Federal motor vehicle law violation 
rolling back the odometer
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,986
Likes: 21
From: Columbus MN
Corvette odometers have lock tabs between the wheels. The tabs are held straight with a narrow strip of fiber material. These tabs have a slot in the bottom of them that slides over a rail to keep wheels and numbers aligned. Here is the catch, the rail is missing a short section and one of the center tabs does not have a place to lock. This is why they used the fiber to lock that one in place. Why did they design it that way???? Because, if try to reverse the odometer with an electric drill, or drive it forward for that matter, the fiber strip breaks by the tab where the rail is missing and now your odometer wheels no longer line up nor does it work properly, the tab spins with the wheel. This was intentional on GM's part and they used this on several cars during the same era. The only way to change the number sequence is to remove the odometer assembly from the speedo unit. I bought a NOS speedometer for my car three years ago and I had to duplicate the correct mileage on the new one.
If I buy a new 140 mph speedometer, how do I match the mileage on the new speedometer to the mileage on the old?
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,841
Likes: 3
From: Halifax, NS, Canada
This picture is not great but if you look close you will see the white fiber strip and the cutouts on the rail between the digits 3 and 7 and also under the outermost 4. If this fiber strip gets broken then those wheels just spin up and guess where they fetch up :-) right in the speedo display :-)
Last edited by Binnie77; Jan 23, 2008 at 06:55 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 866
Likes: 4
From: Iowa
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 21,427
Likes: 456
From: Massillon,Ohio USA
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Cruise-In VI Veteran
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 14,112
Likes: 28
From: Florida
It's a Federal Law, not a State Law, but they must follow the Federal Law and there is no time limit, although a lot of states stop recording the mileage. But realistically, unless you are trying to fake a high dollar car, don't worry about it, just be honest when you sell.
The Federal Odometer Act
To counteract this temptation and to protect consumers, the federal government passed a law called the Federal Odometer Act. Anyone purchasing a car in the United States is protected by this act.
Under the act, it is unlawful to tamper with an odometer in order to change the mileage registered. Tampering can take a number of different forms, all of them illegal. For example, it is a violation of the act to drive a vehicle with a disconnected odometer (which therefore would not register the miles), or to install or sell a device that makes the odometer record mileage inaccurately. It is also a violation to reduce manually the number of miles on the odometer.
Notice of broken odometer
Sometimes odometers break or malfunction. According to the act, if an odometer is broken, it cannot be altered when it is being repaired. If an odometer cannot be fixed without being altered, it must be reset to zero. A written notice must then be attached to the vehicle's left door frame that states the mileage before the repair and the date of the repair. You can then add the mileage on the door frame notice to the mileage on the odometer to get the total miles.
As a consumer, be aware that the person or company selling the car is responsible for knowing the correct total mileage. The seller must convey that information to you in writing. The act prohibits the transfer of ownership of a car to a seller without full disclosure of the actual total mileage. If a car’s actual mileage is unknowable, or if the seller is unsure of the actual mileage, he or she must tell you in writing that the actual mileage is unknown.
To counteract this temptation and to protect consumers, the federal government passed a law called the Federal Odometer Act. Anyone purchasing a car in the United States is protected by this act.
Under the act, it is unlawful to tamper with an odometer in order to change the mileage registered. Tampering can take a number of different forms, all of them illegal. For example, it is a violation of the act to drive a vehicle with a disconnected odometer (which therefore would not register the miles), or to install or sell a device that makes the odometer record mileage inaccurately. It is also a violation to reduce manually the number of miles on the odometer.
Notice of broken odometer
Sometimes odometers break or malfunction. According to the act, if an odometer is broken, it cannot be altered when it is being repaired. If an odometer cannot be fixed without being altered, it must be reset to zero. A written notice must then be attached to the vehicle's left door frame that states the mileage before the repair and the date of the repair. You can then add the mileage on the door frame notice to the mileage on the odometer to get the total miles.
As a consumer, be aware that the person or company selling the car is responsible for knowing the correct total mileage. The seller must convey that information to you in writing. The act prohibits the transfer of ownership of a car to a seller without full disclosure of the actual total mileage. If a car’s actual mileage is unknowable, or if the seller is unsure of the actual mileage, he or she must tell you in writing that the actual mileage is unknown.
