Vento: how to install instrument rubbers?

[cooperplace]

The previous owner had cut the rubbers and then glued top and bottom together. I've got some nice new rubbers from Jon Pegler (thank you!) but I have no idea how to install them into the sheet aluminium holder.

[Jordan]

What is the problem?

[Jon Pegler]

The rubbers were originally fitted into a steel bracket with two 86mm holes into which the rubbers slot in using the groove around the middle of the rubbers.
The steel was 3mm thick.
All you have to do to fit the new rubbers is squash them into a crescent shape so that they will fit inside the holes in your bracket, assuming that you have the right size holes and the correct thickness for your bracket.

Jon

[cooperplace]

oh my goodness, you're right. It was a piece of cake!

next question: one of the old rubbers is still in place, with the speedo in it. What's the trick for getting that speedo out? it seems stuck fast.

Thank you very much.
edit: with some wrenching, the old rubber came out. it had been cut in two and glued on.

Is there any trick to inserting the speedo/tacho into the new rubbers?

[Jon Pegler]

I get the instruments out of the old rubbers by inserting a thin screwdriver between the rubber and the speedo/tacho and spraying WD40 or some other penetrating oil between the two.
Once you have worked your way around the clock, spraying WD40, or whatever you are using, the clock will push out fairly easily.
Re-fitting the clocks into the rubbers is also easier with a good spray of WD40, but you have to be careful not to crack the glass.
I usually turn the whole mounting bracket upside down and try to get the bezel of the clock onto the corner of a bench or table and then push it in from there.
This is not as easy as it sounds as the rubbers have a raised front to them.
Best of luck

Jon

[cooperplace]

Thank you Jon, you're right, getting the clocks in is hard. I can't get them in the last part, getting the raised rim of the clock into the rubber. I'm going to have to find someone with stronger hands than mine, or soften the rubber somehow, or both.

[cooperplace]

with a lot of grunting I got the clock out of the new rubber. I then took the new rubbers, scrubbed them clean, put them in boiling water for 10 minutes, removed them, while still hot covered them with glycerol, reinstalled them in the instrument panel, still hot and soft. Then I coated the outside of the clocks with vaseline, and they slid in beautifully.