Speedometer Hook-up

FIAFRED · #1 (**permalink**) 11-28-2001, 04:45 PM

Hi Gang,

Finally ran down a speedometer cable, drive gear and tranny gear for my 4 speed top loader, with 3:31 rear end, and 351 windor. I'm sure that if you know what you're doing, hooking up the speedo is probably not rocket science. However, I'm neither a scientist nor a mechanic. So would someone please give me an idea of how to do it? Since the tranny gear is obsolete, I had to pay through the nose for a part that lists for $14.38. After going through several locators, and a dozen calls to several states, I wound up finding the tranny gear from a mustang parts collector in Jacksonville, Fl. Did I miss the boat in finding a gear that cost me a $100? Please don't laugh out loud. After all the calls, it seemed like a bird in the hand was worth the price of seed. Knowing that the part was not being made anymore, he went about the task of buying up everything he could find, and charged what he felt was the going rate. Oh well! The cable and speedo gear should arrive tomorrow. The tranny gear is a plastic threaded piece about 2" in diameter. Threaded on the outside, and slotted on the inside. This is the part and number that Unique(my builder) gave me for my application. Hopefully it's correct. HELP!

Fred

Okiesnake · #2 (**permalink**) 11-29-2001, 08:57 AM

I don't know about the part # for the gear. Possibly Maurice and Allen felt sorry for me and let me order a lot of those type of parts directly through them at cost or close to cost. They are always a great resource for answering question.
Check out my post to your question at http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/show...2288#post97716
Good Luck!
Trent (a.k.a. Okiesnake)

renaissance man · #3 (**permalink**) 11-29-2001, 10:00 AM

David Kee of David Kee's Toploaders got me a gear and clip for a lot less than that. $100 is waayyyyy out of line. Mine is a 20 tooth gear. You'll need the retaining clip and an o-ring that fit onto the tranny end. The o-ring cost me a wopping 25 cents from autozone.

I bought the speedo cable from Enzo and Paula.

Bob Putnam · #4 (**permalink**) 11-29-2001, 03:20 PM

I have a driven-gear selection table here.

acaskie · #5 (**permalink**) 11-30-2001, 11:11 AM

Fred, the same Ford gears fit Toploaders and Tremecs. If you know how many teeth you need, you can order them from any dealer. Sorry to say, but you should get a sackful for $100.

renaissance man · #6 (**permalink**) 11-30-2001, 11:31 AM

Mine cost me $16.18

FIAFRED · #7 (**permalink**) 11-30-2001, 12:48 PM

Hey Guys,

What really sucks is that my tranny already had the gear in it, and in ALL the conversation with Unique and Southern Automotive, nobody thought to tell me that I didn't even need one!!

Afterall, Unique is the one that gave me the three part numbers over the phone, so that I could get the parts I needed. The cable and drive gear were regular price. It was just the tranny gear that I had to sell my first-born son to buy. Maybe I'll keep it until it's the last gear on the planet, then auction it!!

Thanks guys, don't need anymore weigh-in's on how little everyone paid'

Fred

Okiesnake · #8 (**permalink**) 12-01-2001, 08:24 AM

Fred, I know and feel your pain brother. However, in defence of Unique; like with most kit manufacturers, their main focus is on everything except the engine and trans. Their kits typically include everything except those two items and the parts directly related to them. Plus, there so many different types of engines and trans combinations out there.
I think for some builders, they have no need for any help in that part of the build. For others, the discovery of how to "engineer" through those challenges is part of the kick.
I agree though that a little more guidence would be helpful for those of us with less experience with such matters.
I was fortunate enough to have a gear head friend help me through some of the more challenging parts and I recieved alot of help and advice here on Club Cobra. I try to return the favor to others when I can here on CC.
Don't forget the rubber "O" ring seal that renaissance man referred to. You might want to take the speedometer assembly down to the local parts store and see if they can find one that will fit. (The O ring goes on the round barrel end of the part that goes into the trans and works as a seal) A lot of the parts stores can't find anything without a make - model - and year.
Good luck and post how everything works out.

FIAFRED · #9 (**permalink**) 12-01-2001, 01:39 PM

Trent,

Sorry it took so long to respond. Go figure, I was out cruisin' in my FIA. Florida winter...70 degrees and clear blue skys. Told my baby I was going up to the gas station 3 blocks away. Got home an hour and a half later. Damn, my 351w from Southern Automotive runs strong. It's hard to pull into the garage and turn it off.

Trent, Alan and Maurice are aces with me. I was just venting a little frustration about not being automotive saavy. Unique has given me an absolutely superb car that I couldn't be happier with. I really could have called them anytime that I didn't have a clue(which means that I would have lived on the phone with them), but everything else went so well, that I tried to do what I didn't know, the hard way. Club Cobra has been great with helping me as well. After the fun I just had with my car, there really isn't a thing I would have done differently. The cable did not arrive yesterday, so I made a follow-up call to the dealer. It went out Thursday, and Monday should be the day. I will keep you posted on my progress. Thanks for checking in.

