Interchange of dash guages.

[Don G 1947]

I know the guage cluster in the Pilot House trucks is different from the clusters in the earlier Job Rated trucks ('39-'47), but are the actual guages different? Will a Pilot House guage interchange with the earlier trucks?

Don

[Jerry Roberts]

No they don't interchange . The face plates are different . The backing plates are different . The mounting screw spacings are different .

[buds truck]

No they don't interchange . The face plates are different . The backing plates are different . The mounting screw spacings are different .

other than that, they are an exact replacement........

[Don G 1947]

Well, that settles that! Thanks Jerry.

Don

[Jerry Roberts]

Don G . , Take a look at my ebay item number 330836808046 . That is a gauge pod for a 1939* - 1947 Dodge truck with a temperature gauge from the early 1940 ' s , probably a Chrysler . That was put together by using parts from the original 1939 dodge truck gauge , the faceplate and the backing plate . A lot of the face plates from the early mopars are mounted with the same hole spacing . they use VERY small screws made from brass . You can not use a magnetic screwdriver so plan on dropping the screws a few times . The backing plate is removed and replaced with the correct plate by unscrewing the 5/8 inch nut , that gives you enough clearance to slide the plate down so you can hack saw a slot from the edge to

the center of the plate and bend the plate with your fingers to remove . This is all done so that you don't need to release the charge of ether in the tube . After you have the correct plate on the ether line you can seal up the hack saw slice with your favorite sealer , I used J B Weld . The sealer just keeps the dust out of the gauge , the backing plate is strong enough with the slice in it . I am pretty sure that you can use these methods to use a pilot house gauge on the 1939 - 1947 dodge truck gauge pod . If the needle is too short , epoxy a longer needle on top . the backing plates are the same on the 1939 - 1947 D. T. for the temperature gauge and the oil pressure gauge . Edit ; It is best to use a pair of tin snips to cut the backing plate , you will end up with a smaller tighter slice and a cleaner slice too .

Edited December 27, 2012 by Jerry Roberts
new info

[Young Ed]

Jerry described it well. I did the same thing with these 2 gauges-ones a 46-48 plymouth the other 46-48 chrysler. I swapped the backing plate and the gauge face over from the plymouth to the chrysler and its been working for probably 10 years now. Don what do your need for your 39-47 truck?

[B1B Keven]

Can someone post a pic of the back of the pre '48 gauges?

[Young Ed]

Can someone post a pic of the back of the pre '48 gauges?

[B1B Keven]

Thanks Ed.

[Don G 1947]

Thanks all for your help.

Don