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HI all,
Its been a long time since i have posted. The 29 Duel C. Phaeton is being assembled as we speak. Waiting for the chromer is killing me. Upholstery and then the first cruise around the neighborhood.
In the mean time I am in need of a few more items. I am looking for at least one, would love two, of the levers that are to the left of the steering wheel on my 1929. ANY HELP????
THANKS, RICK
To the left is Choke then Spark Advance.
Choke is a pull/push knob while Spark and Heater are levers.
Not sure if the 133 would be that much different than my 143 but that is how my dash is laid out.
The ones on the steering wheel were reproduced a few years ago.The ones on the dash may have been done also.Check with some of the sources PAS arts and Services Directory.
Hi
I must have been unclear. I am not talking about the levers on the steering wheel. These levers are to the left of the wheel on the metal dash
Right. The two levers control the spark advance and the manifold heater valve which we all block out to avoid exhaust gases heating the intake manifold.
Bill
Richard, are all of your interior handles “oak leaves”, or long thin Deco lines? The handle for spark and heat riser change depending on the trim used. The deco handles are about twice as long as the oak leaves. The lever shafts were known for rusting at the firewall socket and with the cheap white metal used they are not as strong as the rust. This is why we so many broken handles on unrestored cars. The oak leaves are available as a repro. I have not seen the deco handles offered by anyone. Karl
Can you tell from this picture which one he has?
That’s his car, unrestored, by the way…
I went out and looked at mine, they look about the same shape as the ones in David’s photo.
They have thin lines all the way down the outside edge and then blend with a leaf shape at the end of the lever.
But the rest of the dash is very different since Richard’s is a 133.
John Cislak had some for sale on his spot at Hershey in October, give him a call, he may still have them.
.
Are the bases for the leverssuposed to be blacl or polished brass?
I’ve seen restored bases (or bezels) for the dash levers that were chrome with black around where the lettering is.
Not sure what is correct as mine are aged and tarnished.
I’m not the expert on 1929’s, but I would say that they would definitely not be polished brass.
From your picture of the original, it appears they were chromed, then the band and the area around the lettering painted black, but that’s just judging from the picture.
Richard, After spending all the money to chrome plate the two part flat bezels, only the outer rings and letters show the chrome, the rest is painted black. I lay them flat, then flood the bezel with thinned black paint from a needle and it fills the bezel and keeps the words from being covered. I have seen many that were plated and left all chrome but this is not how they left the factory. I will post a photo of repainted bezels when I get to my old car shed. Karl
Richard,
I have recently embarked upon the restoration of my 1930 dashboard and can share what I’ve learned in the process. Your 1929 dash is similar, but not identical to the 1930 model, but the construction details should be the same. First of all, all bright work on the instrument bezels is not chrome, but nickel, and not highly polished. The 1930 chassis catalog has a formal name for this finish, but basically it’s unpolished. Removing this trim for refinishing requires great care, as the bezels are very thin and easily bent. Before you attempt to pull the dash, be sure to disconnect the spark and heater control rods from the engine side of the firewall. If you don’t, when you start pulling on the dash, the bezels will slightly flex, and the porcelain black background on the heater and spark bezels will be damaged. Ask me how I know this.
Once the dash is on the bench, the instrument pod unscrews in one piece, leaving the backs of the bezels facing you. They are held in place by thin metal strips soldered to the bezel. A soldering iron will be necessary to remove these, then the bezel can be pushed out of the dash. These are very delicate and easily bent, so be careful. I an assuming the 1929 heater and spark bezels are porcelainized like the 1930s were. Mine are at the plater now, and I have no idea if the black porcelain will survive the plating process. I may be painting them per Karl’s suggestion.
Regarding the die cast heater and spark levers, I don’t think they would survive a plating process, given the quality of any surviving die cast pieces. If you can locate any, your best bet might be to have them carefully polished, and clear coat them. They’ll look close enough to nickel plated.
Best of luck with the dashboard project. The hours it must have taken the production staff to properly assemble one of these cars must have been impressive. It’s no wonder Pierce had a hard time making money building them.
Tom Barrett
On my Roadster these levers I believe have their original nickel plate with a satin finish and the bezels have the same finish.
My ’29 is very, very original and there are two bands of black on them.
One around the lettering and one around the outside of the bezel.
Let’s see if this picture is small enough to post….
The photo is of the correct levers. Karl sold me some great copies. A metal finish co is finishing them. I will post the finished product when they are done. Thanks Karl. you are a life saver. Those levers and the clock have been an impossible task. The first yr, 1929 had a lot of oddball things.