speedo turnback?

[69rangerman]

I'm waiting on the rebuild of my 302 and wondered if there were a way to turn back the speedo so as to register actual miles on the new engine?

DMV doesn't care about mileage on these older ones on the title, so hopefully it's not illegal.

Thanks,
Tom

[fordman]

i think it is illegal. and i think you can turn them back. but the easy way to do it is to record it in a ledger and keep it in the glove box write down the current miles you have on the truck now and the date you reinstall the engine as well as keep the reciepts for what you spent. and then everytime you do something keep the reciept and log the date and work performed like change oil 10/04/06 cost 25.00 miles 135000 something like that. it helps keep the value of your truck if you sell it or if it gets totaled in a wreak.

[Jake11]

Technicaly, it's against the law. It used to be done every day though.
If you buy a "replacement" for repair, it can start at 00000. You are
supposed to record and document the actual milage beforehand.
So with older stuff how does that work? Well--- with a 30-40 yr. old
p/u truck, who really knows? You can't run out and just pick up a nice
new speedo now can you? Nope.

The tumblers are under the plastic bezel. Your not supposed to take
it off and turn them. Your not supposed to use a dental pick and reset
them back to 00000. On an older vehical, your supposed to set it the
same as the old odometer. Ck. with your local DMV to be shure about
local codes and laws. Be safe. Wear your seatbelt.

[Dropped 68]

I say the hell with the "legality" of it. Let's face it, many of us don't know the actual miles of our trucks. Mine reads 98674 right now. And I'm pretty sure it's 198674, but it may very well be 298674 ???? At least in Kansas there's a spot on the title that says "mileage exceeds the mechanical limits of the speedometer" Or Something that states that It is no longer required for mileage to be logged. Anyhow, Nice brand new motor, Or after a full restoration I think it would be nice for the odometer to tell the same story Just me, I don't know how it's done but I assume It can't be too difficult.

[Redcap]

I have never given two rat's butts about the legality of it. I always roll the odometer back when I build a new motor. To hell with the "Nanny State".

[AustinTom]

Well If you do roll it back and they give you trouble about it you could allawys tell them that it just rolled over again. They would have no way to tell if it did or not.

[rsjohnsn]

Ok, its illegal to roll it back but nothing was said about rolling it forward. Just make sure when you do it that you go forward only on the tumblers and everything will be fine. What's the mileage now?

Scott

[fordman]

it can be done but it should be documented so if you ever sell it the next owner would know for sure what has happened. he won't feel like he bought a rigged up mess.

[Jake11]

I was just saying, some DMV's keep a record of this, and when the truck
changes title they request the milage. If you just disclose the fact that
you swapped the speedo cause it broke, then you stay out of trouble.
That's all. Just something to keep in mind. With a screwdriver and a dental pick you can set it to whatever you want. Just don't get caught
doing anything that's a no no. Stay safe, and good luck, KeithP

[69rangerman]

Yeah, when I had the title changed from GA to FL (GA doesn't even require a title on a vehicle this old - they can only have a bill of sale), the DMV lady told me that the only box I could check was the beyond mechanical limits one.
I still like the idea of the motor and odo matching but at the least I'll maybe take some pictures and write something up.

Thanks for all the input.

[Big D's 69]

WHo cares it is only a 5 digit odometer. They do it everyday when they rebuild the speedometers for us here at work when we send them out unless the owner specifically states not to zero it out. When I do mine it will be at zero cause I want to know how many I have put on it.

[rjewkes]

Only time i beleive it matters on these old trucks(i may be wrong) Is If you do this and then pass it off as "One owner 67-72 F100-F350 with only xxx Miles on it."

Cuase somewhere they have the old registration info that show them at some point it was sold with 100000+ on the Odpmeter.

[blue68]

IDK if it is illegal or not, but I did it when I rebuilt my 390. it read 000000 when I got done with it. Just take the cluster out, and take it apart. Pop out the little dials and go to work with it. I hooked up a dremel to mine and wound it back to "0......" in like a minute or two. It's not as easy as you think to do it by hand. Here in NC the truck really doesnt have to be inspected anyways.

[fordman]

yes rjewekes is right it in all in wheather or not you disclose what has been done to the speedo that is legal or illegal

[Jake11]

Hey, here in Cali. everything is illegal. If it ain't, well their working
on it. All states differ. I would just zero it out too.