Gauge swap

[Chuffer]

Has anyone swapped out the analog speedometer , tacho and other gauges for to a digital conversion ? My speedo has finally given up the ghost after a period of erratic reading . The cable drive was replaced and everything was fine for a while but then the needle started going burserk again with much jingling and rattling noises coming from the speedo . I suspect the hair spring damper may have failed and then last weekend the needle fell off completely . Being a 1980 model it has the stupid 85 mph speedo so maybe all the times I have had it jammed up to the stop finally got too much for it !!
I would guess that instrument rebuilders are few and far between these days and probably not cheap either . I have researched on line and the Dakota RTX complete install seems the go to kit for the C3 but is very expensive . Any thoughts on the subject ??

 

[Roscobbc]

It was always Speedy Cables who were the 'go to' for instrument rebuilds. Used to be in Angel Islington. Moved away years ago. Do they still exist?

 

[Daniel B]

Nothing in the second hand market on ebay or Claremont Corvette or anything?
Are you anywhere near me (Milton Keynes area), if you can pull it out and bring it over I could take a look at it for you?
I don't claim to be a rebuilder or anything like that but I've managed to fix a couple of speedos and gauges in my time so I might be able to help.

I just took a look on ebay, wooahhh the prices
I notice theres a few websites selling them new for $300 ish.

This one looks potentially interesting, although is it me or is that font not quite right?
Maybe its a later one than mine as it has KPH and mine doesnt.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/366198918132

 

[Roscobbc]

Is it me perhaps?.....or is the C3 speedo/rev counter positioned too far below the driver's line of sight to be of real use? I rely on the GPS speed indication from an old Tom Tom unit mounted just below eye level under the centre dash top.

 

[Chuffer]

Nothing in the second hand market on ebay or Claremont Corvette or anything?
Are you anywhere near me (Milton Keynes area), if you can pull it out and bring it over I could take a look at it for you?
I don't claim to be a rebuilder or anything like that but I've managed to fix a couple of speedos and gauges in my time so I might be able to help.

I just took a look on ebay, wooahhh the prices
I notice theres a few websites selling them new for $300 ish.

This one looks potentially interesting, although is it me or is that font not quite right?
Maybe its a later one than mine as it has KPH and mine doesnt.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/366198918132

I haven`t seen any claiming to be new at anywhere near $300 in the US . The one you identified on ebay.uk is not a 1980 model year speedo so unfortunately no use to me .

 

[Chuffer]

Nothing in the second hand market on ebay or Claremont Corvette or anything?
Are you anywhere near me (Milton Keynes area), if you can pull it out and bring it over I could take a look at it for you?
I don't claim to be a rebuilder or anything like that but I've managed to fix a couple of speedos and gauges in my time so I might be able to help.

I just took a look on ebay, wooahhh the prices
I notice theres a few websites selling them new for $300 ish.

This one looks potentially interesting, although is it me or is that font not quite right?
Maybe its a later one than mine as it has KPH and mine doesnt.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/366198918132

Thanks for the offer , I am just up the road from MK near Towcester . I might take you up on the offer once I have stopped using the Vette regularly with the onset of winter and I can remove the gauge . I am currently using a dash top mounted GPS speedo .

 

[Daniel B]

Yeah like I say I can't promise anything but if you are looking to replace it anyway its worth a try.

 

[Chuffer]

Is it me perhaps?.....or is the C3 speedo/rev counter positioned too far below the driver's line of sight to be of real use? I rely on the GPS speed indication from an old Tom Tom unit mounted just below eye level under the centre dash top.

No its not you Ross , I also find the locations a real PITA ! Clearly ergonomics was a complete anathema to GM in those days . I also use a dash top mounted GPS in line of sight and have toyed with the idea of just sticking with that . Problem is I have no working odometer to record mileage and my GPS does not record cumulative miles , only single journey miles until switch off .

 

[CaptainK]

I'm interested to see what you do here. Ages back I thought about going for a digital conversion on the tachometer, mainly to eliminate the tacho cable requirement from the distributor - which meant I could pick any number of SBC suitable distributors , instead of having to go for the much more limited options of distributors for SBCs that have a tacho drive on them. Also, non-tacho drive distributors cost much less.

I did find a digital conversion kit that took a feed from somewhere (can't remember now), and then converted it into a mechanical/rotary motion so you could attach it to the back of the Corvette's original tachometer, so it looks original. I don't remember why I didn't buy it now, except that it seemed quite costly for just a simple electrics board, some wires and a rotary motion.

 

[Chuffer]

I'm interested to see what you do here. Ages back I thought about going for a digital conversion on the tachometer, mainly to eliminate the tacho cable requirement from the distributor - which meant I could pick any number of SBC suitable distributors , instead of having to go for the much more limited options of distributors for SBCs that have a tacho drive on them. Also, non-tacho drive distributors cost much less.

I did find a digital conversion kit that took a feed from somewhere (can't remember now), and then converted it into a mechanical/rotary motion so you could attach it to the back of the Corvette's original tachometer, so it looks original. I don't remember why I didn't buy it now, except that it seemed quite costly for just a simple electrics board, some wires and a rotary motion.

Be a 1980 model C3 mine is not a cable driven tacho . It came fitted with a Hyper Tech street / strip distributor so has a simple electrical connection through the bulkhead to the tacho and works perfectly . The fuel , temperature , oil pressure , volt meter and clock work fine too so I am really having an argument with myself as ditching the lot for a complete and expensive digital upgrade .

 

[Roscobbc]

No its not you Ross , I also find the locations a real PITA ! Clearly ergonomics was a complete anathema to GM in those days . I also use a dash top mounted GPS in line of sight and have toyed with the idea of just sticking with that . Problem is I have no working odometer to record mileage and my GPS does not record cumulative miles , only single journey miles until switch off .

The speedo on mine has always read 30 mph slow. As noted before I use a Tom Tom for accurate speed info and know what rpm's relate to speeds like 30 and 70 mph. TBH if driving hard there really isn't time to glance at speedo - even the GPS speedo read-out can't keep-up and is only really useable for constant speed......and, then obviously very accurate (unless in a tunnel)