I want to replace the spedometer in my very low mileage 1969 145 (for appearances sake)Is there anyway I can have a speedometer legitimately rolled back.

Darn... looks like you musta missed this one...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2448171674

-Matt

Damn, you're right and I check Ebay every day.

There is another currently listed with something like 99k miles... Were I you, I'd get about two spares and practice taking them apart and putting them back together.

When you feel you are good at it, just use your old odometer, and stick it in the better looking guage set... Though, I don't know how easy that is with a 140 set... but it ain't too hard in a 122 as I recall...

-Matt

The official word of the CA DMV 'If it is more than 10 years old, we do not track milage nor care what it is'

The reasons I am familiar with for an odometer zero are

1) The car has just been restored to like new condition, and it is desired that odometer should reflect this

2) zero on powertrain replacement

3) When issued a new VIN what the heck, why not.

The odometer doesn't mean as much as a lort of people think...
A tool for resetting digital odometers on E-bay is only $400, and I've seen the F@rd ones run backwards all on their own! If somone ran nonstanderd rearend or tires for 10 years, that could be 20K miles off, and look perfectly legit on Carfax and state records.

If you want to go to all the trouble, and I think there might be merrit with such a low milage car as yours, I would go to the AA (or whatever automobile assosiation in your country) to get the milage with the old odometer verified and a certificate issued, go home and replace the odometer, and go back within a few days and get them to seal the "new" odometer and issue another cirtificate stating what was done. Can't guarentee they will actually do this, but might be worth a try. In South Africa the police will also do it for you, if I remember correctly, but it has been a while since I've been there. Here in New Zealand there is a huge range of vehicle certifiers, due to the relative ease of importing a vehicle yourself, so here it is very easy to get the verification done.

I like the idea of setting the "new" one to zero.

A drill will take a long time to "clock" the odometer. Much easier to break the seal, open it, and lift the springey things that hold the wheels in place. Then just get it sealed again by the AA. This includes sealing the mounting screws between the odometer and the body. But breaking the seal on the odometer might raise the suspicion (later on) that the gear ration was changed. But I would not worry that far into the future about something that might never happen.

Have fun...

'71 144 113 000km
'88 240 94 000 mi

I think most localities would say that if the is NO "intent to defraud", then there is NO problem.

I have changed speedos in the past. The BEST method to cover yourself is to note the change in the owner's guide/service literature and to make sure the "new" speedo indicated the EXACT same mileage at the time of replacement as the old one did, AND keep the old one for record.

A notation like: "Speedo replaced due to (wear, failure, damage, fading) with new speedo set to same mileage on 12/21/2003, at 34,879 miles" with the old one in the glove box should keep you in good graces.
--
JohnG 1989 245 MT @216,500

To the best of my knowledge there are no laws against restoration as long as
there is no intent to defraud. If your intent is to represent the actual
mileage, go for it. The worst that can happen is if some subsequent owner
opens the dash and notices that the sealing paint is broken.

Once you get the odometer out it is easy to set it to any number you like,
and much easier than trying to turn the speedo with a drill. Just be
careful when you take it out that you observe carefully how it was put
together so you get it put back together right.

I've had a couple go-rounds like this. In my 164 I broke a speedo cable
in Panama and it took me 6 months to get the right replacement. I added
an assumed mileage based on historical data to make up for the 6 missing
months. Currently the same car has the wrong speedo gear and is actually
accruing about 20% more miles than the odometer shows, and has been doing
so for the past 50,000 miles. One of these days (when I replace the cracked
dash and seized heater fan motor and get the right gear in the OD) I will
reset the odo to more accurately reflect the actual mileage. Should put it
close to 300K.

