Restoring Factory Speedometer

Who's done it? Or have resource links? I've got three factory speedo assemblies, including the one in my CJ. I'm looking to restore one, but have no idea how to proceed...

 

PM incoming

 

me too........

 

There are people who provide this service, advertised in Hemmings Motor News. Worked well for me on a 1934 Ford speedo that needed remagnetizing.

Pete

 

Another interested party....

 

And yet, one more interested party... makes you wonder how many people are judging their speed by the seat of their pants!

 

I am amazed!


this has got to be the first topic I have seen on here that doesn't have 25 expert opinions within the first hour or soR)

sorry for the delay but I had to leave town for a bit, the question I PM'd was what condition are they in.
I have gone through a few of them and was offering assist if needed.

 

Yep - me too! The odometer works, but not the speedo.

 

I'll see if I can put my hands on one and a camera and we'll open them up and have a look.

 

well I have three of them all appearing to be in good physical condition. They all seem to do about the same thing. They go up to speed when they are cold. As they get warmer the speed indication starts to drop. Then the speed fluctuates up and down a lot. I don't recall what my odometer does.

I pulled the cable and cleaned and lubed it. I was going to check the speedo gears in the transfer case next?

 

Mmm, no expert, but a careful cleaning and a little oil might help the mechanism. Speedos have needle bearings like watches that the indicator needle spins on. Pretty delicate mechanism - an induction motor that uses eddy currents and permanent magnets. I know how they work but don't know enough to advise how to fix them.

 

:toetap: :toetap:

Still waiting on the info on WHO rebuilds these items.....I have a few also..

 

Ok... no expert here, but if I can fix one of these, so can you

Go get a towel. lay it on the table and lay the victim.. er uh speedometer face down.

pic one: there are 4 bent areas on the back of the bezel which hold the bezel and lenze on the speedometer casing.

pic two: carefully straighten 3 of the 4 bends out. the 4th unbent one will be helpful later.

Now is probably the best time to mention that the paint on the faces of your guages has probably oxidized some and will be a bit delicate. do not touch it with your fingers or get any oil on it, it will have a flat look to the surface and you should be able to see how faded it is by comparing the unexposed areas to the center of the face.

carefully pull the bezel free of the casing and lay it down on the towel. there is an inner rim which holds the glass and seal in place, you should be able to seperate this inner rim and remove the glass and seal.

pic three: this is what that all should look like if you got it appart. all of the seals I have seen are cut like the one in the pic. if yours is unusable, a piece of small surgical tubing will do the job. this, not only keeps dirt out of the guage, but also keeps the glass from rattling around.

pic four: remove the two screws in the middle of the back of the casing and you will be able to remove the speedometer mechanism and face from the casing.

pic five: once you have the mechanism out it will look like this. note the small round dark circles on the outer edge of the face. these are the lenzes which make the oil, temp, and high beam lights show colors. chances are they are melted like the on in the bottom of the pic. small pieces of dark colored plastic can be substituted for them. note also the cardboard tubes in the housing, these seperate the before mentioned light bulbs from the guage light bulbs. if they are beyond use, small pieces of plastic pipe can be substituted.

More later

 

Ok...where were we???

pic 1: this is a top pic of the speedometer clockwork. not much to it from this view. important to note is the small indentation at the bottom of the pic; this is accessable at the back of the speedo when it is assembled. it is a small oil cup. a few drops of oil in this cup will go along way to keeping your speedometer running smooth. should be oiled every 6 months or so of operation. most stuck speedometers I have run across freed up easily with a bit of penatrant in this cup.

the gears visible are for the odometer. all of the speedometer mechanism is inline from the cable inlet to the needle.

pic 2: the bottom of the mechanism. not a real complicated machine. it is easy to see how a little accumulated dirt in here can cause problems. keep your work area clean.


More when I have a chance to take it apart.

 

you have my attention

 

Don't wory folks, I haven't skipped town on this. waitin on the dust to settle and retest a few processes again before I recommend them.

today:

first; Chris, didn't mean to hijack, but the info should be helpfull to all.

second; the disclaimers...

If you are doing a 100 point restoration on your Jeep, ya know the "one of my bolts isn't a true willys bolt " type of restorations, stop here, back up to the post about guage restoration companies and get out your wallet.

If your speedometer has a badly faded face and the numbers crumble into dust at the slightest touch, stop here, post an add for a replacement speedometer and start searching ebay. I can't help you repaint the face.

If you don't care what your speedometer looks like and have better things to do with your time, there are some nice repop ones available : ebay:

If you have dificulty opening a beer can without crushing it, the only tool you use on your jeep is a crowbar and a claw hammer (sorry Jason), you tend to twist off any bolt smaller than 1/2" or the inside of a clock looks like a blur, stop, go back to one of the first three.

If you have gotten through this list and are still interested in going further, stop here, check the shelf, call your buddies, do whatever you have to do to lign up a back up speedometer in case you ruin this one.

If you want to try the things I post here, I assume no responsibility for your lack of the use of proper safety gear, common sence, ability to read or mechanical aptitude.

all that said, barring any objection, I will continue this thread this evening for those who wish to venture deeper into the restoration of their ECJ speedo cluster.

 

FWIW, there's a place here in Denver that rebuilds old speedos for classic cars. Pricey I'm sure, but they do the whole shebang as far as mechanical, refinishing, painting, restoring the numbers, etc. I'm planning on taking mine there to see what they can do and the price, but I'm a long ways from needing that yet. Give 'em a call. I noticed the other day that they've moved, but I don't know the new address.

Deluxe Speedometer & Radio Service, Inc.
1410 N. Speer Blvd.
Denver, CO 80202
303-629-6958

 

Today we will deal with paint on the rim, and housing.

SAFETY: eye goggles and rubber gloves highly recommended when working with brake fluid. Keep out of reach of youngins.

to easily remove the paint from thes surfaces, get a plastic container large enough to submerge the item in dot 3 brake fluid. it works best if you have a covered container to keep the moisture out of the fluid.

DO NOT REMOVE THE PAINT FROM THE FACE OF YOUR SPEEDOMETER UNLESS YOU KNOW A METHOD FOR REPAINTING IT. I DO NOT!
IF YOU HAVE A METHOD, PLEASE JUMP IN AT ANY TIME WITH YOUR RECOMENDATION ON HOW TO REPAINT IT.

submerge the parts in the fluid for about 24 hours. most of the paint will loosen and can be removed with a stiff bristle brush such as an old toothbrush. if some of the paint remains adhered, put it back in the brake fluid for another day.

once again NOTE: if you are after a show quality restoration, seek one of the many restoration companies out there such as the one RONDOG mentions above.

thanks for the info.