Spedo face
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 414
Likes: 133
From: uncasville ct
Spedo face
So I'm picking up an 80 4spd car...same owner since 82...the spedo is a 165 mph...i know the spedos were changed to 85 I believe in late 79
Was this a common swith out back in the day
...current owner says he got it that way...
Was this a common swith out back in the day
...current owner says he got it that way...
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 2,228
Likes: 981
From: Wauconda IL
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,225
Likes: 667
From: Northeast
You are right in late 79 they installed the 85mph speedo because they ran out of the 140mph speedos.
People probably started replacing them immediately because it only showed 85mph and onlookers might have thought it could go no faster.
People probably started replacing them immediately because it only showed 85mph and onlookers might have thought it could go no faster.
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 3,926
Likes: 739
From: Youngstown Ohio
85 mph speedos were installed as an effort to slow people down. The national speed limit (U.S.A.) of 55 mph was imposed in 1974 because of the "gas crisis". It was supposed to make you think 55 was fast enough if you saw the needle close to your top limit.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,970
Likes: 45
From: Cameron Park CA
It was Joan Claybrook who headed the National Highway Safety Department when the law was enacted. All us car and motorcycle guys hated her guts. In 1980, I bought a Honda CBX, a 1047cc 6 cylinder motorcycle that would easily go 130 mph in seconds. The damn 85 mph speedo was pegged in no time. It was a stupid law. Fortunately, 1979 speedos were available from Honda; changing the speedo was quick and easy. My 69 Corvette wasn’t impacted by the law.
