Setting Odometer

Jim Parker Toronto

Jim Parker Toronto

Well-known member
If, by chance, you came across a really nice 30 Roadster with only 18,000 miles showing on the odometer, and you did a frame off complete restoration on said car, when it came time to set the odometer, would you start at zero, or set it to the actual milage the car had when you bought it? I say 18,000, my friend says zero. What are your thoughts and why?
 
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Jim Parker Toronto said:
If, by chance, you came across a really nice 30 Roadster with only 18,000 miles showing on the odometer, and you did a frame off complete restoration on said car, when it came time to set the odometer, would you start at zero, or set it to the actual milage the car had when you bought it? I say 18,000, my friend says zero. What are your thoughts and why?
Click to expand...

There really is no right answer for this one. I'd personally leave it to what it was when you bought it. Another person might say Zero because they redid the entire car so it's like brand new. Either way is right...

Neal
 
Um, legally, the odometer must reflect the actual mileage of the vehicle, regardless of reconditioning.

18,000 miles is still incredibly low for an eighty year-old car... nothing to be ashamed of.

Even if the car gets a complete "frame-off" restoration, I would bet that any mechanical parts that are within spec and still serviceable, would simply be cleaned-up and put back in the car ( this is reasonable to do ), and therefore have 18,000 miles on them, not "0 miles".

Leave the odometer alone.

( PS: I believe "odomoter tampering" is a Federal offense ? )
 
Actually, unless it is with the intent to defraud it is not illegal...If you reset it and then tried to sell the car as original mileage as shown on the odometer at any time, it would be illegal.

TITLE 49 - TRANSPORTATION SUBTITLE VI - MOTOR VEHICLE AND DRIVER PROGRAMS PART C - INFORMATION, STANDARDS, AND REQUIREMENTS CHAPTER 327 - ODOMETERS
HEAD
Sec. 32703. Preventing tampering

STATUTE
A person may not - (1) advertise for sale, sell, use, install, or have installed, a device that makes an odometer of a motor vehicle register a mileage different from the mileage the vehicle was driven, as registered by the odometer within the designed tolerance of the manufacturer of the odometer; (2) disconnect, reset, alter, or have disconnected, reset, or altered, an odometer of a motor vehicle intending to change the mileage registered by the odometer; (3) with intent to defraud, operate a motor vehicle on a street, road, or highway if the person knows that the odometer of the vehicle is disconnected or not operating; or (4) conspire to violate this section or section 32704 or 32705 of this title.
 
How many 18,000 mile Model A's are there?

If you reset it, nobody will be certain down the road. Future owners will say: "it had 18k, but the guy who restored it reset it to zero, so who knows"

Keep it at 18K and wear it proudly!

Steve
 
I think it's a matter of personal choice. Myself, I'd leave it at 18k, as a record of actual hours/ miles the car has done and as part of the car's history.
 
Does the odo have the original wire and lead seal? If so, I'd leave it. Otherwise, there is no proof the 18K is original to that odo, let alone the vehicle, so I would zero it.

Unless the vehicle was completely un-restored in many verifiable ways I wouldn't believe the odo reading even if the original seal was intact. If I were rebuilding the car, I'd photo document everything, KEEP the original speedometer untouched and replace it with a date-of-manufacture correct rebuild.
 
If the "original" speedometer is working satisfactorily and is mostly readable, then I would leave the mileage as is. In Ohio, the seller of the vehicle must state if the mileage is the actual mileage or not. The issued title will state if the mileage is not actual. Some speedometers that I have seen are not legible, so who knows? It IS illegal to set back a speedometer for the purposes of defrauding the buyer...:mad:
 
stay with the 18 K for certain.

we had a mostly original '31 Tudor we believed to be low mileage.

in 1991 when it was sold to the person I bought it from, a 2nd speedometer was found under the back seat with the spare parts. we suspect that odometer reading, plus the mileage (<10,000) that showed on the installed speedo, might have been an accurate total. unfortunately, he lost track of the loose speedo during his 15 years of ownership, so we couldn't ever be certain.

keep the mileage accurate, the next owner will thank you!
 
Last year when I replaced the engine with a rebuilt, I also replaced the speedometer
with a new rebuilt which was set to zero. So, now when I look at the odometer I know it is the correct mileage for the "new" engine. That's the way I prefer it to be.
As for the actual miles on the body------who knows! Florida exempts the mileage
figure on any car of the model A era. The clerks at the DMV in Florida don't really
care what you put down as the stated mileage. JMHO

Jack
 
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