Speedometer options

[HerrOtto]

I sent my speedometer from my 61 Apache out to get a quote on how much to repair it. The quote was $300.00 , which may be a good price but I am not prepared to pay that much. My truck is not going to be stock or a show truck, more like a rat rod. Does anyone have other options for me that will not cost an arm and a leg and that will give me an accurate reading of my speed?
Thank you

[jtrichard]

if it works at all take some ATF and lube it .....if the odometer is stuck take the shaft out that drives it and you should have a working speedo

[Hugh in NC]

I've got a good '63 if it will fit your '61. Just let me know.

Hugh

[luvbowties]

Originally Posted by HerrOtto

I sent my speedometer from my 61 Apache out to get a quote on how much to repair it. The quote was $300.00 , which may be a good price but I am not prepared to pay that much. My truck is not going to be stock or a show truck, more like a rat rod. Does anyone have other options for me that will not cost an arm and a leg and that will give me an accurate reading of my speed?
Thank you

Search Ebay and Craigslist for one shaped similar to a tach. About all of the cable-driven ones are run by an identical cable. Use a tach-mount to mount it conveniently.
HTH,
sam

[Captainfab]

If your original speedo isn't repairable by yourself using suggestions above, you should be able to find a good '60-'63 speedo here in the '60-'66 classifieds. Have you tried contacting member TBONE1964 here on the forum? He rebuilds gauge clusters, including speedo's.

[Free Candy Inside]

I have an extra one out of a 61 gmc. Thought I could modify it for a different cluster but it's not the right size so I don't need it.

[1963c-10]

Bow tie has them ready to ship for $170

link: http://www.bowtiebits.com/store/stor...Category_ID=74

They also rebuild gauges....

[HerrOtto]

I purchased a used speedometer from Hugh in NC. I am expecting delivery tomorrow. Thank you to Hugh and those who offered suggestions.

[Todd W. White]

Get a quote from Williamson's Instruments in Chester, Arkansas.

[curvedglass]

I just received my worm gear and reassembled my speedo. I lubed it all up real nice too. The odometer now turns as it should and is in sync with my GPS. The speedo now is acting even stranger. Before it would deviated from almost dead on to 100mph and back and the odo did not move at all. Now the speedo won't go above 40mph no matter how fast I drive.

What did I do wrong???

[VonDog]

Originally Posted by curvedglass

I just received my worm gear and reassembled my speedo. I lubed it all up real nice too. The odometer now turns as it should and is in sync with my GPS. The speedo now is acting even stranger. Before it would deviated from almost dead on to 100mph and back and the odo did not move at all. Now the speedo won't go above 40mph no matter how fast I drive.

What did I do wrong???

Are you steeling this thread? Oops, check your cable. You'll more than likely need to clean and lube it. Don't know what year your truck is but I'm guessing the gear is plastic. Too much stress from a dirty cable will fry your plastic gear.

[TBONE1964]

For those interested, I have many 1960-1966 Chevy truck gauge cluster parts in my inventory.

A very nice restored 1960 - 1963 speedometer that is checked for calibration, needle bounce and and noise would run $100.00 shipped. Ready to install in your cluster with a 90 day warranty. I stand behind all of my work.

Take care,
Tom

[curvedglass]

Originally Posted by VonDog

Are you steeling this thread? Oops, check your cable. You'll more than likely need to clean and lube it. Don't know what year your truck is but I'm guessing the gear is plastic. Too much stress from a dirty cable will fry your plastic gear.

I wouldn't say stealing!!! This thread got me the part I needed to put my crap together. I bought a new speedo cable before anything else because the old one was screaming even when disconnected from the speedo.

The metal housing of the speedo I borrowed from a 67 bel air 250 PG. I had it in my parts bin from my first car in 1980. The actual worm gear I bought was the wrong one. I didn't know it when I ordered it. I broke the worm gear that is pressed in and runs off the cable drive gear. The housing from the 67 looked the same. Maybe the drive gear is different ratio?

[curvedglass]

I just installed one of the 63 speedo's that TBONE1964 rebuilt. The thing is cherry. Nice job and attention to detail. Highly recommend his work. Good communication and shipping. Sounds like an ebay feedback :O) - however I believe my issue is in the cable. This new unit is doing the same thing the one I rebuilt did. Won't go over 35-40mph even when my GPS reads over 50mph. Could it be the drive gear at the trans? My truck had 3.73's and were swapped out for 3.08's

[TBONE1964]

Originally Posted by curvedglass

I just installed one of the 63 speedo's that TBONE1964 rebuilt. The thing is cherry. Nice job and attention to detail. Highly recommend his work. Good communication and shipping. Sounds like an ebay feedback :O) - however I believe my issue is in the cable. This new unit is doing the same thing the one I rebuilt did. Won't go over 35-40mph even when my GPS reads over 50mph. Could it be the drive gear at the trans? My truck had 3.73's and were swapped out for 3.08's

I just sent you a PM and explained how you can tell if it is your drive gears.

I will share this with others so everyone understands.

The way to check transmission speedometer drive gears is to drive your vehicle for a measured distance of one mile.

Watch the odometer. The odometer should travel a distance of one mile for one mile traveled. If it does not reach or exceeds one mile, the transmission gears are not correct for your tire/ gear ratio combination.

The odometer inside the speedometer is run off the cable that hooks to the transmission. If it is off, then you need to figure out what combination of trans gears you need. There are formulas for this but I do not have them handy.

With that said,

If the odometer travels a distance of exactly one mile for a distance traveled of exactly one mile, the speedometer head is out of calibration. The speedometer head is calibrated by a combination of a magnetic pull and a hair spring.

By the way, thank you for the kind words on my work

Hope this helps

Take care,
Tom

[curvedglass]

thanks Tom. I got your PM.

This got me thinking about a guy who helped me out with a bad calibration between the trans and speedo on another car. He puts together a small gear drive in it's own case that bolts between trans and the speedo cable. Less than $100 delivered.

http://www.patc.co/

also search 'speedometer world'

[TBONE1964]

Originally Posted by curvedglass

thanks Tom. I got your PM.

This got me thinking about a guy who helped me out with a bad calibration between the trans and speedo on another car. He puts together a small gear drive in it's own case that bolts between trans and the speedo cable. Less than $100 delivered.

http://www.patc.co/

also search 'speedometer world'

That sounds like a good fix, if that is your problem. Let me know how the one mile test goes. Remember you are watching the odometer for this test and not the speedometer.

Knowing the truck is 51 years old and has probably seen every combination of trans/rear end gear/tire size combinations multiple times and you never really know what you have until you do some math

Take care,
Tom

[slepysal]

here is my home made one
using autometer and sunpro gauges

[curvedglass]

i bought the speedo gear drive adapter and now I am within 3% of dead nuts. Turns out to be a 25% slow down based on rear gear ratio change. The closest unit is a 28% increase. The difference isn't noticeable until you go over 50. No longer need to rely on my dumbphone.