the dash plate was not black.
Um. The dash AND the gearshift lever COULD be painted black.
On my small truck (avatar Somerville, MA assembly March 1929) the gearshift was painted black. On removing the paint with a stripper was uncovered a "defect" in the nickel plating - apparently painted to cover a gearshift lever "not appropriate" for a regular car - but perfectly fine for the lesser standard of a truck once painted to match the interior trim.
My truck's dash plate was nickel, but I have seen some both on small trucks and AA, that were fully painted black.
Neil Wilson has addressed the ammeter somewhere - but I'm not seeing it in his AA pages.
My original ammeter was probably silvered - but corroded to a dull grey in time.
I replaced it with a (1990s) "high quality" ammeter reproduction = which indeed was high quality construction. Not the lesser quality "aluminum" case more commonly bought.
However, the diameter of the meter was "small." Bending the ears to hold it in the dash plate there was not enough "ear" to hold the case in place.
My solution was to stretch a rubber O-ring around the case and then bend the ears. It looks correct even though a little small.
Joe K
