Re: 1955 1956 ignition bezel reproduction update
Posted by HH56 On 2022/8/27 10:26:37
R.H already mentioned the close fit so my thoughts on strengthening the problem area are unless you might be able to cast them from a stronger metal any beefing up may not fly. Originals appear to be whatever the common pot metal formula of the time might have been. While it is fairly strong, metal is also very brittle.
There is not a lot of room to make changes to the bezel. It needs to fit thru a fairly close tolerance hole in the dash so because of that the outer circumference cannot get any larger. The ignition switch is also a fairly tight fit within the inside circumference so it cannot grow in that direction either.
Failure mode appears to be once the spring pressure starts bending the tab outward it slowly progresses. If you are lucky enough to find one bent but not completely broken off attempts to straighten the weakened tab usually result in them breaking off anyway.
Here are a few photos showing the assembly. I made a duplicate of the dash hole when developing a repair kit that did work but is fairly hard to install so is not really a viable option.
NOTE: I just realized the plate showing the dash hole was flipped when taking the photos. Obviously the bezel fits either way. The bottom notch keeps the bezel from rotating but in reality I have shown the upper notch for the light path on the wrong side. It should be on the right and under the bracket on the switch that holds the light socket.
Attach file:
IMG_0253.jpeg (160.10 KB)
IMG_0311.jpeg (75.67 KB)
IMG_2573.jpeg (85.39 KB)
IMG_2574.jpeg (59.92 KB)
There is not a lot of room to make changes to the bezel. It needs to fit thru a fairly close tolerance hole in the dash so because of that the outer circumference cannot get any larger. The ignition switch is also a fairly tight fit within the inside circumference so it cannot grow in that direction either.
Failure mode appears to be once the spring pressure starts bending the tab outward it slowly progresses. If you are lucky enough to find one bent but not completely broken off attempts to straighten the weakened tab usually result in them breaking off anyway.
Here are a few photos showing the assembly. I made a duplicate of the dash hole when developing a repair kit that did work but is fairly hard to install so is not really a viable option.
NOTE: I just realized the plate showing the dash hole was flipped when taking the photos. Obviously the bezel fits either way. The bottom notch keeps the bezel from rotating but in reality I have shown the upper notch for the light path on the wrong side. It should be on the right and under the bracket on the switch that holds the light socket.
Attach file:
IMG_0253.jpeg (160.10 KB)
IMG_0311.jpeg (75.67 KB) IMG_2573.jpeg (85.39 KB)
IMG_2574.jpeg (59.92 KB)
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