Changing out or dialing back an odometer

Charlesm3 · Post by **Charlesm3** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 4:41 pm

I posted this below by accident in the "general conversation" section. Moving it to here:

Next query: I've got a 140mph cluster that I plan on putting in my '81 and the odometer shows about 150k miles. The original 80 mph cluster is still in the car. The car has a documented 67k miles. Is it possible to alter the odometer on the 140 mph cluster (or switch it out) so the car continues to count the correct chassis miles moving forward?
-CC

Mike W. · Post by **Mike W.** » Mon Aug 01, 2016 3:17 pm

Easily. Well, fairly easily. You have to slide the shaft out and reposition the gears. Slightly tedious, but not really difficult. It's easy to get them half way and not exactly where they should be though.

RonDwyer · Post by **RonDwyer** » Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:49 pm

Maybe you can take the odometer assembly from your other one and swap it in? Dunno, but either one is frowned upon by the authorities.

Mike W. · Post by **Mike W.** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 11:58 am

RonDwyer wrote:Maybe you can take the odometer assembly from your other one and swap it in? Dunno, but either one is frowned upon by the authorities.

No, I don't think replacing an odometer and calibrating it to the documented number of miles on the car is prohibited. Altering it to show less than are on the car is, but a replacement showing the same number I don't think so.

Charlesm3 · Post by **Charlesm3** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 6:14 pm

Thanks for this info all. Im a little nervous about opening up the back of the speedo to fiddle with it...Is it a relatively easy thing to swap out or should I pull the shaft and roll the numbers as Mike suggests...

Lenny D. · Post by **Lenny D.** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 11:54 pm

I did exactly what you want to do with a 140 mph speedo replacing the American 80 mph. It's been a looong time ago so I don't remember exactly how, but what Mike states sounds right.

I seem to feebly remember only having to pull something slightly out (the shaft?, as Mike says) to allow rotation of the gears. It was at 000000 and I set it to match the mileage of the speedo that was original. Wasn't difficult, just a little tedious and didn't take long once you see what has to move to allow the rotation of the plastic gears.

( I was also hesitant to reply to your post initially until I read Mike's post about it not being illegal - hell, they're our cars anyway, right

)

Mike W. · Post by **Mike W.** » Thu Aug 04, 2016 10:55 am

Tedious is a good word for it, but it's not really all that bad. It's easy to get a number or two halfway off and sitting at the midpoint instead of in a line with the rest and have to redo it. I'm obviously not a lawyer, but I'm still pretty sure on the legal aspect of maintaining the correct mileage.

If the OP had just said he wanted to lower the mileage I wouldn't have responded.

RonDwyer · Post by **RonDwyer** » Thu Aug 11, 2016 11:27 am

California DMV regulations do not require certifying the actual mileage on title transfers. When I sold classic cars we would put the letters EXEMPT in the boxes for the odometer reading. Over 10 years old this is not mandatory to state what the car reads. The new electronic dashboards are a different story. Not sure where the ROM chip lies where this is tabulated and displayed. In other words, don't worry about it. A good condition car with high mileage is a badge of honor.