Clock in an Alpine ?

[beijing_ken]

Hi All,

I bought some after market gauges from Dolphin and have them fairly well sorted out, but I had heard that the Sunbeam had a clock in some models ~ is that true ? Did it replace this "false gauge" ~ please see the attached photo ?

I am curious if that "false gauge" can be replaced with a factory clock or is it kind of an insignia of the Sunbeam ?

Thanks,

Ken

 

[sunalp]

Yep, that's the hole the clock goes in. The blanking plate has tabs behind it that bend and hold it to
the dash. Comes out much the same way. There's usually one for the ammeter hole for cars
not so equipped.

I have a clock that looks like a Smiths clock, but it's electronic and actually keeps accurate time!

Cheers!
Steve

 

[alpine_64]

Clocks were optional from SI to V. There are 2 types on blanking plate.. One silver and one gold text. They fit the standard 2.5 smiths clock of period.

There is also a blanking plate for the hole provided for the optional ammeter.

 

[Series6]

I bought a clock that worked for about 2 days. I have it set now at 5.00 pm.

I'm trying to figure out how to get a clock to run in reverse 'cause (ready?) when you drive a classic car you turn back time

Since I wear a watch and have a phone if I need to know the time, resources are available. When I'm driving my car, time is irreverent.

 

[beijing_ken]

Hi All,

To solve this issue and to keep my gauges uniform, I have decided to have a third bezel made to allow me to mount the clock.

I had to have bezels made for my odometer and tachometer, as I purchased Dolphin gauges, so it isn't such an issue to have a third bezel in the dash.

You can see the attached photo to get the idea.

Good luck to all,

Ken

 

[beijing_ken]

Hi All,

The clock bezel came in today and I am happy with the results.

The machine shop cut them out of a piece of stock aluminium; it was not cheap, but much more attractive than wrapping the gauges with black tape ! ;-p

Please see the attached photos.

Ken

PS - slowly moving forward.

 

[sunbby]

just an FYI, Ian wrote an article about the clocks available in various Alpines, available in the Articles Archives section on the home page.
http://sunbeamalpine.org/2007/10/24/the-smiths-electric-clock/

 

[Bill Blue]

For those wanting a nice looking "period correct" functional clock for under twenty bucks, go to Ebay and search 12 v clocks. They will fit the Alpine clock opening, but need to be held in place with a dab of E6000 glue. I've had for about a year and found it to be a good timekeeper.

Bill

 

[loose_electron]

 

[loose_electron]

The clock there is Speedhut modern. Part of me wants to yank it and put a Rootes Group plate in there because the clock gains about 15 minutes a year and it's easier to just go to my watch or cell phone.

 

[65beam]

As Series 6 mentioned about his clock, current time is of no importance. I have found the clocks in four of my Beams are right two times a day. I have battery cut off switches on all of the cars for when they're parked so the clocks are never correct. The clocks in the fastbacks keep good time. The dash shown has been replaced with a new one but I still have the clock installed in the car.

 

[Bill Blue]

I neglected to identify the clock I purchased. It is a Luch Quartz analog.

In this household, ease of setting a clock is more important than accuracy, as it seems no dash clock meets Barbs accuracy standard. She is very intolerant of clocks that are more than a minute or so "off", especially if she has to refer to the owners manual to reset it. There seems to be a "is the clock correct" game we play with the Alpine. As soon as Barb get it set to Ft Collins time, plus or minus 30 seconds, I need to disconnect the battery. This clock is simple to set, although somewhat inconvenient, the knob is too short.

Bill

 

[65beam]

Bill,
Jean keeps the car clocks set 10 minutes fast so she's never late. When we picked up her new SUV a few weeks back we started home and she was pulling out the book to figure out how to reset the time.

 

[tigereater]

We have 2 non-working original Smith clocks in our stash of parts. I'm hoping to have one "working" in the dash when we finish fixing up our project '59 SI this winter.
Gina