Ammeter or Voltmeter?

[Bull McCabe]

The earth on my 1971 2500 ammeter had come loose, which caused my ammeter to get hot. This has resulted in the white figures on the dial to become slightly discoloured.
The ammeter is an AC, -45 to 45 amps, which I am fairly sure is either original or same as original (judging by an old thread about Vixen dashboards).
I also found an old thread where Mr Tiger had a similar issue and it had been suggested to him that a volt meter would be better suited to a car with an alternator.
Can anyone suggest where I could get an AC gauge (45 amp with quadrant covering the lower section of dial face) or suggest a voltmeter which is a close match in style. I even thought it might be possible to use a different brand and just fit the AC quadrant over the replacement.
If anyone has fitted a voltmeter, would you be good enough to post a picture.

Many thanks in advance,
Gary.

Ammeter is same as below



Edited to ad, I saw an AC gauge on Ebay, but it was a 30 amp version.

Edited by Bull McCabe on Tuesday 10th July 21:49

[Bull McCabe]

Thanks for replying.

I think I will fit a Smiths voltmeter. I checked all the connections and replaced the terminals and went for a drive today and the ammeter was still heating up.
I would like to keep the car as original as possible, but equally I am happy to make sensible adjustments to make the car more usable.
The gauge set up goes AC - Smiths - AC - Smiths, with the AC having needle at the bottom and numbers at the top and the Smiths being the exact opposite. If I replace the oil pressure gauge at the same time, I think a full set of the same gauges would look fine. I can keep the AC gauges so I can replace them at any time. This also gives me time to peruse Ebay for an ammeter as per the original.

Thanks again Dollyman and Pushfit.

[Bull McCabe]

Dollyman1850 said:

you can sell your AC gauges for a small fortune to the TVR purists who must have the originally cheaper gauge at all costs

N.

Ha ha, yes, I know what you mean. Although I found a couple of old Ebay listings of ammeters like mine and they had both sold for less than a fiver. The Vixen aficionado's must have missed them! I think the same gauges were fitted to Bedfords and Commer vans.

My main aim is to use and enjoy the car, so a few minor tweaks here and there don't concern me too much. I don't intend fitting 20 inch wheels, a huge tea tray spoiler and a matt black bonnet but I am happy that I replaced the sweaty vinyl seats with leather so I can enjoy a 4 hour drive in July and not arrive looking Cool Hand Luke after an intense summers day in the tin shed.

I must admit that after a drive out today in light rain, I thought that intermittent wipers would be handy. I think Adrian@ does such a thing for the M.

Oh dear, I have just realised that I have publicly admitted that I take it out in the rain too...