lastcaveman

I have a 1974 corvette and today while replacing the wiper switch I managed to break the top half of the center gauge bezel in half. What years would work as a replacement ? Thanks

Mooser

IIRC 72-76 should all be the same
M

Mooser

Did it break on both sides or only the one side?
M

lastcaveman

Both sides.

Mooser

Too bad, fixing one side isn't too bad but both is tricky.
Hopefully you can find a used one somewhere, (check the parts section) as the repros were quite dear $$$.

I do have a vague memory of some people repairing ones broken on both sides, maybe try a search

M

lastcaveman

I`m wondering if I might be able to solder pot metal ?

RJ1AZ

You can, with the right materials. Problem is, that joint area is so thin and there is so much pressure put on it, it's not a great solution.

I used a combination of steel braces and epoxy for strength, and soldering to fill in the crack. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...int-match.html

It's a fair amount of work, but if you want to keep your original parts and you like fixing stuff, then it's satisfying to do the repair.
Good luck!

Rescue Rogers

i posted a how to on fixing them. I got the idea from someone else hear. Make sure you run seperate ground from the top of the console incase you dont maintain a good ground

Rescue Rogers

found it, here ya go

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...age-bezel.html

BLUE1972

On my 71 daily driver I drilled 4 holes on each side, tapered the holes - 2 above the break and 2 below the break. (each side) Tapered the holes for 4-40 screws - flat head.
I backed up the rear of the piece with a very thin piece of Stainless steel . (to span the break and screws)

I used the bezel as a templet, drilled and tapped the plate for the screws.

Cut the SS plate to fit the shape of the bezel. I then roughed up all items with sandpaper where the JB weld was going - rear of the bezel and front of the SS plate.
Then screwed them together and let it sit. Then used a Dremmel / Milwaukee M12 version and ground the screws flush with the rear of the SS plate. Filled in the screw heads with JB weld, sanded smooth with 400.

Spray painted the bezel - it's held for 2 years. Cleaned up the chrome with Q-tips and thinner .

If you look close enough it looks like a small scratch in the chrome strip.

But for a daily driver it was a quick low cost fix... for me anyway as I had the materials on hand.

lastcaveman

Looks like I might need to pick up some JB weld epoxy. Thanks everyone.

lastcaveman

Ya think maybe a 3-D printer might work. Just kidding I think.

Mooser

Personally I'm amazed that any of the metal ones didn't break in that thin little corner.

Mine was broken on one side only so I managed to drill a tiny hole in both ends and insert a piece of drill shank to keep them together, then backed it up with some steel mesh and epoxy on the outside. Must have been 20-25 year ago now and the dash has been in and out numerous times since then

M