PaulAA Posted November 12, 2017 Report Share Posted November 12, 2017 Chaps Since it has turned rather cold and nasty and the forecast is more of the same, I've started on one of my winter projects, to refurbish the dashboard dials. Being a US model, the speedometer is measured in mph and I intend to knock together a graphic for the outer ring of the face, denominated in kph, and have it printed on self-adhesive vinyl. To achieve authenticity, does anybody know what font is used for the numerals? Cheers Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pogo Posted November 12, 2017 Report Share Posted November 12, 2017 (edited) Paul I think the outer numbers are Eurostyle and the inner numbers are Univers. Roger Edited November 12, 2017 by Pogo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_h Posted November 12, 2017 Report Share Posted November 12, 2017 Agree. I've use Eurostile Bold elsewhere on the car and it looks close. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PaulAA Posted November 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2017 Roger, Ed Thanks for this. Do you happen to know which Eurostile weight/compression it is? BQ appears to be right for the TR6 logo, but it looks too bold/extended for the speedo, as below. Cheers Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_h Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 What you've got looks a little too square. You may need to tweak it by hand to get it closer. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 check this http://www.heiler-tachodesign.de/Triumph-TR-5/6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
astontr6 Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 Chaps Since it has turned rather cold and nasty and the forecast is more of the same, I've started on one of my winter projects, to refurbish the dashboard dials. Being a US model, the speedometer is measured in mph and I intend to knock together a graphic for the outer ring of the face, denominated in kph, and have it printed on self-adhesive vinyl. To achieve authenticity, does anybody know what font is used for the numerals? Cheers Paul L1040844.jpg Chaps Since it has turned rather cold and nasty and the forecast is more of the same, I've started on one of my winter projects, to refurbish the dashboard dials. Being a US model, the speedometer is measured in mph and I intend to knock together a graphic for the outer ring of the face, denominated in kph, and have it printed on self-adhesive vinyl. To achieve authenticity, does anybody know what font is used for the numerals? Cheers Paul L1040844.jpg Chaps Since it has turned rather cold and nasty and the forecast is more of the same, I've started on one of my winter projects, to refurbish the dashboard dials. Being a US model, the speedometer is measured in mph and I intend to knock together a graphic for the outer ring of the face, denominated in kph, and have it printed on self-adhesive vinyl. To achieve authenticity, does anybody know what font is used for the numerals? Cheers Paul L1040844.jpg Chaps Since it has turned rather cold and nasty and the forecast is more of the same, I've started on one of my winter projects, to refurbish the dashboard dials. Being a US model, the speedometer is measured in mph and I intend to knock together a graphic for the outer ring of the face, denominated in kph, and have it printed on self-adhesive vinyl. To achieve authenticity, does anybody know what font is used for the numerals? Cheers Paul L1040844.jpg Bruce. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pogo Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 Hi Paul I think it's demi. What you have to remember is that this was done pre digital so the quality won't be as good as you will get now. Also the process they used will have had an effect on the final finish. There will have been some loss of sharpness when the artwork was processed and it was probably screen printed so again some loss there. You may have to play around with the font to get it to look as bold as the original clock. Rog Quote Link to post Share on other sites
astontr6 Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 Chaps Since it has turned rather cold and nasty and the forecast is more of the same, I've started on one of my winter projects, to refurbish the dashboard dials. Being a US model, the speedometer is measured in mph and I intend to knock together a graphic for the outer ring of the face, denominated in kph, and have it printed on self-adhesive vinyl. To achieve authenticity, does anybody know what font is used for the numerals? Cheers Paul L1040844.jpg Hi Paul, Speak directly to the Technical Dept. of Caerbont Automotive Instruments who have all the original Smiths Instruments Drawings and Tooling as they produce exact copies of the originals Phone Number 01639 732200. Good Luck, Bruce. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PaulAA Posted November 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 Hi Paul, Speak directly to the Technical Dept. of Caerbont Automotive Instruments who have all the original Smiths Instruments Drawings and Tooling as they produce exact copies of the originals Phone Number 01639 732200. Good Luck, Bruce. Hi Bruce I looked at their website, but I think creating the graphic is an interesting challenge and will avoid the risk of removing the pointer and scratching the japanned screwheads. And bang next door to my office is an excellent print shop, who will undoubtedly rise to the challenge. The trick would appear to be the type of vinyl it is printed on, so that it doesn't lift off the slightly dished speedo face. check this http://www.heiler-tachodesign.de/Triumph-TR-5/6 This was the inspiration for having a go myself - Euro 60.00 for a replacement sticker is a little rich, methinks. Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PaulAA Posted November 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 (edited) Hi Paul I think it's demi. What you have to remember is that this was done pre digital so the quality won't be as good as you will get now. Also the process they used will have had an effect on the final finish. There will have been some loss of sharpness when the artwork was processed and it was probably screen printed so again some loss there. You may have to play around with the font to get it to look as bold as the original clock. Rog Thanks Rog - that's the beast! I'll knock up a vector file and anybody else who wants to convert their ex-US 3.7 diff speedo to KPH will just need to get the file printed locally. Edit: thinking further, I will need to identify just the right shade of 'slightly nicotined white' to match the aged digits on the tachometer... Cheers Paul Edited November 13, 2017 by PaulAA Quote Link to post Share on other sites
