The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors How to reset an odometer

I bought a used set of gauges. Is there a faster way to reset the odometer to 00000? The drill method is taking a while.

pop it open and do it by hand . but i remeber somepeople saying turning to 000000 will jam it , but have a 1 at the end is fine .

I do not know about earlier gauges, but the tumbler (? mileage wheels) in the 1954/55 gauge comes out easily, can be reset, and can be set to zero, and can be returned to the speedometer assembly, and works fine afterwards (the 47-54 odometer might be a different matter).

I don't remember how long it took but when I worked for the Ford dealer back in the year of dirt, they had me hook up a 1/2 drill and run the mileage forward on a 1963 Cobra they drove from California and expected to sell. I only did the hookup and someone else pulled it off when the mileage got down to under 10 miles.

I redid my odometer a few moons ago and never did it prior. I kept a photo journal here
that may give you some ideas or help in some way. It was quite easy for someone with all thumbs. Have fun and good luck.
Dan

Anyone that has tried the drill method will realize that the drill will wear out before you get any milage off. The speedo cable turns faster than the drill and look how long it took to get those miles on,

It will work but take a few hours (all day). I've seen it done.

I would recommend NOT trying to take the odometer wheel assembly apart and attempting to rotate the individual wheels to get it back to zero. I've seen very few done by a novice, that didn't have a misalignment of the digits, or didn't function at all.

On my 54, I simply used the decal kit from one of the normal vendors....marked a line across the numbers that were in front of the little window...carefully removed the whole little wheel assembly intact (You may have to loosen the speedo face....see caution below) and apply the decals on the mark, wiping down the drum assembly beforehand with some alcohol. It's going on 2 years since I applied the decals....they look as good as the day they were installed.

The kit also includes the gauge face decals which are a snap to apply to refreshen the gauge appearance. The trick is to use a couple drops of water/soap solution on the old gauge face. Just enough to wet it so you can move the decal around to position it correctly under the needles. When you've got it positioned correctly, use a q-tip to squeege out the water and any bubbles of air. NOTE: a couple drops of dish soap in a glass of water is sufficient.

When working with the speedo be very careful with the main needle....it will break off with just a minimum of force.

Dave

Does anyone know where I can send my speedometer out to get rebuilt? I am restoring my fathers 1957 Chevy P/U he bought new. I am trying to use all the orginal parts. Thanks! Jon

BigChevy!
Thanks sooo much! I just talked to Julia and I am sending the unit down to Riverside, Ca. and they are going to repair and replace all the guts! I will let everyone now how it goes!
Jon