6 replies to this topic

[Craig89]

I have just brought this job lot of gauges and wondered if anybody could shed some light on them.

The vacuum gauge says tudor on the front but smiths industries on the rear.

Oil pressure just says tudor.

The one on the right looks to be an hour meter made by smiths, I have never seen one before and can't find any information on it?

Any help appreciated, thanks

[DomCr250]

I'm sure somebody else will add more value but I found this....

 

ADDENDUM: apparently the "Smiths" moniker actually pre-dates both Jaeger AND Lucas, having produced watches and instruments since the early 1900s, and they "branded" their gauges according to the vendor buying them. Jaeger was standard brand for Euro automobile manufacturers from the 1940s to mid-60s -- unless it was an electrical gauge (ammeter), then it had a licensed Lucas name (since Lucas was responsible for the car's electrics). During the British Leyland consolidation of the mid-60s everything was labeled "Smiths" thereafter with some exceptions (certain European cars). In the 1980s the aftermarket parts briefly became "Tudor" but now all modern replacements have reverted to the classic Smiths logo.

 

http://mgaguru.com/m...tric/et221b.htm

[dklawson]

Very nice set of gauges.  There is not much I can add to the information above except that "Jaeger" (French) gauges are not the same as "British Jaeger" gauges (made by Smiths). 

 

The hourmeter you have must be quite a bit later than the other gauges as it has "Quartz" on the face.  That indicates it probably was made after the mid-1980s.  The hourmeter has a different bezel from the other two as well.  Most 52mm Smiths gauges have bezels held on with a sort-of bayonet ring on the rear.  That means that if you want to you could buy a bezel that matches the other two gauges and install it on the hourmeter so they all look alike.

[Craig89]

Thanks for the information chaps.

So Tudor was just a brand name used by smiths in the 80s?

I'm presuming the hour meter has never been used as it has no reset on it and only has + and - connections? What would be the use of the hour meter? I thought they were only used on off-road vehicles without odometers?

Thanks

[dklawson]

One possible use is to wire it into the ignition circuit to keep track of how many hours you have on your car's engine.  While it might be nice to keep track of engine hours, I don't know that I would use the limited dash space in a Mini for an hour meter. However, that is a personal choice, not advice or a suggestion.

 

Hour meters are certainly useful and common on marine and industrial equipment and often referenced for service intervals.

[Craig89]

I can understand it with service or rebuild intervals but without a reset button then it's only good once

Thanks for all the information

[dklawson]

I agree that for a car a reset button would be handy... sort of a "service interval" device.  However, since hour meters are mainly for industrial equipment they typically don't have reset buttons.  Think of them as the same type of monitor as an odometer, not a trip meter.