The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1954 speedometer repair

I pulled the speedometer in my truck today because the needle was missing and I wanted to see if the cable worked. The speedometer was stamped from the factory May 7, 1954 on the back.

I went for a drive without the speedometer and the cable did not move / rotate. I presume it is broken somewhere along the line. Does one purchase a new speedometer cable with the sheathing or can the interior cable simply be replaced?

I did not pull the cable at the transmission yet, frankly because I thought transmission fluid might leak.

Ritchie's 54 speedometer

I need to figure out if I can just add a needle once I fix the cable.

You can just pull out the cable, however if is broke, might be better to pull the entire cable. Plus if is that old, it's possible the inside of the sheathing might be damaged or rusty. Good practice to lubricate the new cable. I don't believe they are that expensive.

So really best to just buy an entire new cable with sheathing? Does the cable end just slide into a similar square receiver in the transmission?

I replaced my vinyl covered cable with the correct metal covered cable when I lubed and refaced the speedo in my '54. I hear mixed reports on lubing a new cable. I didn't lube mine.
> My speedo cable post

By the way. If you also have the oil and temp gauges out, I recently learned that '54 trucks had the speedo cable, oil pressure tube, and temp tube in a 3-hole grommet in the firewall. The choke and throttle were in a two hole grommet. Don't know if anyone has found a source for the two hole grommet. A speedo grommet from most suppliers can probably be drilled to make a 3-hole grommet.
> Grommet thread

- Lonnie

Your cable may have pulled out of the tranny. If so, it may be OK.

Easy test to see if your speedo works. While you have it out, use your fingers to spin the brass bushing on the back of the speedo where the cable enters. You should be able to spin enough to make the needle move a little if the speedo is working. (I forgot which way to spin it. If one way doesn't work, then spin the other way!)
> Spin the brass bushing

Note the little brass cap at the base of the threads. Read about removing it and lubing the speedo in ...
> Jeff Erickson's Tech Tip

- Lonnie

I can spin it but it feels a little tight. Maybe I should apply a drop of oil and let it sit overnight.

Unfortunately the needle is broken and I can't find a similar replacement in any of the sources I have: chevsofthe40s, American Classic Truck Parts, Brothers nor Truck Shop in California. This looks to be a very unique needle and I'm not sure how to remove it. It seems to have snapped off the hub somehow.

I pulled the speedometer from the transmission and found the following, which looks like a stretched pigtail. What am I looking at?

Transmission end of speedometer cable

Does the connection at the transmission look as it should?

Transmission connection

You need a new cable. Looks like the metal sleeve is coming apart at the end. transmission end looks ok. When you replace it, save an end of the cable (about 1 foot) as it makes a good test cable to tell if the speedometer is working. Just push it in an twist it.

New one should look similar to this..

pic

I thought as much - thank you

Before you put the new cable in, use the end you saved to check the speedometer. I twisted off a new cable on a seized-up speedometer on my '46.

I cut off the end and checked the speedometer, which seemed to work fine.

Quiz of the day: How many strands in a 54 speedometer cable? I honestly thought the cable might have been a flexible steel cable all the way from speedo to transmssion so when I saw the wire I peeled mine back layer by layer.

I found 4 layers of copper strands around a single center strand. Each layer had 4 wires spun in the same direction. Each layer spun the opposite direction. I count 17 wires in total. This is probably obvious and known to everyone but me. The more I dig in and learn about these trucks, the more I am amazed at the simple purity of every component's design.

Photos of unraveled speedo cable at the end of this link

that is how they make cable.

I thought they would have braided the strands on each layer, but having the strands on each layer go in the same direction probably gives the cable more flexibility and perhaps less friction between layers. I know this is obvious to everyone else, but the engineering behind the design of components is interesting to me.

Continuing the saga of repairing my speedometer. How does one remove the plastic gear in the speedometer housing behind the magnet? I tried the tech tips and other topics but can't quite determine how to remove that plastic gear. It has a round cap on the outside that might be the answer but there is no obvious way to remove that cap.

Plastic gear in speedometer

Apparent end cap for plastic gear removal?

That gear appears to be stuck and I presume should rotate freely.

I'm paying close attention to this thread...mine broke yesterday !

Well Dogface, I think you are I are up the creek without a paddle. I think they only way we are going to fix these ourselves is to find an original speedometer and try to pull the necessary parts and that is hit and miss. I can't find them on the internet and the speedometer shops want a lot of money to refurbish them to get working again.

I'm starting to be convinced that I need to purchase a re-furbished speedometer. In the listings I have found, the sellers mention a core charge. What is a core charge?

A core charge is money in lieu of turning in your old part. When they get the old part that money will be refunded.

Makes sense - thanks

My needle was missing on my speedo to when I got my truck and I could not find a replacement. I ended up buying a new speedo from Classic Parts, they sell the cable too.
Nice truck by the way. Hoping mine will like as nice one day.
John

Thanks John....it's actually a 20 footer...as the saying goes. Lot of defects in the paint and rear suspension is still old, rusty 49.

I ended up purchasing a complete new speedometer mechanism from American Classic Truck and put it in my existing housing. The replacement looks very true to the original except the color of the needle which is white tipped and mine was more beige. Some new parts are brass and the others were steel or another metal. New screws are Phillips and the original screws were slotted. Overall a very nice replacement.

New and old speedometer

Whew! Your whole new speedo saga began by just trying to remove the needle from your original speedo. Glad everything worked out.

That's a nice looking unit. I'm impressed to see that even the back of the speedo face is painted to match the original.

If the face of the new speedo looks newer or off color to your other gauges, you may need to reface all of them including the speedo with reface decals available from most suppliers. Pretty simple job.

I see that it is a Counterparts brand speedo. Counterparts is owned by The Truck Shop. The Classic Parts price is about the same as the Truck Shop price.

- Lonnie

Worked out great and got it installed today, which requires the flexibility of a contortionist. The needle bumps a bit between 15 - 30 mph but maybe that is normal? Not really a big issue and seems to run smoother at 35+ speeds. I have a feeling that these are made in China (like everything else unfortunately). Overall, I am pleased and would purchase this again if I had to.

Colors seem to match really well.

Ritchie,

Just btw, if you have a significant difference between the speedo reading and the actual (GPS), Jim Carter sells a gear adapter for about $70 that corrects the reading. Takes about 5 min to install. For me, anyhow, well worth the money. With tall tires, I was 9 mph slow on the gauge. Now I am spot on.

Harry

Harry - I can't find that gear adaptor on Carter's site. Can you send me the link or the actual product description?

Many thanks

He lists it as SP249. In my catalog (not current) it is on page 160. You have to give them the exact specs, and they have it custom-made by some local guy who cuts nylon gears in a small metal housing, with the correct in and out threads. I have ordered two over the years. One was wrong, and they took it back no questions asked, and replaced it. Second one was on the mark.

As I tell my wife, "In for a dime, in for a dollar."
She laughs, which actually is a good thing. Good luck!

Harry

I worked for Standard Stations in '57 to '59 and when a customer complained that his needle was jumpy we would pull the cable out of the sheaf and lube it with vaseline. It was also part of what we did for every car that we did a lube job on. Since that was according to the Standard Stations procedure I think it must have been the right thing to do. At least customers appreciated it.

The speedometer on my 54 chevy bel air is making a loud noise when I accelerate, Does anybody know what causes that?

Lube the cable.🛠 Stop by the Welcome Center Forum and introduce yourself. Joined 2 years ago and this is your first post. Where ya been? BTW, you do know this is a Truck site! Don’t believe Chevy made a BelAir Truck.