So - the Bel Air sat for about 3 years and is creeping back to life, but the speedo is now reading high and behaving very erractically, I haven't lubed the cable yet but don't see how that could account for it's behavior. Any ideas?
You'd be surprised. The cable's fighting 46 years of old grease and grime and grit and nastiness, a nice cleanup would do it good. Could be the speedo itself.
You can order a new speedo cable if you have to. Also it's easy to take apart these speedo assemblies and clean them up and lubricate them, etc... also it's a good moment to detail it (like the needle is supposed to be flourescent red-orange)... Travis
I was told to use white lithium grease inside the speedo cable... as for the speedo itself, there are a few gears in there and I just used a drop of 3-in-1 oil on the gears... make sure its clean... but the part that usually gets it stuck is where the shaft goes into the speedo head... put a couple drops there (its usually dirty). basically just make sure it all looks clean and lightly oiled... and be careful with the magnets and the springs and the little pin thingy that you press the speedo needle onto.. fragile stuff there. If you break something let me know... I got tons of this crap and I usually am able to fix these things. I test them with a drill and a cut off speedo cable. I took one that I knew was good, and used the drill in full reverse. I hit 40mph... so now I base it on that... and if its smooth and close to the 40mph then I install them into cars or whatever. Travis
how do i get the needle off? its a 71 chevy truck speedo i am gonna modify/use for my 50 chevy. thanks mike
you think it will look like ass? why do you think that? it seems to almost fit right in, with a slight modification.
Its a cheap looking 70s speedo that should stay in the 70s. It will always look like you got a good deal on a swap meet speedo. Thats why it will look like ass. No mater what color you paint face, needle, or how ever creative you get with the numbers. Its a cheap lookin speedo.
for lubing the cable you're much better off getting speedometer cable lube(available at most auto parts stores) its a graphite based lube and actually with use it polishes the cable and the incide of the cable housing causing far less drag than caked up white lithium grease// just be sure to clean the crap all out of the cable housing and it will last trouble free for longer than you'll own the car// thats what the factories use
There is a very small brass plug in the back of the speedo. It should be just past the threads where the speedo cable screws on. Pop this plug out and put a bit of 3in 1 oil. There should be a wick in there similar to a wick in a generator, or a distributor, just really small. After oiling, just push the plug back in. This plug is very close to the back of the speedo housing and may br hidden by the rubber gasket that is between the speedo and the speedo housing. So, you will probably have to remove the speedo from it's housing, to get to the plug.
i bet i could spin a thin sheet of aluminum and make it look exactly like the original. easily. i bet you wouldnt even know the difference. or am i dreaming? and nobody said it has to look original, i just want the thing to spin the needle to amuse myself, and maybe count the miles till i run out of gas. i really dont want my car to look like ass, so set this newbie straight here before i go do something stupid to my chebby.
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