Photos of my 412

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 7:20 pm

For those of you on the STF, I've added some photos of the Nomad to the Samba Gallery, take a look if you're interested...

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_ ... ?cat_id=31

I really love that car, it's so funky. They get under your skin, even when they're not running!

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 9:54 pm

Nice car. Let me know if I can help. I have lots old speedos and clocks. I probably have the matching speedo to go with that clock.

By the way...I print (screenprint) new speedo faces. I am working on a factory tachometer face ...made from a reprinted stock clock face (so all of the lights will still be in it). Uses a speedo needle and stop pin (balanced of course). It will use a 2" VDO tach kit. I'll let you guys know when it works out and if it will be available. Ray

steve_1125 · Post by **steve_1125** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 8:12 am

Your dash looks pretty nice, did you have it restored? I am still thinking of sending mine to justdashes.com but the estimate is around $750 excluding removal and installation.

Ray, my clock is stopped at 3 o'clock, is there a possible easy fix or something to try? Thanks!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 8:11 pm

Thanks for the compliment. No, the dash was as you see it when I got it, that's why I jumped on the 412 when it came available

Clocks...if you have an older one with a "tick-tick-THUNK" VDO-Kienzle balance-wheel type movement, it may be easy (open "thermal fuse", loose pot metal coupling) or not (grit in the movement, like the one from the junkyard '71 411 I got). If it's a newer Quartz VDO-Kienzle movement, it'll probably be a small plastic gear that's completely disintegrated (like the one that came in my '73 412), and is unobtanium.

Either way, good luck. I'm trying to fix the '71 411 clock to work as I get time in between major work to get the car back on the road.

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 12:50 pm

With a little work...you can slave in one of the tuning fork clocks from a type 3. Those never stop working. Ray

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 6:41 pm

You talking about the VDO clock movement that has a wheel that moves rapidly back and forth under the influence of a single-transistor-oscillator-controlled coil? I pulled one of those from a Volvo, it looked like it'd fit easily, but turned out to be (as you said) some work.

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 7:23 pm

Yep....

I didn't really want to get into it unless someone asked. What I did , is go to the metal shop and get an .045 sheet of scrap copper. I slightly and carefully disassemble the base plate from the type 3 clock. The ntraced theshape of teh type 4 clock base plate with a scribe,,,cut out the plate, drilled three holes, put the ground clip and nuts back on, clearance the clock case slightly...and voila.

Or...you can go get the quartz clock from a 74 ghia or 412...same instrument cluster...and it drops right in with minor case clearance.....

...or ...clean the one you have...and like noted, probably just file the points in it, and repair the fusible link. Those run forever after that too. Ray

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 7:35 pm

OK, that's what it looked like the tuning fork movement needed, thanks Ray, I'll try it sometime.

FWIW, I agree that the "tuning fork" movement looks much more robust than the "Quartz" motor-driven movement in my '73. That little gear made of unobtanium that seems to disintegrate while sitting makes the "Quartz" movements worthless in my opinion.

The problem with the '71 411 balance-wheel tick-tick-THUNK movement is somehow grit got into the balance wheel jewel points...it won't keep ticking no matter how I adjust the balance wheel tension. I'm sure a (competent, not me

) jeweler could get it running with an ultrasonic cleaning and adjustment. I have the same movement in a clock from a '68 Opel that I've had since the late 70's, it's now in my MGB, and has run perfectly for years. Just keep them sealed up and CLEAN and they work forever.

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 7:46 pm

"By the way...I print (screenprint) new speedo faces. I am working on a factory tachometer face..."

Hey Ray, I just read the above...what about a three-gauge cluster to replace the clock with a combo fuel gauge, oil pressure, and oil temp gauge with warning lights and turn signal indicators?

Three early T4 fuel gauges (magnetic, not thermal) would fit, maybe even four (transmission fluid temp, or head temp, eh?), and with a reprinted set of gauge legends and clock face, it'd look stock. The electronic part is easy, just a matter of picking a set of easily obtainable temp and pressure transducers and wiring up a signal conditioner box (some op amps and resistors, piece of cake). Interested?

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 9:15 pm

That would probably be eaier than reprinting the stock face..because when you are making one from the ground up...you do not have all the other stuff...warning lights to work around. I would simply cast one out of zinc alloy, paint with epoxy....bake it...and then print what you want. The two hardest ...but not too hard...issues..will be lighting and making everything fit behind it. Ray

MGVWfan · Post by **MGVWfan** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 7:12 pm

Yeah, making everything fit may be interesting. Lighting won't be a problem if the new face has the same shape as the old one, and we re-use the case, since the light will follow the same path as the OE lighting, and those illumination lamps are tiny enough to fit in even with three gauges in there. I'll think about it over Christmas and maybe dig around and find some gauges to mock up. Sure would be nice to have temp and oil pressure gauges in the Nomad!

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 8:51 pm

My plan is actually to reprint the clock face into a tach, installing the guts from a VDO 2-1/8" tach. Leave the idiot lights intact and working. I started work a whike back to do one of two things, either a thin strip dash to hold three 2-1/8" VDO instruments and a 3" type size clock (to replace the one in the dash that is now a tach). This would mount to the lower edge of the dash, be angled to the left and up....and would be integral as part of the cast replacement for that unobtanium under dash cardboard cover that covers the pedal cluster on the drivers side

If you don't know what part I am talking about...then you either have the air conditioning console under the dash...or yours is missing too!

Or...a type 4 version of the Zender/VDO 3 gauge radio block off plate. that is a part that ususally is made for the rabbits and other watercooleds...that drops right into the radio hole...and has 3 nice slanted holes for use of VDO 2-1/8" gauges. Ray

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Photos of my 412

Photos of my 412

Clocks, Clocks, Clocks...