Fred

mr0077 · #10 (**permalink**) 12-02-2001, 04:24 PM

Fred, I just went through that speedometer gear misery...all of my own making, though.
FWIW, in chasing down why my speedometer was reading too slow, I found out that Mustangs Unlimited (mustangsunlimited.com ?) listed the toploader drive gears in 6 tooth ($14.55), 7 tooth (steel, $42.60) and 8 tooth ($24.65), plus all the driven gears for 7-11 dollars. I got mi driven gears from a local Mustang shop (John's Mustangs) for similar prices.
Bob's table should tell you all you need to know to select the right combo. I got my cable and housing from Oreilly (60", $16)...good luck

Joe Prochazka · #11 (**permalink**) 12-02-2001, 04:54 PM

Hey Ken
I'm going to need a speedo cable/housing soon. Who is Oreilly? Does anyone know what length cable Unique uses?

mr0077 · #12 (**permalink**) 12-02-2001, 05:10 PM

Joe, OReilly is a big auto parts house, like AutoZone and Pepboys...I went to the Mustang place and got an 80" housing ($24), but it was about 15" too long, so I returned it and checked the parts house...asked for a 65" cable/housing for a 68 Mustang 4-speed, they had a 60" in stock, part number PIO CA3015, $16.19, very good fit . Just be sure you get the correct trans end (I think the C-6 uses the same transmission cable end). The parts house should let you try it for fit and exchange it for another if it isn't quite right. LOL

Okiesnake · #13 (**permalink**) 12-03-2001, 07:15 AM

Fred,
You need to hurry up and get that Speedometer hooked up. You'll want to know how fast you were really going before you hit the brakes when you saw the police car!

FIAFRED · #14 (**permalink**) 12-03-2001, 04:10 PM

Okie,

The cable came today, and I'm going to install it tonight after I eat some of my "world famous" (at least to me and my boys). baby back ribs. Will let you know what kind of trouble that I create for myself later. Check my thread on shop talk from yesterday (slave cylinder snapped). Never a dull moment!!

Fred

FIAFRED · #15 (**permalink**) 12-03-2001, 07:31 PM

Trent,

The cable was a ***** to slide into the tranny opening, but I finally got it in. Sure hope that the gears are meshed properly AND that it is the right drive geat for my 3:31 rear. I know Bob Putnam posted the gear drive chart (thanks, Bob!!), but this is supposed to be the right gear for my application...time will tell. Now the probelm I am having is getting the cable on the guage end slide in far enough to allow me to get the collar nut to reach the threaded shaft. I am inserting the cable all the way to the cable stop that's on the cable, but still cannot get the bell fitting to slide up far enough to allow the collar nut to reach thread. Either I do not have the right cable, or perhaps I need the adaptor you spoke of. In any event, I am not going to force it tonight. Will call Unique tomorrow, and let a rested mind give it a fresh look! Any comments?

Fred

Okiesnake · #16 (**permalink**) 12-03-2001, 09:29 PM

Fred,
The end of the Speedo cable that goes into the gauge is squared off. Be carefull and make sure that you are alligning the squared end of the cable with the square hole of the gauge drive. I had to carefully (Read very carefully file a little at a time and recheck several times) square up the end of my speedo cable with a file to get it to fit properly. The cable should fit into the speedo drive regardless of if you require an adapator.
I updated my web page today. http://hometown.aol.com/tdockstett/page8.html
To get an idea of how I routed the speedo cable go to the page on "Cutting holes for harness".
I have more to update on the site.
Okiesnake

FIAFRED · #17 (**permalink**) 12-04-2001, 09:33 AM

Okiesnake,

I finally got my cable installed this morning. I removed it from the tranny side, and hooked it up from the guage side first. Then I reinstalled it on the tranny side. Hey buddy, no adaptor needed. Took it for a short spin, and to my pleasant surprise...it read normally. Have driven it to work today, and I'm not all that sure that the gear is correct, however. It may be just me, but it feels like it might be reading 5-10 miles per hour slow. Just seems suspect to me to be leading the pack on the interstate, and have the readout at 60-65 miles per hour, with the speed limit at 65. I will check it against another vehicle shortly and get a better idea. Not sure that I'm in any rush to change out the gear if it is indeed wrong. Might just make the mental correction and put the change-out on a " to do" list when I feel like it! In the mean time, ignorance is BLISS! Officer, my speedometer said that I was only doing 80 mph, what do you mean the radar gun had me clocked at 130 mph.

Will stay in touch as the adventure continues...

FIAFRED/Fred

EDIT UPDATE:

Ran out and did a vehicle match up drive to check calibration. Appears to be within 3-5 mph, which is probably close enough for me. If that cop really DOES tell me 10 mph faster, then I may revisit the issue. Until then, I'm crusin'!!!

Sonny · #18 (**permalink**) 12-04-2001, 11:23 AM

speedo was close enough all along, you're just gonna have to get use to the "others/traffic" seeming to slow down, THEY ARE!, to get a look at it...heh heh

Okiesnake · #19 (**permalink**) 12-04-2001, 03:39 PM

I'm glad you got it to work and that I was wrong about you needing the adaptor. Thanks for giving me the feedback. Sorry about getting you worried for nothing.
BTW, Sonny is right about the "relative" speed theory!

FIAFRED · #20 (**permalink**) 12-04-2001, 04:57 PM

Sonny and Okiesnake,

You guys are absolutely right!! I just needed to brush up on my higher math. "Relativity speaking", I couldn't be higher, on the way my 351W FIA is running, coupled with the steady stream of 70 degree, blue sky days we are experiencing. If I ever wake up from this dream, I think maybe I'll go back to work...until then, I'll just have to stay in touch with my company by cell, from my mobile office!!

Thanks for the support.

Fred