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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Broken 1936 speedometer

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Broken 1936 speedometer -- page: 1 2 3     Grant 04-29-2011 @ 7:09 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 533 Joined: Oct 2009 Thanks for your comments, Henry. The NOS speedometer which Dale will be installing has four digits in the trip odometer rather than three like yours. And, according to the original box, the NOS speedo is for a 1935 Ford rather than a 1936. Using a magnifying glass on the photo of your speedometer on page 58 of the January/February 2011 V8 Times, it is clear that its colors are definitely the same as that NOS 1935 speedo: two tone brown and yellowy beige background, red tail and pointer on the needle, red tenths digit in the trip odometer, red rectangles for every five miles-per-hour, and a Ford script oval logo at the bottom in the six o'clock position. Perhaps the new speeedometer which we have just purchased is a 1936 model which someone has put into a 1935 Waltham box at some point over the years. Who knows. Searching through my old V8 Times, the only other photograph of a 1936 Ford speedometer which I could find is a black and white shot in the July/August 2010 issue of the one in Doug Downie's '36 pickup. It has a three-digit trip odometer like yours. The background colors are not identifiable. Maybe the authors of the EFV8 club book about 1935 and 1936 Fords could advise what "correct" is as far as speedometers are concerned. Our goal is to get a speedometer that looks right and works properly into the '36 roadster so that it can be driven from Edmonton to Auburn in time for the National Meet in August. Henryat1140 04-28-2011 @ 4:38 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 110 Joined: Nov 2009 Interesting discussion. In re the speedo in my car (36 Phaeton mentioned in above post) I really do not know enough of the history of the car to make a judgement that it is the original speedometer, so would suggest caution in concluding it is actually correct for the car. It has the three digit odometer. OTOH, the mileage reads 62,000 and that squares with the overall condition of the car. There wasn't a whole lot of parts switching in the rest of the restoration so it may be the correct one. Regards Henry Horrocks Grant 04-28-2011 @ 10:22 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 533 Joined: Oct 2009 Thanks again, everybody, for all the assistance which you have provided. We will be very careful during the installation process. And, I'll post an update on Forum when the job is done to let you know how well the NOS speedo works. With respect to color, the gauges in Dale's '36 roadster are the same as the ones in Jeff and Henry Horrocks' '36 phaeton which was featured in the January/February issue of the V8 Times. You can see an excellent photo of that speedometer on page 58. As noted by ford38V8 in this thread on 04-19-2011, there probably will be some fading in the old gauges as compared to the new speedo. If you are interested in seeing a photo of Dale's '36, take a look at the shots of the St. George meet which are posted here on the EFV8 site. One of them is a pretty nice close-up of the car. drkbp 04-27-2011 @ 10:31 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 180 Joined: Aug 2010 Grant, If the glass is absolutely clean inside and it cleans up outside, I would be tempted to put a little 3 in 1 oil in the hole provided at the rear where the cable goes. I think 37ragtop is on the mark. Not very much but just a little. When you turn the drive from the back you will be turning it counter clockwise and the needle will move in the proper direction a little. I'm with 37ragtop, if it turns smoothly I would put it in the car and go. What I would do is this. Put the new cable in and attach to drive gear under the car. Drive the car a mile or two and be sure the cable is turning smoothly. Then attach to the speedometer head and do the same thing. Stop if the needle jumps or if the speedo head makes ANY kind of noise. If it doesn't, mount the lights and put it in the dash. If it works correctly, the needle action is very smooth going up in speed as well as down. When you stop, it almost floats down to zero from 5 mph. I don't think I would go inside unless it's dirty behind the glass or you can see "stuff" laying inside. If you decide to, be very careful. The worm gears have a touch of grease and the shafts have a touch of oil. I put just a touch of oil on the ends of the shafts in the case and the trip reset shaft. It disengages the odometer from the trip meter so you can reset the trip. Clean off the excess oil so it doesn't run. I would not attempt to oil anything else. Do not touch or try to clean the face of the instrument. I found a contact in Ohio that does the speedometers. pm me if you decide to talk to someone that really knows what he is talking about which is not me <grin> I take it that it matches the other gages? Ken in Texas 37RAGTOPMAN 04-27-2011 @ 8:32 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1941 Joined: Oct 2009 GRANT you can also use graphite lock lube, you only need a little, the 3 in 1 oil will work itself it but just a little so it does not run all over, just oil laying down and as soon as you see it enter the back pickup and try moving the square drive on the back, till it is smooth, I think it would take quite a bit of oil to get inside, but just be carefull, hope this helps 37 RAGTOPMAN an KEEP on FORDIN,,!!! Grant 04-27-2011 @ 4:25 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 533 Joined: Oct 2009 A new old stock Waltham speedometer has been located. We are in the process of purchasing it. From the photo,I would describe the colors as follows: In the center circle, around the odometer numbers, golden brown. Around the very outside circular edge of the speedo face, about 1/4 of an inch wide, the same golden brown. The rest of the speedo face, in between the above inner and outer golden brown areas, is a yellowy beige shade which surrounds the markings for miles-per-hour. Red rectangles mark each five miles-per-hour of speed. The tail and pointer of the speedometer needle also appear to be red. The trip odometer has four digits. Its last zero is red. Waltham's number on what appears to be their original box is 5380. Handwritten by someone on the Waltham box label is "DeLuxe", "1000 m. trip" and "1935". Although it appears to be in lovely condition, I suspect that a 75 year old speedometer which has sat in a cardboard box on a shelf all its life is going to be in need of proper lubrication and a good check-over before installation. 