Technical Permanent Solution for Speedometer drive and Calibration

For starters before I get roasted for GPS being off topic and not traditional I did run this by Ryan first and received his blessing for this thread.
There are countless questions and threads on the board about speedometer calibration and not being able to hook up the speedometer cable because of frame clearance issues and recently what to do when installing a T5 without a mechanical drive gear to get a speedometer up and running. Well a there is now a solution that lets you solve that problem and keep your original equipment mechanical speedometer and takes care of speedometer calibration in one shot.
Classic Speed is a GPS interface that tracks 22 satellites on 66 channels and signals a motor driven drive unit to run your cable driven speedometer. It was developed by Brian and Pam Induni and has been thoroughly tested. The cost is $275.00 which is less than the CableX and Dakota Digitals electronic units. Lets be honest while the current GPS and electric speedometers look nice they just don't fit in to the traditional build appearance wise. Now you can keep that original stock or traditional looking speedometer you searched the swap meets and internet to find.
My shop Speedometer Service www.speedoservice.com is now a distributer for Classic Automotive Innovations www.classicautoinnovations.com "Classic Speed"
I have a dedicated page on my site or you can drop me an email or PM or call the shop.
Unfortunately due to working on a short margin I can not offer the 10% Alliance discount on this item. If you order direct from their web site please let Pam and Brian know you found it on the HAMB from Rusty at Speedometer Service.
Ok now that the plugs are out of the way this thread covers install on my OT 1956 Corvette.
The unit its self is a compact 6"x3'' and comes with the box, GPS receiver and plenty of cable for the receiver to mount on the dash.
Find a place to mount the drive unit with as straight a shot as possible for the speedometer cable to attach to the drive unit. Your original speedo cable might now be to long, you want the shortest route possible. One of the keys to smooth operation of this unit is a good straight inner speedometer cable with no kinks, if the inner cable is kinked or bent on either end it will cause a whipping action and needle bounce. Think of your days in the pool hall and rolling that stick you took off the rack across the table to see if it was bent because somebody got whacked in the melon with it. If you measure and give me a length I can make a new speedometer cable and housing for you. You must have a properly working, bench calibrated speedometer for this unit to work accurately. It will not compensate for the speedometer being off magnetically and not reading accurate in the first place. The drive unit mounts with two #10 screws or bolts. Once mounted you can hook up the speedo cable and move on to wiring.
Wiring is a breeze, just one fused ignition hot 12v and two grounds (one firewall the other to the block or battery negative). This unit will only work 12v negative ground. I grounded to the generator ground and the factory ground to the valve cover. When wiring is complete turn on the ignition and you will see a green light on the unit to let you know your good to go.
Now its time to calibrate the receiver, it is run through the firewall and is magnetic so it will stick to the dash near the windshield. Start the car so that you have full system voltage during calibration. With the engine running you plug in the calibration dongle in to the Classic speed box and sit in the drivers seat, push the up and down buttons on the remote until the speedometer reads 40 MPH. let the car run for a full minute, hit the up or down buttons to keep the speedometer needle at 40 MPH.
After a full minute with the car still running unplug the dongle.
With the car still running it may take a minute to lock on to the satellite signal, once it does the speedometer needle will drop to zero. Now close the hood and take it for a drive and check it against your cell phone GPS or a measured mile.
The needle might have some lag time and bounce for a second but should settle in to place.
Check the reading on a five to ten minute drive, if you find its off a little just pull over, keep the car running and plug in the dongle and repeat the 40 MPH calibration and drive some more to dial it in.
I have run the unit in the Vette and am happy with the results. There is a little lag time off of zero from a stop but that is true of most GPS units.
Well there it is. I hope this will provide the solution some of you guys are looking for and now no matter what tier size or rear end ratio you change you will always have an accurate speedometer. If satellite triangulation is lost due to a tunnel Classic Speed uses an algorithm that continues to drive the speedometer based on average speed of the last few minutes.
Please forgive me if the composition if this thread is not the best, I'm not really good at this and am surprised I got it posted without loosing the draft all together.

 

Can you program it to be calibrated at different speeds? one thing I've noticed about old speedometers, is that they are usually not linear...for example, it might read ok at low speeds, then start reading fast, and the faster you go, the more the percentage error is. Or it could be ok at 40 mph, and way off at low speeds, and slightly off at high speeds.

