1971 442 convert

Hope this is in the right section.

Been doing some research on the Rally Pack and know there was some talk re quality and illumination problems back a while. I understand through my research that The Parts Place are the people that make them or have them made and that most other suppliers get the Rally Packs from them. This seems to be reflected in the pricing that is out there as The Parts Place is the cheapest.? $429. I have purchased most (if not all) my parts from Fusick and have been very happy with them and their quality.
I understand they do not carry these Rally Packs anymore due to quality problems?
Has anyone recently bought these Rally Packs from the Parts Place and how was the quality? Does the installation kit give you everything you need

Lady72nRob71

I got the set at the parts place in 2007. Only issue I had was the illumination issue, which I fixed myself with some model paint, correct sized bulbs, and about an hour's time.
I assume they are all made in one factory and distributed by different vendors, but I could be wrong.

I did not order the overpriced "installation kit". I did buy the oil sender elbow from them though.
The senders were from Rockauto and I made my own tach lead with a 2A inline fuseholder (I am an engineer...)
If you do not have soldering skills, then you might want to get the kit with the premade wire lead.

1971 442 convert

Thanks Rob

I have read your posts and little tricks you did.
I wonder if they still have that problem?

nelsontj

I see the Year One Rally Pac is about twice the price as the Parts Place, but Year One advertises that it has metal gauge face and housing. I believe the Parts Place Rally Pac has plastic housings, or am I wrong.

1971 442 convert

The Parts Place description says "gauge and face are metal"????

70vista

I just got a set of these for the Vista I am doing. Not installed yet but the quaity looks ok. I will look at them the next time I am in the shop as far as plastic or metal housing.

Lady72nRob71

The set I got from the parts place has metal housings and face plates.
I know for sure because I opened them up for painting.
Many things at YO are about twice the price of the same things from other smaller vendors. Main reason I never ordered from them.
They prolly have to charge more due to their huge overhead of stocking all those parts for other makes and models...

1971 442 convert

Thanks Vista.
I wonder if they have fixed the illumination problems that Rob had?
I believe he got his back in 2007 so they may have made some upgrades since then??
Just trying to make sure as the cost to get them to Canada with duty, exchange, shipping and taxes really drives the price up.

I purchased a set of 2 1/2" tips from PYpes and they were $75. By the time I paid for everything it was closer to $150 for me YIKES!!!!

Rickman48

Don't be fooled by some of these 'Companies' - thinking they're a big warehouse!!
I've heard of a guy that operates out of his basement and has everything 'drop shipped' to his customers!
He makes around 100% per part, on the deal he's in!

Lady72nRob71

I sure hope they fixed that illumination issue.
Of course they might could have fixed it by switching to all-white plastic cases!

JCMC64

I just got a tich tock tach at end of 2012 and it has same issues as Rob mentions in his thread-
1) inside of case is unpainted, just light over spray.
2) Bezel is painted black instead of sky blue.
3) and they have 158 bulbs, instead of correct ones (161, 194, 168, etc)

I fixed all 3 using Robs thread as a guide. Car is not ready yet to test, still in piecese. But I went beyond Robs thread so Im sure it will be much better...also did the speedo and fuel gauge. I will update both threads when I can test it out.

Lady72nRob71

Glad my old thread is helping people fix their gauges, but it is really disappointing to see that the problems still exist! Come on - a few pennies worth of paint?? Cheap-a$$ companies...

Leadfoot

How true. I just received a Rally Pac kit from The Parts Place, and although I haven't taken the gauges apart yet, the reflector rings are obviously not painted. The lamps are all marked 3.4W, which should mean #158's... so either I got a kit that had sat on the shelf for quite a while, or nothing has changed.

I'm going to try replacing all of the gauge lamps with 6000k 5SMD LED 194's to see if that alone is enough to make the gauges look right. If not, I'll be following Rob's advice or, considering the issues some have reported with flaky gauge readings, returning them and looking for used/rebuildable factory Rally Pac gauges.

Thanks for all the great info, Rob. It's very helpful, and very inspiring.

cdrod

I picked up a rally pack set of gauges and the tic-toc-tac last year for about $200 (good deal). Without powering up the pod, the needle of all 3 gauges are in the middle, and the fuel gauge is stuck (doesn't move when I wiggle the pod. Not sure about the condition of the tach either. Will it be cheaper to have these rebuilt or should I buy the repop gauges? What is the cost to restore these?

jensenracing77

I would test what you have. If there is a problem it will be much less to have them rebuilt. I had my rally pack and speedometer rebuilt for $300 and the speedometer was a big part of that. If you go repop I may be interested in you original setup.

drop top olds

Looks like a nice starting place. I have been looking for just the factory gauge set up (Oil, Temp, and Fuel), but can never find just that one pod. I would second what jensenracing said. If you decide to sell......................

69ishHoliday

I posted a "wanted" listing and bought my gauges from another CO member. I am having them restored by John and Tammy at Redline and will probably have about the same money in the end product as what it costs to buy the aftermarket set. My mechanic has been fighting dependability issues with aftermarket gauges in an SS Chevelle so I just decided to go the OEM route with my Olds and have them restored. - Steven