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Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,359
Likes: 57
From: Mundelein Illinois
When iI repainted mine and changed the motor and trans. I put in a 140mph speedo and I reset it to 00000.0 I think it read 2,000 miles. At least now I know how many miles I have put on the car, because at my age I don't remember much. To me it is a new car with everything I've done to this car. I have the original speedo with 31,000 on it. But with everything I've seen out there, I wouldn't beleive and mileage on any C3 unless it was fully documented and I wouldn't let the mileage effect my buying decision either. I am more concerned with the build quality of the car, (Frame, birdcage, TA's etc)
Pro
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 515
Likes: 66
From: Grosse Pte. Mich.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,712
Likes: 0
From: Tampa FL
Definitely right on that one. Unless you're thinking about resale value before you even buy it, it doesn't really matter whether it has 50,000 or 150,000 - what matters is the overall condition. You can rebuild a motor top to bottom for a lot less than you'll spend to buy a lower mileage car, and given the age you're probably going to want to replace seals, gaskets, bushings, etc. anyway. Besides, if you plan on doing any engine mods, a rebuild is a good idea before you start anyway just because of the age of the parts, and if you're going to do it anyway there aren't any real savings in buying a low-mileage vehicle.
For me, I'd buy a vette with 230k miles and a great paint job before I'd buy a vette with 40,000 miles and a crappy paint job. It's a lot cheaper to rebuild a motor than it is to get the paint right.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,135
Likes: 2
From: Dayton Oh
My wife can't understand this behaviour but I'm sure some of you do.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,938
Likes: 2
From: Arkansas
The titles I seen usually say "odometer exempt".....especially on older cars.
I don't look at the mileage on an old car anyways, more at what shape it's in. You can have a C3 with 12k that sat up for 20 years and all the rubber is rotted or a C3 with 89,000 driven (or even 189,000 if maintained) miles that looks factory fresh if kept up.
My car shows 32,000 actual miles.......I guess it's still under warranty
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 6,493
Likes: 6
From: Bloomington MN
Cruise-In II Veteran
I will answer this question with a question. Why would you want to roll back the odometer?
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,802
Likes: 61
From: Wichita KS
You don't have to take each digit apart. You just have to change them in the correct order. You can't change the reading from the low order side, you have to start with the high order and work your way down. As you get them lined up you then have to rotate all of the digits that are lined up until the next one down falls into place.
Takes a while and don't forget to CAREFULLY remove the paper/fiber alignment strip. It is brittle and will tear easily.
Now, I don't recommend this unless you are changing the speedometer out. Any other use is not lawful.
After all, even though you have rebuilt your engine, if you had it bored out, the next owner might assume it hasn't been if the odometer reads really low.
cc
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 4,809
Likes: 236
From: Utah
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,352
Likes: 1
From: Westminster Maryland
If I was looking to but a car and I knew the odo had been tampered with, I would RUN away! 
If an owner is willing to do that, what else would he forge/restamp/lie about to sell the car? Just put a new engine in and BE HONEST- it will never come back to bite you in the tail!
If an owner is willing to do that, what else would he forge/restamp/lie about to sell the car? Just put a new engine in and BE HONEST- it will never come back to bite you in the tail!
Pro
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 573
Likes: 5
From: Georgetown Township MI
ATTENTION ADMINISTRATORS MODERATORS OF THIS FORUM
It would be in the Corvette Forum best interest to remove this thread.
Anyone posting information as a "How To" do something illegal which,
is against the law in most if not all states of this country, is committing
a felony and the forum can be held liable with this thread being posted.
It would be in the Corvette Forum best interest to remove this thread.
Anyone posting information as a "How To" do something illegal which,
is against the law in most if not all states of this country, is committing
a felony and the forum can be held liable with this thread being posted.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 34,034
Likes: 222
From: Land of Thunder
2018 C2 of Year Finalist
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14-'15, '19
ATTENTION ADMINISTRATORS MODERATORS OF THIS FORUM
It would be in the Corvette Forum best interest to remove this thread.
Anyone posting information as a "How To" do something illegal which,
is against the law in most if not all states of this country, is committing
a felony and the forum can be held liable with this thread being posted.
It would be in the Corvette Forum best interest to remove this thread.
Anyone posting information as a "How To" do something illegal which,
is against the law in most if not all states of this country, is committing
a felony and the forum can be held liable with this thread being posted.
My 71 shows 71,000 and change. If I roll it forward to zero, will it show 100K or 200K? The problem is if I represent it to be something it's not, and frankly the odometer reading is the biggest lie ever in our hobby. And its not the only thing that gets fudged. People should not rely on the sellers word for anything.
BTW - I removed a mattress tag the other day!