Speedometer fix?

Mlloyd

Mlloyd

Junior Member
The speedometer in my 29 Fordor wasn't working when I bought it. I unscrewed the instrument panel and detached the cable which looks new. Drove a ways and the cable is turning. The speedometer moves freely but the hole for the cable appears to be rounded off. Other than paying $220 for a rebuilt speedometer is there a way to connect the two?
 
I will attest that "papanick" on here who restores speedometers did a wonderful job on mine for less than your $220 number...If you get it restored properly it will last for years and years so id do it right the first time and not a jerry rig fix.

At the very least call/email pics to some of these guys who restore them and may just fix yours or replace your bad part for a fair price VS total restoration.
 
SeaSlugs said:
I will attest that "papanick" on here who restores speedometers did a wonderful job on mine for less than your $220 number...If you get it restored properly it will last for years and years so id do it right the first time and not a jerry rig fix.

At the very least call/email pics to some of these guys who restore them and may just fix yours or replace your bad part for a fair price VS total restoration.
Click to expand...
X2 for Papanick
 
Sometimes its possible to carefully 'stretch' the cable a enough for it to bite enough in the head. It shouldn't take much. I've put the cable in a vise and take a measurement then just carefully stretch it about an 1/8".
Of course That may not be your problem.
 
Ford used 2 different speedo cable ends show us what you are dealing with, you may have the wrong cable for the instrument.
 
Local hardware and hobby stores carry an assortment of square brass tubing. Maybe a short piece of that would work for you.
 
It is possible you may have the wrong speedometer cable end. The proper size for the Oval speedometer is .125" square, the Round Speedometer takes a .100" square.
 
Big Daddy said:
It is possible you may have the wrong speedometer cable end. The proper size for the Oval speedometer is .125" square, the Round Speedometer takes a .100" square.
Click to expand...

That's what I was wondering, and a short piece of the square brass tubing should fix the problem, rather than buy a new cable. A new cable might be the better solution though, as I think the whole cable is larger diameter.
 
"How about shortening the outer cable in order to extend the reach of the inner."

have you ever done this?

Harder to do than one might imagine. Cones and such are crimped on there
 
The input end of the speedometer head is round from the factory, it becomes square down 3/16" or so, this is the way that they are made. Therefore you must make sure that the end of the cable engages the speedometer far enough to get into the hole to drive it, about 7/16". As Big Daddy says, there are 2 sizes of the cable ends and if you use the smaller cable in a oval head, it will work for a while until it rounds the corners off of the drive. Snyders offers a "special" cable that is mismatched, it is a square drive on the bottom and a large square on the top for those that have the wrong drive at the torque tube for the oval speedometer. You may also find that the cable is going too far down into the drive at the torque tube, making the cable short at the top end. I have solved this by inserting a space in the driving shaft to force the cable up where it belongs.
 
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