If you could set it up so you could calibrate it at several different speeds, it might be more accurate?

(I never really have any problem getting the transmission gear to turn the cable at the right rate, I mostly have problems with the speedo head being crappy because it's 50-60 years old)

 

Jim,
The speedometer has to be in good working order and accurate by its self.
If the speedometer in worn or not properly calibrated (magnetically)on the bench it will not be accurate driven by the this unit and the speedometer cable it drives.
So the answer is no, you have to have a correctly calibrated speedometer for this unit wo work properly.

 

Seems that with some software, you could overcome one of the real problems with old speedometers...oh, well.

 

It is $9.95 cheaper than the Dakota Digital ECD-100, shipped.

Can it be mounted outside the vehicle? What happens when I drive into the numerous tunnels, and two-deck steel bridges common in my area?

 

Thank you Rusty,I know this is going to be a nice addition to the services you already offer. HRP

 

Probably the same thing that happens to your normal GPS,it looses it's bearings for a few seconds. HRP

 

Thanks Danny,
UPDATE
When satellite signal is lost the unit has an algorithm that drives the speedometer based on the average speed of the last few minutes of driving. When signal is regained it picks back up and your good to go.

 

Price does not include shipping.

 

Gonna be off of here for a little bit, its a nice day and I'm gonna see if I can give the dogs a bath before the football game.

 

So, since the price difference between it, and the ECD-100 is $9.95, and the ECD-100 includes shipping, it is not cheaper than the ECD-100, when it arrives at my door.

I am sorry, but I cannot see spending more money for something that loses signal every single time I loose line-of-sight with satellites that are in medium-orbit, at about 12,550 miles above the Earth, has a lag when starting up, and will require an unsightly antenna, that cannot be covered, and that must be installed in a conspicuous place, on my hot rod.

Given how often my other GPS devices say "signal lost" due to deep terrain, tunnels, bridges, skyscrapers, I cannot see how this will work for someone like me. Maybe if you live out on the flats, or in the cuts it will be just fine. I cannot even go downtown to get to the Bay Bridge without losing GPS signal, and that is where all of the cops are.

 

It is not totally weather or water proof so a protected location is best, also away from direct exhaust heat.

 

That's fine it may not be to your liking or fit your build. It gives an additional option for others whos build it might work for. Some guys are using GPS speedometer apps on their phone all ready and may want to get the original speedometer working on there build. Not for everyone but a viable option for some.
Shipping and packaging have been well thought out by the company and is in the $14.00 range USPS priority mail to your door. Lower 48 states of course.

 

Sorry I got the link to the web site wrong in the first post. It is corrected now.
www.classicautoinnovations.com

 

UPDATE
If signal is lost the Classic Speed has an algorithm to continue to drive the speedometer based on an average speed of the last few minutes of driving, when out of the tunnel it reconnects and you are good to go.

 

i would guess this would be a good solution for some guys..........me? i don't care for complicated, wiz bang, fancy electronic gizmos in my hot rod..............and i have been driving modified old cars so long i am not sure i know how to read an accurate speedometer.

 

Now that is good news.

 

Sorry to leave something so important out, I had a brain fart trying to get everything on paper (so to speak)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Now, is it waterproof?

 

Weather proof, not totally water proof. Not in a wheel well or where there is excessive moisture.
Also away from extreme heat, not right next to exhaust manifolds or headers. Reasonably protected.

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Make sure ALL of that goes into the promotional copy when it is up on the website, and you'll be golden.

 

Thanks, now if I can just figure out how to up date the website. My son did the layout and he has since moved away from home gotten married and given me a granddaughter. He's kinda busy so I'm on my own.

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Man this is too funny....... But is it waterproof? What happens again when you lose signal?
I feel like someone should tell him you're messing with him

 

Give us an affordable interface from an Electric tranny to a mechanical speedo and you will have something.

 

What is affordable? CableX , Dakota Digital and Classic Speed are all reasonably priced in my opinion. Could you design prototype and manufacture an equal product to do the job for a lot less than the $300.00 range? If so then have at it and get rich doing it.
What product or parts can you purchase today that are in that price range that will solve a problem for your build. All three are good products suited for different needs as it pertains to the speedometer drive situations of a build. If it's not a good fit for you that's all good.


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