The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1959 Speedometer noise and misbehavior

Not sure where exactly to post this so I'll do it here. I live in Idaho and most mornings this time of year are in the teens or single digits. I have a 1959 Chevy Fleetside as my daily driver. On these cold mornings my speedometer makes terrible noises and reads up to 50 mph too high (on really cold mornings it pegs out at 100 when I'm only going 10 or 20). Once the heater warms things up int he cab it all returns to normal (no noise and correct reading). I've taken it apart and all is clean and well lubed. On a recent very cold morning it pegged so far that the feel off and got bent. My current theory is that the "cup" that is attached to the needle shrinks enough in the cold to interfere with the magnets that are spun by the speedo cable. This would explain the noise and the high readings. Any thoughts? or anybody experience similar. I don't have a heated garage so the truck sits outside.

more likely a gummy drive cable, pull the inner piece out and clean it

Bill

I have the same problem with my speedo in my 1950 in all conditions. I put a new cable on it during restoration and the speedo screams and flops all over the place, usually pinning at 100 mph before I hit 30. I just unscrewed the cable from the back of the speedo and will deal with it later. Obviously being in the southeast, mine is not cold related.

On my 57, the old cable was broken, When I replaced it, I filled it from the speedo end, with wd40. It has always worked correct and steady. Even when changing the 2-speed rear, it works smooth.