Rover 200 instrument cluster

[Hans Efde]

I've been emailing with a few specialists, like Lockwood who is a supplier of dials and can be found on Ebay. They don't have dials for the Rover 213 instruments as well and advised that the needles can not be removed while keeping the gauges serviceable. So it seems a dead end. I've got a few other ideas but at the moment not enough time. If anyone finds a solution please post to the forum.

[DavidL]

Rather later than I expected, but my £2 instrument cluster arrived yesterday. Looks in good condition, and it's lower mileage than my existing one!

Hans, you mentioned that it's impossible to remove the needles without making the gauges unserviceable, do you know why that is? I'd have thought it must be possible to reattach the needles somehow, although I've been known to be wrong before...
Is it something like this?

Car instrument.JPG (11.33 KiB) Viewed 6474 times

Yes, I know it's not really a spring washer, but I don't know what the correct term is. Sorry!

[Hans Efde]

No it's just a very tight fit, possibly with locktite. I took my temp gauge apart by pulling out the needle with the shaft. I only could separate the needle while holding the shaft firmly with pliers. This can not be done with the shafts in place. I think it is only possible to separate them by heating the head with a soldering iron, effectively destroying them. I have to try that when I have a set of replacement needles. There are plenty of needles available from the VW range with the possibility of illuminating them with a led. I don't know yet if they fit so am going to bid on a set:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/300627955273?ssP ... 1423.l2649

[Stuart]

If the hole in the new needles is too big getting a bush made will be the answer.

[Hans Efde]

I just received my first batch of VAG indicator needles. I bought these white ones:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/220905779411?ssP ... 1423.l2649
The little needles are too short, but the big ones have the correct size. That's not really important since I want to change the design of the instrument panel anyway. The good news is that they fit perfectly on the shafts of the Rover instruments. It seems 1mm is a standard size, so this makes it all a lot easier. I am going to buy another set in red which are Golf 4 needles. These have the correct length (checked at a dealer) but so far I haven't been able to buy them thanks to sellers asking 10 euros for shipment (actual would be less than 4 what I paid for shipment of the white needles). There are 2 new sets for sale (these Golf needles usually do about 10 euros for the set), so I've asked again for a reasonable price for shipping. Next step is to use a soldering iron to remove the Rover needles.

[Stuart]

This thread may be of interest to those wishing to reface their dials, they're also using light-up Audi needles, although that option looks expensive.

http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?6 ... -Group-Buy

[Hans Efde]

Those prices mentioned are ridiculous. I have now bought 2 sets of needles, 1 in white and a VW Golf set in orange, both costed around 16 euro's including shipment. They both fit on the Rover 200 shafts (1mm), but there are 2 problems. First is that the small VW/Audi needles for temp and fuel are much shorter, so these scales needs to be redesigned on the dial face. The other is that the clear part of the needle where the shaft goes into, is longer than on a non-illuminated Rover needle.
Here's a link to the second batch I bought. You can see the clear part underneath:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/180780363409?ssP ... 1497.l2649
If I stick them on like this they will be sitting too high, so the shaft needs to be shortened. Unfortunately the clamping part is then cut off as well, so I am looking for an other solution. Possibly I can put spacers between the instruments and dial plate so they sit a bit lower. I only need 3 of 4 mm so I'll try that first.
The other issue is lighting. There are plenty of German forums where it is explained how to glue a led in or to glue it to the top of the instrument. Costs are less than 10 euro's for wire, resistors and leds. An other option is to buy a kit that has it all on a circular print plate. For about 25 euro's:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Tachonadeln-LED- ... 4161133050

So the needle stuff will cost in total less than 50 euros, but the dial plate is much more expensive. I expect it to be around 200 euros because it is a one off. Before I continue with the dial project I first need to know what my engine rebuild will cost. I can spend my money only once!