[Mark Simiele]

Scott has what I need but we were not able to get together on price.

[Andre]

Is someone missing an opportunity to supply accurate reproductions of these, and other sending units?

[Mark Simiele]

You bet, big time and since the repros look NOTHING like the originals and also send the wrong readings they are long overdue. The oil and temp senders are all incorrect and look terrible in a concours car.

I don't see the big thing holding anyone back from reproducing them as the inferior ones out there are being made in quantity so all the supplier has to do is duplicate an original. I wrote to John Kryta at Inline Tube about making them since he tends to make spot on reproduction parts as well as take on big projects no one else does like the nice 69 correct gas caps he came out with but he never wrote me back.

[68bird400HO]

Originally Posted by Mark Simiele

You bet, big time and since the repros look NOTHING like the originals and also send the wrong readings they are long overdue. The oil and temp senders are all incorrect and look terrible in a concours car.

I don't see the big thing holding anyone back from reproducing them as the inferior ones out there are being made in quantity so all the supplier has to do is duplicate an original. I wrote to John Kryta at Inline Tube about making them since he tends to make spot on reproduction parts as well as take on big projects no one else does like the nice 69 correct gas caps he came out with but he never wrote me back.

I talked to John at Norwalk on the same issue. I showed him one that I picked up there for $15 and he is definitely familiar with them. He does have repops of the blade connector for them. Unfortunately, the one I picked up does not work and I think that is the risk with buying them untested. I bet there are a number of them out there that are shot internally. I wonder if there is a way to rebuild them (ie open them up and replace the diaphram).

[Andre]

This does not sound like a difficult nor overly expensive adventure. what do you guys think the demand is? 100 or several hundred?

[marxjunk]

i dont think theres a diaphram..its a magnet and a spring from what i was told. they are transducers actually..the spring is what gives it the poundage rating..for an 80 pound gauge the spring rate is 115lbs...the word sender is slang...

from what ive been told, the further the magnet get from something or other the more resistance there is and it changes the ohms..ive never had the balls to cut an original up..but i got a few that ive been looking at and think im going to cut one open to see whats in there..

Buicks and olds uses the same style sender, some have diff numbers though...SO do the chevelles..so theres a huge demand..look at the big picture, just not the pontiac side of it...if you do a search on the part number you will see pages and pages of people looking for the right sender...so i figure you would sell all you could make to a point, but id put the 2 or three numbers on them and leave the dates off..makes it more appealing to all across the board...those chevelle guys would eat them up...theres tons more of them out there, and all the repop gauges make a market..

im shocked no one has done it, or isnt working on it right now as we speak

ive got a secret and im willing to share..ive been researching it a lot....so far, from what i can tell...80s Jaguars uses a sending unit that looks like its right..in pictures and mechanical drawings ive found....im trying to get my hands on one to see, but so far it has the right appearance...might be a way to get it done..but until i have one in my hand im not sure...but Jags use a lot of GM parts on them believe it or not..but jags have goofy wiring so it may be a problem...but i think any transducer is a transducer..its the ohms and poundage....dunno..but they are 60 bux new and seem to be readily available...so im working on it...they are bright gold..so for us..some black paint could be enough to pass them off..for a guy that wants the look..maybe not the concours guys...who knows they may be introls!

[Mark Simiele]

That's the problem with people out there asking hundreds of dollars for a used one that's untested, most are shot. Used they are a $25 part all day long and people think they are gold. That's why I am not paying big money and getting one thats broken again. Mine has a pinhole in it after stripping the rust off.

Andre and Marxjunk need to get togther to make them as no one else is stepping up. Like Mark said, leave the date off them but the AC and MADE IN USA stamps need to be on them. Mark is right, all the A body detail guys would buy them, you could sell a few hundred I bet. Just paint them the right colors-Buicks were a red orange I think and Pontiacs were black.

Mark, if you need one for an autopsy you can have my pinhole one.

Andre, do you have the contacts to manufacture them? You ought to consider doing the temp sender too as that part is another bad reproduction. I have an original if you need a pic.

[Andre]

I need a junk one to have my guys study it. The reproduction of something like this is not difficult, nor oppressively expensive, but it is an investment that takes time to pay for itself. I know I can make a product that is of NOS quality, but not sure what would the price point be, (wholesale) and how long would it take me to sell sufficient to break even at the wholesale price.
With the AC stamping there might be some copyright money that has to be kicked upstairs. I'm estimating that I would have to get 1000 made to make it a feasible.
I know that I can't get the parts houses to commit to take more than 10-20 at the offset, and then take make additional orders as they needed. Maybe sell another 75 to 100 within the first few months.

['ol Pinion head]

About $10-15 worth of brass fittings from an old hardware or autoparts store & one can adapt an oil pressure guage to a regulated compressed air source. Next, test the oil pressure guage with DC-Ohm's on one's Ohm meter.

Hobbs & Faria pressure switchs use the same 1/8 NPT end as oil pressure switchs. Back in the mid 80's, I tested & readjusted a few Hobbs switchs, I just used a 9V battery and a small DC test light. Ended up setting a Hobbs switch to kick the nitrous off when I hit 8 lbs of boost in my modded 301 Turbo.

As a regulated source of pressure, to test the Hobbs switchs, I tapped off the regulator on my torch's oxygen bottle. I would NOT do that with an oily used oil pressure switch, very dangerous, instead the pressure supply needs to be plain compressed air.

['ol Pinion head]

Andre,
If someone actually reproduces these, I would hope they could get the appearance 100% correct with the factory part number inscribed.

[68bird400HO]

Originally Posted by Mark Simiele

That's the problem with people out there asking hundreds of dollars for a used one that's untested, most are shot. Used they are a $25 part all day long and people think they are gold. That's why I am not paying big money and getting one thats broken again. Mine has a pinhole in it after stripping the rust off.

Andre and Marxjunk need to get togther to make them as no one else is stepping up. Like Mark said, leave the date off them but the AC and MADE IN USA stamps need to be on them. Mark is right, all the A body detail guys would buy them, you could sell a few hundred I bet. Just paint them the right colors-Buicks were a red orange I think and Pontiacs were black.

Mark, if you need one for an autopsy you can have my pinhole one.

Andre, do you have the contacts to manufacture them? You ought to consider doing the temp sender too as that part is another bad reproduction. I have an original if you need a pic.

Does yours work and it is just the pinhole that is the problem? If so, try a little JB Weld and refinish it.

Buicks were black as well. These were also used on more than just A-bodies. Basically, any car with gauges got them. Grand Prixs, Firebirds, big boat cars, etc. There were several part numbers of these that all look identical. I have seen these same looking units in 60lb, 80lb and 100lb ratings. Also, some cars, like the Buicks had a 1/4" NPT instead of the 1/8" that the Pontiacs had.

They are hard to find but do show up at swap meets. Sometimes you can get them cheap, in the $20 range, but, for one that is nice and has been tested, I have generally seen them bring in the $75 range.

[Mark Simiele]

Now that you say it could be saved maybe I will try a little JB weld or even get it tack welded, the hole is at the nut at the base. It is untested too so unsure if it works.