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I picked up a center gauge cluster and was curious about the clock's operation. As I searched the forum, I came across Jay Ney's online description of clock repair from 2003. I also saw where many other forum members referred to his original work. Online works fine but I like them condensed and hard copy readily available. So for the last few weeks I took Jay's work, did edits and formatting and worked up a PDF document that can be downloaded and printed. I attempted to track down Jay on both the forum and online but with no luck but do want to credit him with the great work on this effort. This should be one of those stickies...maybe the moderators should just create another forum thread called stickies there are so many already.
But here it is. If our more technical oriented members see sections that need correcting, drop me a note and I'll correct and repost.
I was going to fix my 79..works for a while when i pull the set pin and let it snap back ...
but last time center out the damn circuit board was like glued to some of the bulb or parts to remove the gauges.. have new one but installed before i got it...hate ripping that out ..one of these times i will break something.hoping just needs to be blown out..contacts cleaned.
the only thing to add is if you are only going to clean your clock and reassemble, there is no need to take the hands and face off.
you can sneak a pair of pliers under the face and bend the "divots" (figure 6 blue arrows) and remove the clock for cleaning. I just did it to a clock for my 68.
It was an excellent write up, the only thing I remember when he first posted on the forum that he had an issue with the clock speed. I don't think he knew you could speed it up or slow it down by using the movement itself.
Ernie
Edit: I see that was added to the page
Last edited by Willcox Corvette; Dec 17, 2019 at 03:21 PM.
It was an excellent write up, the only thing I remember when he first posted on the forum that he had an issue with the clock speed. I don't think he knew you could speed it up or slow it down by using the movement itself. Edit: I see that was added to the page
Got that from the Pontiac group and vaguely recalled it was also in the shop manual...but did not check it!
I've removed the clock from a 78 and removed the mechanism from the case. Need to get a good safety solvent before proceeding but I'll update the document with the edits above. I like the use of the divots to describe those quasi-tangs. Oh...the clock fails to tick.
Last edited by hunt4cleanair; Dec 18, 2019 at 07:03 AM.
I used this write up to fix the clock in my ‘77. Now it’s merrily chugging along with the NCRS correct “click” every so often as the electric mechanism winds the mechanical spring. It was a fun project and really satisfying!
The adjustment procedure for the Corvette clock was specified in the owners manuals for the specific years. We used the method below for all 104-10S and 104-12S original Borg moments for years once installed in the car, or you can do it on a bench prior to installation. But it always worked for us without any issue.
There is a difference in the two movements used from 1963-1969 and 1970-1979 but it was only slight. The difference was the teeth on the drive gears and the pinion reset gear. The two movements are not interchangeable and this is the reason when you buy a new quartz conversion kit they come two sets of gears. (Black and Red).
Below is a copy of the instructions from the 1969 original 1st edition NOS owner manual I snapped with my phone camera this morning. If you need this in a PDF I can get that done later this week probably.
Ernie
Last edited by Willcox Corvette; Dec 18, 2019 at 12:22 PM.
Holy cow clean and lube every two years!!!
id rather change all the fluids then remove clock/ dash
lol... I'm afraid that the face would not tolerate being pulled from the housing more than two times before the tiny ear that bends over and holds it breaks off and then you get into epoxy...
Either way, I'm with you.... pulling the dash to service the clock wasn't something fun, or cheap so most didn't do it.
I'll type it directly into the main document from the photo...much easier.
Tom,
Since back in the dealership days... I was the nut job that did the repairs on the clocks... in all cases 1963 and newer Corvettes the clocks with a round face and used Borg movements up till 1979. The square faced clocks were Westinghouse movements on passenger cars as I remember it. I'm not familiar with how to re-set adjust the time on the Westinghouse clocks but I'm sure if I dug for six months I probably have the original book on this as well.
I'm also not sure what the face of the Pontiac clocks looked like and I don't remember what the movements were in the old F body cars. I still have a few of those used units here but I've not worried about that in probably 30 years.
I'm also not sure what the face of the Pontiac clocks looked like and I don't remember what the movements were in the old F body cars. I still have a few of those used units here but I've not worried about that in probably 30 years.
I put the references (Pontiac link) at the end of the document. The Pontiac clocks referenced appear much larger than ours.
Mechanical Clock Repair by Jay Ney
