Thread: Gav's 101.

So how hard was it getting to the back of the aftermarket gauges to tighten up the mounting brackets and nuts .

Hmm there, done that, not the greatest job in town.

Originally Posted by garrycol

So how hard was it getting to the back of the aftermarket gauges to tighten up the mounting brackets and nuts .

Hmm there, done that, not the greatest job in town.

Ha ha, I said TRIAL FIT.... I looked at that and decided to do that another day - they are just sitting there, and I'm not looking forward to it.

Can the heater box be taken out easily? That would simplify things but I think I already know the answer to that though...

When I did mine I did not have the heater box in and when putting in the gauges in I did not even think about how I would change globes etc when everything was in. I have an after market heater box and again did not think ahead and hung it from the dash rather than brackets underneath.

Then the chickens came home to roost when I had a gauge failure and a globe failed . It took a couple of days to do - made up some special tools to get in there and lots of swearing, abusing the family, kicking the dog and getting very grumpy managed to achieve a result.

In hindsight - make then heater box easy to remove or make up a fitting to house the gauges so they are not actually in the current dash.

Garry

You'll get there Gav. Lots of dogs to kick.
Looks great.

Don't your VDO gauges have the plastic cups that screw in from the rear as opposed to fiddly little bolts and arms (like what holds the factory gauges in place)? I re-fitted mine the other day with the heat box in situ and was easy enough. I had enough slack on the cables to disconnect easily. I like the 15 degree brackets you have, sound like a good idea.

Edit* After numerous attempts to refit the heater box after cleaning it up the secret is to loosen the tabs that hold the matrix in place within the box too allow the matrix to move up which in turn lets it go in and out pretty easily. Using the flaps and vents on the side you can re-position the tabs when you go to refit the matrix after. I can post pics if that's not clear enough.

Hadn't paid much attention to how the gauges mount, I was too excited to stick 'em in the dash to see what they looked like...

Too cold outside to check now...

EDIT - the gauges in the dash do have the big plastic nut thingy which may present problems of its own while using those angled spacers....

Well, I think I have come to the same conclusion as some other members here about the 101 Club...

I posted in the '101 Club Discussion' forum under a thread called 'Club Spares'. To be found in that thread are pages of discussions about various club parts, orders, etc. I thought this would be a perfect place to ask how long it would be until the 101 Shop got the repro lever knobs back in stock, as they are unavailable to be ordered at the moment. Other members also followed saying they were interested in a set too - it looked like they could have sold 6 sets straight up. I bumped the thread yesterday as I hadn't got a reply, to which I find this response today....

"Darren does the ordering - he never comes on this forum
I'll pass a message on but I can't say when I'll get a reply as I'm sure you'll appreciate"

Um, maybe it is just me, but NO, I can't appreciate that at all... If the person responsible for ordering the parts doesn't look at the thread called 'Club Spares' then I'm gob smacked. The fact that this other member didn't know how long it would take to get a reply shows that things move slowly there - too slow for me.

I'm sure I'll just get the same old line if I complained about everyone just being a volunteer, but there are plenty there whining about the clubs financial situation, and I can see why it is so bad. I want to give them money for a product, and it seems beyond them to organise it in an effective manner. I don't expect a 4 day delivery like big commercial UK suppliers, but this looks like it could take months....

I have left a reply which will probably upset them - nothing nasty, but have made my point quite clearly.

So I now assume that if I need anything from them, I will have to order it months in advance, which I just can't do - my 101 is not a project and I like to drive it most weekends, so if it breaks down waiting months for parts to get me back on the road would be a killer.

They need to wake up to themselves....

Rant over.

Nothing new there - I am sure Darren is a nice guy but as far as the 101 club is concerned his poop don't stink (mine doesn't but that is another story).

Yes they are volunteers but given their role in providing parts to the 101 world they need something/one with more available time - maybe a part-time paid retired person - this has been discussed but doesn't seem to have hgappend. I was recently a Committee member and found the workload a little onerous so I did not seek reappointment and handed the job more suited - maybe Darren and the 101 club needs to do the same.

I have not been part of the 101 club for some time now and through the forum I feel that is their loss as I didn't get a lot out of them but did provide a lot of information and experiences.

Garry