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I have removed my dash to re-dye the parts and repaint some pieces just to spruce things up a bit. While doing so I am also trying to decide whether I want to install LED strip lights or stick with the incandescent bulbs.
Anyway, I was having issues with my speedometer and odometer (speedometer was bouncing and odometer did not work) , then the speedometer stopped working. So while the dash is out I decided to replace the speedometer cable. I know there may be more to it that this, but this is where I was going to start. The problem is the new cable which appears to match the old cable will not seat all the way down to the retainer clip on the back of the speedometer. It has a good 1/8 to 1/4 inch from clipping under the retainer clip. I found another thread with same issue however it was 2 years old and did not ever have a solution.
Has anyone else had this issue? Any help is greatly appreciated!!
Thank you!....Oh btw....it is a 1970 with 4 speed manual transmission
I purchased a speedometer cable from Topflight about a year ago and it mated up with the gauge just fine. I also bought a new tach cable. That being said, I am old enough and pragmatic enough to use a really good shop rebuild my tach and speedo. The cost was not cheap, but going in, I knew there was no way in Hell that I wanted to install the driver cluster more than one time. Are you certain, that your repair to your speedometer is correct? I replaced all the incandescent bulbs with LEDs, and they work great. One of the top old bulb holders popped out of the back of the tach when I was fighting to get the cluster reinstalled, needless to say, there is no way I am going to remove the cluster. I have seen posts, using LED strips or wiring two plugs for all the bulbs instead of having to try and get everyone of the bulb holders to snap into place. Trying to get my 50 year old wire harness placed on top of both gauges was a nightmare, and by far the worst project I have encountered on my Corvette. Good Luck, you will need it.
I have not done any repairs to the speedometer itself. I was going to use this opportunity with it being out of car to hook it up to new cable and try to spin it from other end to see if either would work. This is when I realized that it would not fit correctly. Also, did not have to disconnect the old cable when pulling the dash. It was not clipped either.
Not sure if both cables are wrong or what. Not sure that cable that is in it is original. Plenty of signs that someone has been in there before especially the epoxy attached retainer clip.
I am going out on a limb, but here goes. I looked up a speedometer replacement on Top Flight, one model fits 72 thru 74, my guess is someone (probably named BUBBA), replaced the 1970 OEM Speedometer with one for ANOTHER model year. Remember this is just a guess and you will have to start searching on the internet to see if my theory is correct. May there are some numbers, I think my 73 had a date stamp? Also, I don’t know if the latter model year speedometers would fit your drivers dash pad. There are obvious differences to the speedometer from year to year, and that mandates vendors having to sell different year speedometers. let us know what you find out. Oh yes, for us Old Guys, Pictures are a really important. Good Luck!
Thank you for that information. I will try to investigate and see if I am lucky enough to have a stamp of some sort. I thought about a picture but it was too late. I had already torn the speedometer down. I should be putting it back together tomorrow after I decide which light arrangement I am going with (whole different story). After I get it back together, I will take pictures and post.
That is what I thought (about the green numbers) but was not sure how accurate that was. Mine has green numbers and the cable was purchased from Corvette Central and states that it fits 1969-1977.
Here are some pictures. The picture of the cable is as far as it will go on the speedometer. The other 2 are the face of the speedo and the date stamp. Not sure if these will help or not. Cable pushed as far as it will go speedo date speedo face
Speedometer cable issue