37 RAGTOPMAN You have said: "lay the speedo down and use very light oil and lube the drive from the back, make sure this is also lubed and not sticking, 3 in 1 oil should be good". This sounds like an excellent recommendation which makes sense. A sticking problem inside Dale's speedometer itself might definitely have been what happened on the cold October morning. If I remember correctly, the squealing sound seemed to be coming from there rather than from the cable. Would there be a danger that light oil like 3 in 1 could drip down onto the back of the NOS speedometer face and cause damage to the brown colors on the other side ? Am I wrong to be concerned about that possibility ? Ken in Texas Regarding the speedo which you put into your '35 last Saturday, which was "lightly lubed" first and seems to be working very well, could you please advise what lubricant you used ? How much ? Also, did you lubricate the steel gears as well as the drive which 37RAGTOPMAN recommends ? With respect to the new speedometer cable which we are also going to install, I see that a fellow named Drake in Oregon is advertising new reproductions for $20.00. Has anyone used that product ? Is there an alternative supplier of a high-quality cable which would be a better choice ? drkbp 04-25-2011 @ 6:10 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 180 Joined: Aug 2010 I should have said Waltham, not Waltrip in the above post. Sounds like you can use what matches the hydro gas gage for '35 and either the silver or brown for '36. Add 4 digit speedometer for deluxe and 3 digit for standard. If you wish to go into the speedometer: Your original question was can you get to the needle and the answer is yes. However, I would use a cable that is new. The bezel is spot crimped to the case. Loosen the crimps, take the bezel off and the two screws let the case come off. You may have to take the trip meter knob off to get the case off. I cleaned the inside case, glass, light ports, polished the rim and lightly lubed the speedometer before I put it in the car Saturday. As super and others have said, it is a delicate instrument and the post may be broken. I have not put a needle on one so I will stop here. I send my speedometers on my earlier cars to a speedometer man whose specialty is just that. Ken in Texas drkbp 04-24-2011 @ 7:09 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 180 Joined: Aug 2010 Grant, I have a 1935 cabriolet. I cannot say for sure which speedometer was in the car when I got it. It was more than thirty-five years ago. It was always a complete car. I called Ford in about 1974 or so and he had the serial numbers. I gave him only the serial number and he told me what it was. Told me it was built with 17 other 760s and 18 roadsters in a group late in the model year. I don't know if they have someone doing that any more. Fellow asked me about the firewall supports because of an arguement in California. I learned how to tell late '35 open cars by looking under the hood. Now that I am looking at the speedos close, I have several styles. All go to 100 mph. Two have the "red" rectangles you talk about and two seem to be the same color as the numbers and other marks. All seem to be gray/silverish brown. The other gages are the same. One is a Waltrip, which is a reverse out of the screen just under the odometer on the face. It's rectangles seem to be the same color as the other marks. Four digit trip. Another that is unmarked on the face and it has the red rectangles with 4 digit trip. Two others with 3 digit trips. One has red rectangles. The needle on one is red but it has been painted by someone. Doesn't appear to be original unless it was red under it and they painted it again. One looks like it has a pointer that may have had a tint to the tip. I would look at the '36 gas gage. It would not be '35. Also, the marks on my other gages are red but the numbers are darker colors of the gage. Ken in Texas Grant 04-24-2011 @ 12:23 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 533 Joined: Oct 2009 Ken in Texas: There is no radio. I spoke to Dale in Alberta yesterday (I'm in Ontario, about 100 miles east of Detroit). From your description and his, it sounds like the roadster's temperature and amp gauges are the same as in your car. Is yours a '35 ? What color is the background of your speedometer ? Is the tail and the pointer of your speedo needle red ? Are there small red rectangles around the outside edge to indicate each five miles per hour of speed ? (i.e. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and so on). Does your indicated speed end at 100 mph ? Kens 36 Since I don't own a '36 (....yet), I haven't purchased the club's '35/'36 book. Nonetheless that's probably an excellent idea. Your information about the changeover to brown 1936 speedometers is interesting. The November/December 1972 V8 Times contains a very detailed eleven-page article about '36 Ford accessories. On page 35 there is a photograph of Ford Control Replacement Kit Part No. 68-18820 which was "for sales through Service in May 1936 to update earlier style 1936 radio dial faces and control knobs to agree with the new interior finishes (brown)." drkbp 04-23-2011 @ 5:59 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 180 Joined: Aug 2010 Kens 36, You're probably correct. This has been an interesting thread. I guess I call my double gage for fuel "brown" because it seems brown to me but that could be silver to others. Matches my speedo and amp/temp gage. Gas has to be '35 because it's hydrostatic. I have another single hydrostatic gas gage and it is the same color what ever it is. It does seem to make sense that the deluxe trip would be 4-digit. I found I had a beautiful 4-digit trip speedometer hanging in the Ford shop. Cleaned it up, lubed it and put a new bulb on one side and hooked up to the dash switch. I should have put that speedo in back in the seventies! Drove it for about ten miles this afternoon and works like a champ. Didn't zero the miles so I started with 97519 on it. It will zero itself pretty soon. I saw in an old copy I have of "The V8 Affair" that they noted all '35s had silver instruments. Bruce McCalley worked with Ray Miller on that one. If Bruce says they are silver then that's what I have! <grin> While reading the "V8 Affair" they have a good plate on thermostats for the early years. Ray Miller says that Ford added the thermostats to the upper hoses in the 1933s and continued up to and in some '37s. I took quite a bit of heat on the "thermostats question" on an earlier thread. Seems like I find something when I am looking for something else. Part of the joy of getting old. If someone finds the real answer, be sure and post it or the source. I would like to know what is correct even if I don't change the set of instruments I have. It's part of what makes this fun. Ken in Texas with silvers, I guess

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