1978, I inquired at a Case dealer how much a new cluster cost for a 300 diesel and it was $125. Equate that to today's dollars, Joe D's price for renewing a cluster is spot on. Trouble is, it puts the investment in a tractor well above the probable selling price. Depends on how one is going to keep/use the tractor.
Here is a couple of clusters I've done in the past. A little crude but they are functional.
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Joe (Wa) thank you for explaining some things that I was lacking knowledge on. I have rebuilt these gauge clusters before, but I must admit, doing it without a good understanding of the intricacies of the gauge functions. This cluster is off of a 64' 730d, and by prior standards, looks pretty good except for the face plate. I plan to call Joe D. and see if he will do just the face plate. You mentioned the decals, is this something available out there? On one's I've done before, I used an air brush and hand touched up the numbers. I have, over time, scavenged clusters from a nearby scrap yard, so I have a few spare parts. I remember back in 1978, I inquired at a Case dealer how much a new cluster cost for a 300 diesel and it was $125. Equate that to today's dollars, Joe D's price for renewing a cluster is spot on. Trouble is, it puts the investment in a tractor well above the probable selling price. Depends on how one is going to keep/use the tractor.
Here is a couple of clusters I've done in the past. A little crude but they are functional.View attachment 89438View attachment 89439View attachment 89440View attachment 89441

Tgrasher you really do nice work. Just looked in the shop, I had a black face plate and ammeter but it seems to be missing. I'll look again tomorrow but I think it is gone, I still have a pic so I probably gave to someone. Wasn't in great shape but could have been restored. Do you have the nose emblem for your 300, just ran across one in the shop with the gauge stuff.

Roger Hornbaker gave me half a dozen decal sets and several cans of custom brown spray that he had made up for the brown clusters and many other items that he fabricated for sale about 10-15 years ago. He was in his 70's then. I haven't heard from him for some time. He was a real craftsmen and quick on the uptake but knew practically nothing about instrumentation repair. I am just the opposite so we swapped knowledge and tractor parts for several years. That is Roger's 311 he restored factory original.
 

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That's about as sharp a 300 as one can restore, sounds like Roger was good at this "craft". I have a few more that I have to finish, I'm like a little kid going from one toy to another, mostly because I'm waiting/looking for parts and "thinking" about how do I approach this problem. I try to make this hobby fun and let other things give me the headaches. I've made a kit of special little tools, hardware, paint, brushes, etc. and put it in a box so I don't have to go looking. I do have 300 emblems (thanks for the thought) and lots of parts I've scavenged from the metal scrap yard 3 miles away (devils raised the price of parts from 25 to 45 cents a lb). I was just thinking a few days ago I need to somehow make more room/shelves for parts.
Right now I'm in Zion, IL, 377 miles away from home, been here a week, with wife and BIL at a cancer center giving him treatment. Hope to go home in a day or so and be able to start combining beans and then picking corn. Fun with restoring tractors will be limited but at least I'll use a 800B for moving wagons around and eventually sowing wheat. Really like working with that tractor.
 
Ok I am pushing 81 at the end of this month so I don't do much other than go out and get a tractor started for a local or check out a dirt contractors heavy equipment, especially the electrical/automation. I don't have any paint brushes, if it can't be painted with one rattle can it doesn't really need painted right now, maybe tomorrow, or the day after, or . . . . .

I have some mostly used 300 & x00B parts if you can't find something you need. It's like that distributor with sloppy bearings you needed to replace. I have the drive end of one with good bearings that I was going to give you but ended up in the hospital with pneumonia instead.

Good luck BIL, been there with a very good friend recently, we made lots of overnight trips to the clinic. He is 85 and thankfully in remission.
 

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