Imported Gauges From Ebay

Has anyone else used the imported gauge sets that you find on eBay for $60.00 or less. I put a set on my M38A1 and was taking to a parade today and the temperature gauge spiked just as i was pulling into the lineup lot. So I turned around and headed back home only to see the gauge quickly went down to 150. I got home and have left the jeep idling for about 30 minuted no and the motor has shown no signs of overheating and the gauge is sitting steady at 160. I suspect the gauge is the problem and I am kicking myself for buying this set. I already can't use the speedometer due to the cable not working, and now the temp gauge is suspect. I am kicking myself for buying this set and should have known better.

 

I can imagine that they may have simply copied other manufacturers offerings cutting corners where they could.
I find it difficult to buy many products not made offshore and have found that buying from name brands does not insure good quality. BUT, it does mean they will stand behind the product. I think many name brands offshore yet do have adequate qc and contract compliance checks that the overall quality is better.
The competitive spirit of domestic manufacturing is a thing of the past. Robot like lemmings assembling products with parts of dubious quality seem to be the new norm. Keep the investors happy while the customer thinks wth.

 

I also bought a set of these from India. The only good thing I can say is that they looked OK. They were very cheaply made and the speedometer was geared wrong. I also had problems with the mechanical temp gauge. I ended up junking them all.

 

I had a set that came along in a box with a project I bought a couple of years ago and am using only the temp gauge at this point. Oil gauge registered at 40 at idle when warmed up and spiked when cold. Fuel gauge never worked. Speedo worked for a couple of weeks an broke internally. Ammeter fried. I would not bother with these at all.

 

I bought a set from Speedhut out of Utah 9 years ago they weren't cheap but the quality was great have worked every time no issues and have a lifetime warranty. Granted they are not for the purist they look just like orginal except for speedo has digital odometer and oil & volt gauge are full sweep. Speedo has no cable to worry about and I can put whatever size tire I choose and it will be accurate as its GPS driven.

 

I have been finding more and more that the cheap deals on ebay are just plain junk. I recently bought an oddfire hei distributor, new, for about 75 bucks! I got what I paid for from Southwest Performance. Junk! I swapped back to my reliable old delco reman with Pertronix in it.

 

Thanks for mentioning Speedhut. It looks like they might be the source I've been seeking for a fuel gauge that will work on my M38A1.

 

This is the problem with direct sales. I buy from a shop which repairs Jeep. They use the stuff for themselves so it is a sort of guarantee. And there is a guarantee.

 

There was a guy on eBay who bought a bunch in Vietnam that were NOS. LIKE $200 each but it worked. I got one and loved it, then bought a backup as I heard horror stories on the new junk. I believe his eBay name was bluemoonscooter11 so you could contact him and see if he has any more. At one time he had a ton of them.

 

Bluemoon's were the later large speedometers, were the A1 uses smaller and individual gauges. Stewart Warner still makes a speedo that fits the dash insert, and the rest of the gauges are regular 2 1/16 size.
-Donny

 

I missed the M38A1 part. I'm gonna classify that miss as old age selective blindness.

 

After the passing of NAFTA/GATT there is very little quality in anything, especially imported, I used all Stewart Warner 2-5/8" diameter gauges with 3-3/8" Speedo and tach. I was not concerned with originality, Stewart Warner also makes gauges in 2-1/16 " diameters. Likewise the inexpensive HEI distributors, if you buy the inexpensive one from eBay, just buy a Delco Remy module for it for when it fails, this goes for odd fire V6 and AMC V8 HEI's. If you have an original AMC V8 points distributor, I'd use the drive gear off it also, if possible. Snap On is now importing some items from China..........beware! Almost all consumer electronics have off shore parts within. Good luck!

 

this seems like a pretty old thread but maybey someone will see my post. who made the sppedometers for jeep for 1969 cj5's with the 0 to 9 face. was it stewart warner. also reading this thread i think i will look for this speedhut shop in utah. thanks later

 

Yes, Stewart Warner made the large format speedo cluster gauge starting with 1957 up through AMC's takeover. King-Seeley made them for '55 and '56, but those were 6 volt clusters.
-Donny

 

This is one from BlueMoonScooter on eBay (as mentioned in this thread) NOS! He also has the NOS temp and oil gauges, and many other parts.

 

I have this one on my 5. I've been looking for this speedometer/seller again for my 3B project. Still cant seem to find him. Got a link?

 

Type in vintage Jeep speedometer on eBay search. He will come up.

 

I purchased a full set from India for my M38. I used the temp and oil pressure gauge and both work fine. I later found a GPS Speedo which I have installed but not tested. I did not use the fuel, speedo or amp gauge. I ended up buying a separate clock and volt gauge since it is converted to 12V and has an alternator.