What Speedo is this ?

[John Clarke]

Hi all
I have to change out our speedo as the odometer section has failed, the speedo still works. We need this for the limited mileage insurance where the insurer requires an annual mileage declaration. Our car is a R.H.D 1961 T5 B Coupe (115030). The faulty speedo installed has an angled speedo drive cable connection from the wheel and a green section starting at 30 mph and ending at 40mph. From Brett's description in his book, this may be from a T6.The replacement speedo we sourced, has a central straight connection for the speedo drive cable and has a green section starting at 25mph and ending at 40mph. The housing of this unit has a large tapered housing at the rear. I have read Brett Johnsons book reference speedos and I'm still not sure what we have. Both speedos go up to 120 mph. They do look similar from the front apart from the 'green section' described. Any help would be appreciated, I am not a member of the authenticity club, but do like things to be as near correct as possible. Would like to send some pics, but not sure how with this phone I have!
Hoping all of You that side of the pond have a great 356 Christmas.
Cheers Jay

[David Jones]

John,if you cannot find anyone in the UK to repair your speedo then either North Hollywood or Palo Alto speedometer can repair it and send it back with the same mileage reading. I would investigate that option before trying to open it up. By the way one of the reasons the odo fails is when it is reset while you are driving. Apparently this exerts an unnatural force on the plastic gears and prematurely wears them out. Only reset the trip when motionless.
Meanwhile here are 3 pictures to choose from. The blue dash houses a "C" speedo, the black is a T5B and the red is a T2 cabrio.
Merry Xmas and Iechyd da (Yacky da) or good health or cheers if you do not speak Welsh.

[Jan Kolm]

The defective speedometer you removed is definitely from a T6. There should be a manufacture date stamped inside a blue, truncated triangle on the back. T5 cars still had aluminum odometer wheels at the time your '61 was built and they do not fail like the plastic T6 wheels.

[John Clarke]

Many thanks David & Jan for the info. The triangle has 5, 2:62 on the one I removed. I can't read the triangle date on the replacement unit but there is a 3.60 stamped on the rear housing, so I assume 1960. The chrome bezel is a little pitted on the replacement speedo that I don't seem to be able to clean off, are these available separately? Also , should there be a rubber gasket or an 'O' ring where they butt up to the dash? as both are missing! Is there a secret on removing the chrome bezel without damaging?
Best wishes
Jay

[David Jones]

Jay, you can remove and replace the bezel by very carefully going around and around raising the bezel off the case a tiny bit at a time. I used a small screwdriver with the end ground to an oval shape with a rounded edge so as not to scratch or damage the bezel or case. It will take a while but when done you can replace the bezel with any luck with no damage. There is a seal around the glass inside the case and there is also a seal between the case and the glass which you should be able to buy from Stoddard or probably one of the UK vendors. Replacement bezels are available from Stoddard for $30.
http://www.stoddard.com/356741001.html

[Robin Walker]

John, there is a speedo repairer that I used to repair the speedo for my '73 911S, as the odometer had failed for the second time (current reading is 467000Km). They did a good job replacing the plastic gear wheels that had worn out.
Try "Speedy Cables, Abercrave, Swansea, South Wales, SA9 1SQ" their website is www.speedycables.com,
Merry Christmas everyone. Robin.