Hi Clem,
The way I did this was to cut the shaft back where it was larger in diameter (back about 1/4" from where the unit I had was broken). You can see where I did that above. Then I joined the 3/32" OD and 1/16" OD pieces and soldered them carefully together, filing off the end nicely. And then I enlarged the hole in the speedometer bushing from 1mm diameter to 1/16" diameter. Then everything was joined as I showed above using a bit of solder with the 3/32" OD collar I had made. The 3/32" OD brass tubing fits almost perfectly over the shaft piece. I cut this shaft back to give myself room to work with the soldering gun without danger to anything. I used solder and only a small bit since doing it that way I could take it apart. The piece you see below is one I made after I fixed the speedometer here the other day. I didn't know what you might find or what you might do and thought you might need it. If you want it, contact me by email and tell me your postal address.
[email protected]As for the question about the decals (stickers, actually)...we get the same sort of sun you get and those stickers won't last very well at all. Again nothing against the sellers of those. But those were made for trucks that aren't used very often and spend lots of time in a pampered setting. And I hate to be a harbinger of doom, but the stickers you put on your gauge faces and speedometer may not last much better. But then again they might. Some people have said theirs did. I think it may be solely a matter of how the underlying surface was prepared.
I posted another note about the size of the tip of the unit I made. Turns out the hub part of the needle is larger than 3/32 by a hair in both cases, so at the worst you might need to use a dot of Plasti-Dip or glue or silicone...something to help hold it. All the shaft does is to move the speedometer needle around, so it doesn't need to be heavy duty as long as all is relatively secure. It isn't like a ceiling fan where the blades could come off and do some real damage. Good luck and let me know if you want the piece I've made.
