The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Speedometer - 1954

Hello;
A question: The speedometer on my 1954 half ton quit! The odometer works, so the cable is doing its job. Any advice on trying to fix the thing? Is it something a reasonably capable tinkerer can do? Thanks.
Rich

Please,,,,before you start doing anything under the dash,,disconnect the battery. It only takes a touch of a small wrench across a hotwire to ruin your day,,and make more under dash problems for you.
Being the "reasonably capable tinkerer" that you are,youll hafta pull the speedo and get into it from there. Take it apart and see if it just dont need a small drop of light lubricant........
you can hook it up to a cordless drill to check your progress.Or find a good used one in the "parts wanted" column, or on evil bay.
Good Luck,
Marty

Hi;
Thank you. Good suggestion. Will do. I do know the speedometer will have to come out to investigate the innards. Just never took one apart before.
Rich

Rich54: lots of options depending on what is wrong with it. I know yours is different than my 52 but the same reasoning can be used. I just took my speedometer for my 52 to D&M Restorations in Greenville,S.C. to repairit. It basically is doing the same as yours. Its probably in the "head". Most times its something simple and do you have a spare laying around for parts? On the other hand if "my" speedometer is in pretty bad shape I can buy a complete assembly for $95 plus shipping from a vendor. Most run about 200 but if you don't need all the housing stuff why spend that much!! Let us know how you make out. You also may want to consider ordering you a reface kit to complete the job.

You mentioned that it "quit".....if it was working for you, pulling it out of the gauge housing and giving it a quick inspection couldn't hurt. However, the 54 has a needle that isn't removable like the earlier models so be extremely careful you don't break it off. Do not remove the large front faceplate.

My guess would be that you have some foreign object between the outer housing and the center section which rotates and indicates the actual speed. TURNING (the cable end)IT BY HAND should have the center section free to rotate. There's a tiny spring that requires special care. If you can't see anything visually, it's going to need to go to a speedo shop.

A puff of air might dislodge whatever is keeping the center section from turning. There is no physical connection between the spinning magnets which also drive the odometer and the rotating center section which moves the needle. Removing the 2 straight slot screws at the rear will not let you remove the assembly as there are two smaller screws behind the faceplate. I managed to break off my needle trying to get the faceplate off, so I know about the hidden screws. Luckily found a used working 54 speedo on the swap meet.

As a "reasonably capable tinkerer" you might just be able to free up the center wheel!

Dave

Hi Guys;
Thanks for all of the good advice. I will give it a try. I appreciate the "heads up" on the screws. Worst case, I'll have it fixed while it's out or get a replacement. In any event I will have gained some new knowledge.
Rich