Don't sweat the small stuff. We know you are not going to sell this as
an "almost new" car!
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Is it that easy to do yourself? I was wondering if I needed some kind of paper work get a "legitimate" place to do it. Actual mileage is about 78,000. Believeable because it was last registered in 1975. No title because we didn't have them in '69 and I bought it from a relative of the deceased who had no legal authority (we weren't going to re-open the estate for the amount of money changing hands)

What year is it? I have a couple dash panels from early ones and one
from a 76 240 that is probably not much different from the 73-on.
It takes a little mechanical skill but not really that much, you just
have to be careful not to break anything.
Many of them already have given up because of a plastic gear coming loose
on a shaft. On the oldtimers, working odometers are getting fairly rare
for that reason.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

It is a '69. Nothing really wrong with the speedo, just doesn't look as good as the rest of the interior.

Go for it. If you mess it up I can send you another one.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Question:
(1) Do you want to roll-back your own original odometer for some reason to a mileage that's less than the car's actual mileage? Or,...
(2) Are you acquiring a used, replacement odometer (because your original one broke) and you want to roll back the replacement to so that it indicates your car's actual mileage?

If it's the first, you might be liable for misrepresenting the car unless you have stickers that will endure through subsequent owners -- (although it's a remote possibility) let's consider that you sell your car (with the warning stickers) to someone who eventually removes the stickers. Then he sells the car to someone else by misrepresenting the mileage. Then that buyer finds out, and comes back to sue that guy and you, too.
On the other hand, on Titles in my state (not MA), I can fill it out (when I go to sell a car) indicating that the odometer does NOT represent the true mileage. Then, by making and keeping a copy of that Title, I can protect myself from any charge of misrepresenting the mileage (it would be presumed that any subsequent titles issued would bear the warning, "indicated mileage may not reflect true mileage".

On the other hand, if it's the second reason, then you're not misrepresenting anything, and you can go ahead as you please. The law doesn't care about aesthetics, but only odometer fraud, which you wouldn't be doing.

I say, if they don't ask- why tell 'em? "The Authorities", that is. Can't imagine a cop or somebody from the DMV sticking their head up under your dash and noticing a serial # discrepancy, or whatever... if you do sell it, you could inform the buyer of your repair- but you're talking about reseting the "new" odo to match the original one, right? So what's the harm, and who's gonna know?

Yes, but since I don't know your state, it is up to you to discover what is legal. Some states issue a sticker, and others allow you to just mark it on the door post, speedo head, and glove box... I can't know what they do in your state with out knowing what state you are in...

Speedo's quit all the time... Mac

I'm in Massachusetts all I can find is a law saying it can't be done with "intent to defraud". I se the stickers on junkyard SAABs all the time. Unfortunately they just mention that the speedometer has been replaced. They do not verify original mileage.

Ok... I had the problem with a Saab no less.. LOL.. I didn't bother much about it, and the clock said 158,000... I made my own repairs and ended up setting to 0,000,000.... So I added that figure on tape to the owners manuall, and to the speedo head.... clearly stating the part failed.. In my case it is not likely the car will be sold, but if it is I will tell the new owner, and it is there in black and white in 2 places..

The age of the car has something to do with what happens.. it is likely the car is so old not many will care.. probably the readings you have now are in error anyway.... In my case the car was used for over 1 year before I bought it with the speedo broken..

My Volvo was the same broken when I got it, and I have no idea for how long...

Unless you know better and are the 1st owner I would assume the speedo is in error now anyway...

To be safe legally you might want to see if a official sticker usless as that might be is offered in Mass.. Even if it just says the speedo is not correct, you can still record the figures...

If you know some how the figures are correct, you can run the speedo on a drill for a near to correct figure if you wish and save the head aches... Tye drill bit can take a few days if the numbers are up there, so get a fast drill.... Mac

I think we're talking about mostly old, used cars here. Most of which none of us bought new. Question: How do you know your mileage is original in the first place? I bought a car with 25K miles on it only to find out it had at least 150K by the looks inside the motor. Now it's got "0" miles on the rebuilt motor and when I get around to it it'll have 000,000,000 on the odo.
Fair is fair.