astontr6 Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 Hi Bruce I looked at their website, but I think creating the graphic is an interesting challenge and will avoid the risk of removing the pointer and scratching the japanned screwheads. And bang next door to my office is an excellent print shop, who will undoubtedly rise to the challenge. The trick would appear to be the type of vinyl it is printed on, so that it doesn't lift off the slightly dished speedo face. This was the inspiration for having a go myself - Euro 60.00 for a replacement sticker is a little rich, methinks. Paul Paul. I can see your point at 60 Euro, who was that from? Bruce. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PaulAA Posted November 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 Paul. I can see your point at 60 Euro, who was that from? Bruce. The one that Stef identified: http://www.heiler-tachodesign.de/Triumph-TR-5/6 Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 (edited) Hi Bruce I looked at their website, but I think creating the graphic is an interesting challenge and will avoid the risk of removing the pointer and scratching the japanned screwheads. And bang next door to my office is an excellent print shop, who will undoubtedly rise to the challenge. The trick would appear to be the type of vinyl it is printed on, so that it doesn't lift off the slightly dished speedo face. This was the inspiration for having a go myself - Euro 60.00 for a replacement sticker is a little rich, methinks. Paul This is more than a vulgar sticker if you read the explanations, and for 60 EUR i wouldn't bother, really. Edited November 13, 2017 by Geko Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PaulAA Posted November 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 This is more than a vulgar sticker if you read the explanations, and for 60 EUR i wouldn't bother, really. Erm......... am I being chastised? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 no, i just killed one of your winter project Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don H. Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 Hi Paul I think it's demi. What you have to remember is that this was done pre digital so the quality won't be as good as you will get now. Also the process they used will have had an effect on the final finish. There will have been some loss of sharpness when the artwork was processed and it was probably screen printed so again some loss there. You may have to play around with the font to get it to look as bold as the original clock. Rog Roger, what do you think about the "1" numerals? Looks close, but makes me wonder if Smiths had a custom typeface. Paul -- you haven't mentioned that your dial already has kph indicators inside the mph outer scale. What's wrong with just focusing on those rather than the headache of making stickers? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PaulAA Posted November 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 Paul -- you haven't mentioned that your dial already has kph indicators inside the mph outer scale. What's wrong with just focusing on those rather than the headache of making stickers? True, Don, but the figures are small and I'm finding that dodgy eyesight (excellent long distance, but slow to re-focus on near objects) is a hindrance. That and a touch of pedantry, not easily assuaged by the gainsayer my post attracted. Cheers Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vitessesteve Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 (edited) Is this the font? I can not upload the actual font file. Edited November 13, 2017 by vitessesteve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pogo Posted November 13, 2017 Report Share Posted November 13, 2017 Roger, what do you think about the "1" numerals? Looks close, but makes me wonder if Smiths had a custom typeface. Paul -- you haven't mentioned that your dial already has kph indicators inside the mph outer scale. What's wrong with just focusing on those rather than the headache of making stickers? Hi Don Yes the '1' does look slightly different and it could be that Triumph had their own font, but more likely just used the normal one and maybe adjusted some of the numbers slightly. It's what we did back in the day. Cheers Rog Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don H. Posted November 14, 2017 Report Share Posted November 14, 2017 Hi Don Yes the '1' does look slightly different and it could be that Triumph had their own font, but more likely just used the normal one and maybe adjusted some of the numbers slightly. It's what we did back in the day. Cheers Rog I'd buy that, Roger. The typeface looks like Eurostile everywhere else so an alteration to the "1" seems likely. One possible reason could be the American market, where we don't handwrite "1" with any bar at all on the top. Contrast this with Germany, for example, where the upstroke is normally bigger than the downstroke on "1"! Perhaps a slightly Americanized Eurostile? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PaulAA Posted November 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2017 Chaps A bit more advice, if you can. A previous owner had evidently fiddled with both of the big dials. It seems that the warning light lenses had broken away from their stubs, which are still buried in the rubber light hoods, and glued them messily to the dial face itself. The gluing has made quite a mess of the contact faces and I would like to replace them, but I cannot find a source. Any ideas where I might be able to buy all four (main beam, turn, ignition & oil pressure) in the right colours? I've sent an enquiry to Caerbont Automotive, but I think they sell complete instruments rather than parts, no? Cheers Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie D Posted November 19, 2017 Report Share Posted November 19, 2017 (edited) Hello Paul, Interesting to see what sort of reply you get from Caerbont Automotive. I looked at their web site and discovered the whole history of Smiths instruments. (Interesting read). I then looked at Google maps from the air to see how big their factory was. To my surprise the building also houses “Speedy Cables” a company that I’ve known about since the 1970’s. There is no mention of any connection between the two companies, their web sites don’t mention each other, but it seems an odd coincidence that a company that makes speedo’s and a totally separate company that makes speedo cables live in the same house. Because everything for instruments and cables seem to be made at the premises I would guess that you could get whatever bits you needed from them. If you get no joy from Caerbont Automotive you could eMail Speedy Cables to see if they could supply the parts, they say they do speedo repairs after all. Unless they want to just charge you £70 and say that THEY have to fit the pieces. Charlie Edited November 19, 2017 by Charlie D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vitessesteve Posted November 19, 2017 Report Share Posted November 19, 2017 I have used Speedograph in Nottingham in the past, very good service. http://www.speedograph-richfield.com/ and also claiming close connection to Smiths. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PaulAA Posted November 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2017 Steve, Charlie Many thanks - will try both and let you know if I have any success. Cheers Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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