Excellent progress on the speedo and cluster. There used to be, a loooong time ago, cable and sheath pressure-greasing tools. You should either find someone who has one, or see if you can score one from ePay and use that sonofagun to grease that hanging cable.
He could even fabricate one himself, using the old speedo head. It's only to saw the business end off, drill a hole through where the drive entered and then tap it to fit a grease zerk
Thanks guys, but as for lube.... plenty on the cable right now. Sam (Sam's Transmission) who installed the cable told me that the transmission fluid works it's way up the cable naturally. Proof of that is the end is pretty wet with the stuff and hopefully that helps keep the speedometer head lubed. After the new head is installed, I think I'll tackle that clock once and for all. Looking for a good electric quartz replacement movement. I know they are available on-line.
Well, the time finally came. Stars aligned or something... so I pulled the old speedo and replaced it with one I think should work better. Having done this before, things went pretty quick. Removed the instrument cluster in about an hour. Cleaned up some things and button her back up in about two hours. Even replaced a few lightbulbs that looked suspect. Photo proof that I dialed up the same mileage number as the old. Even tho the ODO has not actually worked in 8 years. And she works! Pretty accurate, as I drove past one of those street radar meters and that's sweet. The needle does shake a bit at slow speed so there might be a bend in the cable shield. May smooth out, but probably look for another cable regardless. As for squeezing my 5' 11" frame under that dash with out ending up with hours of back pain... One of those cheap shelves laid down with a sheet of plywood and a moving blanket gave me a just the support I needed to get the job done. So comfortable, that I nearly took a nap under there! Respectfully submitted,
I know you are kidding as those blankets have little padding. But, I am on the lookout for more of the same pattern in order to recover the front seat. Also this summer I would like to turn my attention to replacing the door panels with something a little classier than just the blankets. Maybe something with wood paneling with a strip of the black carpet at the bottom? Run it all the way back to the tailgate and finally get the interior trim painted the correct brown. Whatever I do, it can be done piece by piece leaving the car still drivable.
Pulled the speedo cable yet again last Tuesday. Worked on it from 10am to 12:30pm trying to figure out why there was binding making the needle shake like it did. Even bought a new cable from Dennis Carpenter which did not fit. Turns out the prior cable I had purchased off eBay advertised as "a universal fit" that Sam, who rebuilt my transmission, had to shorten and then crimp a fitting on the cable end. He did and it worked for a time but the needle shook so much and started making noise... blah, blah blah. Anyway, after 2.5 hours in the 90 degree heat of the garage I figured out that the crimped end was slightly off leading to a "Fickle Finger of Fate" swing of the little square fitting that goes into the speedo head. Shortened the square shaft slightly and removed one of the two washers to provide wiggle room. Then, took an electric drill and hooked it up to the input gear on the floor of the garage with a squeeze clamp on the trigger running the drill very slowly. Then, I was able to climb under the dash with free hands and carefully fit the fitting in place testing how much tension needed to achieve smooth operation. Dead calm all the way down to 10mph now! Drove about 15 miles yesterday running errands and it works perfectly! But, doubt it's accurate. Stealing my Dad's GPS thingy and giving it a test on Friday or Saturday to calibrate an idea of how close it actually is. Respectfully submitted,
It's the details, man! You fix those nagging little details, you end up with a huge load of satisfaction!
Small victories like these are what help keep our love for these old cars and the desire to drive them alive.
Not much to report. Speedo works but was way off based on a GPS unit. So, I bought a bag of various speedo drive gears and tried moving down the line till it was spot on. The rest of the gears I gave to Sam (the transmission guy). Since, I have been driving normal and trying to get used watching that needle actually move. Anyway, last Saturday I went to Rust-o-Rama for the 11th year I have attended. Even have the T-shirt to prove it. Took pics of a few wagons, shown below. Fewer wagons than last year. Respectfully submitted, Jairus