The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop problem with speedometer

can anyone recommend a speedometer rebuilder they have used in the past? I can find a number of them on the internet, but don't like to send my old unit off to be repaired to someone I don't know anything about. Thanks Allen

The first thing I'd recommend is to try & find a shop fairly close to home. I took the recommendation I got here to use Scott Speedo to rebuild my 38. It's a week turnaround each time and he got to do it twice (still isn't right but usable). After I'd gotten into this deal I discovered a shop 50 miles from here that could have done the job.

You might try just cleaning it yourself if its freed up but not working. They are pretty easy to get apart. Use your choice of cleaner and lite oil when done. Joe

This probably sounds pretty dumb, but I don't know how to oil the unit. I have another old car. The speedometer didn't work on it, so I took it apart and oiled it. Before I did that it hardly registered at all. Since oiling it, it gives an extremely high reading and bounces all over the place. I've been told that you should never put oil on a speedometer. What's the proper procedure? Thanks, Allen

Try Denver Speedometers. You'll have to look them up in Dexonline.com...yeah, in Denver.

$125 is their price to rebuild a speedometer for one of these trucks. Still cheaper than buying a new one. Mine froze up and the needle fell off!

...Well, it has been a half-century.

It depends on where you put the oil. There should be an indention near where the cable connects that has a cotton (?) packing intended for light oil (sewing machine oil weight). Don't put oil anywhere else. If I were you I'd go to the local library & look through the area's phone books to try to locate a speedo shop in your area.

you heard right Allen - don't use oil on a speedo, it just collects dirt

Bill

Albuquerque Speedometer Service, (505) 242-2449, I think they charge $75 to go through your speedo. If you send the decals they'll put them on for you too!

The guy who owns and runs that shop has owned it and run it himself since the 60s and does a great job.

For $15 he'll also replace the cable in your speedo cable.

Thanks. I'll check that out myself. I'd love to get a new speedo and quad gauge, but they're too expensive. Maybe I'll just have the old one rebuilt.

He's down in my neck of the woods too.

Albuquerque speedo can also make boxes to get your speedo to read right if you are using a t-5 or other non-stock mechanincal speedo tranny. I think he said he'd build those for around $35.

More interestingly, Albuquerque Speedo said he will recalibrate my speedo to read a max speed of whatever I want- IE instead of 80 I could make it a 100, which would let me know just how fast I'm going when I think I'm doing 85+! All that I would need is a decal with the new numbers.

I checked with a graphic design print shop that will make me a decal for about $10. It is that cheap these days cause the new color printer technology out there. All he would need is the old speed to scan in for the color and font; and he'd need to know the spacing for the different speeds, which I would get from the speedo guy, and would probably be 8:10 (80 now equals 100).

Anyhow... if you are going to get your speedo redone anywhere I think it can be recalibrated to whatever max speed you want. They guy here said it would cost the same to go through it and set it back to 80 as it would to go through it and set it to 100.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. NM51: I don't think I need worry about going too fast. This is a 53 model 6400 Stock truck. The only way I would ever get to 80 would be to drive off a cliff.

I think Tiny probably has the answer. I may be wrong, and probably am, but it acts like it just need some lubrication. It tries to register, but seems sluggish. The truck is over 50 years, and didn't move for almost 25 years before I got it, so it seems logical that what ever lubrication it ever had is dried up.

It will be a little while before I get to the speedo. I have other more pressing things to work on first, but will let you know how all this comes out.

Thanks again for all the information. Allen

At the bottom of the Links Page
http://www.stovebolt.com/links/services.htm#speedo

you'll find The Speedometer Shop. Mine works great - 32000 miles.