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Can fit speedometer cable... Haynes chassi, Pinto engine
Tilo - 26/11/10 at 01:47 AM

Hi,

Did someone managed to fit the speedo cable from the donor car in the haynes chassi?
I dont have enough room between the gearbox and the chassi panel... Is there any adaptors or some sort of easy solution?

snapper - 26/11/10 at 06:16 AM

You need a rather expensive (£100) 90degree adaptor, or you drill a hole in the side panel to route the cable straight out, across the floor then loop up round the scuttle and in to the speedo.
Speedy cables can make up cables for you to particular lengths and ends.
You will need a removeble hatch to access the cable from the side if you need to replace in the future.
You will need the right drive gear in the gearbox to match rear diff ratio and the tyre diameter or have the speedo calibrated.
All this work is why most fit an electronic speedo.

speedyxjs - 26/11/10 at 07:40 AM

Much cheaper option is a bicycle speedo with the magnets glued to the prop. Cost around £20 iirc

RichardK - 26/11/10 at 08:45 AM

I did a little access panel that bowed out a bit, bend was still tight but its been ok for 5k now.



Cheers

Rich

mcerd1 - 26/11/10 at 09:07 AM

quote:
Originally posted by snapper
You need a rather expensive (£100) 90degree adaptor....

https://www.burtonpower.com/dets_product.aspx?PSet=97&sTxt=GBT9560

Tilo - 26/11/10 at 11:23 AM

I imagine that bicycle speedos are not street legal, or are they?

What's the alternatives? Electric? How does it fit? What do I need?

mcerd1 - 26/11/10 at 12:32 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Tilo
What's the alternatives? Electric? How does it fit? What do I need?

an aftermarket stand alone electronic speedo and a suitable sender for it (e.g. a smiths gauge or similar)

alot of people get a 'Digi-Dash', an all in one aftermarket dash that normally includes speedo, rev counter, fuel gauge and warning lights etc... (much cheaper than lots of seperate aftermarket gauges)

the advantage of the aftermarket electronic stuff is its easy to re-calibrate yourself to suit your build - if you wanted to use the donors bits without modification you'd need to keep the combined ratio of the wheel diamiter and axle ratio the same as it was on the donor...

[Edited on 26/11/2010 by mcerd1]

Tilo - 26/11/10 at 06:06 PM

I'm thinking to fit a VW Polo mk5 dash... Don't know if it is mechanical or electric.

mcerd1 - 26/11/10 at 08:08 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Tilo
I'm thinking to fit a VW Polo mk5 dash... Don't know if it is mechanical or electric.


how were you planning to fit that ??

I don't know the polo one, but I'd guess its tha same as most modern cars - which means electronic, but ratehr than getting sinals direct from the engine it'll get them from the the polo's ECU......

Tilo - 26/11/10 at 08:25 PM

Don't really know, but is just getting the connections right...

I've spent full days making switches from modern cars to work in older ones and until now it has been a matter of getting the right connections. It's all about electric signals, right? You don't have different frequencies on the same wire for different functions. It's on or off... Or am I mistaken?

I really like the polo mk5 dash layout, and it has it all (indicators, fuel, temp, revs...)

mcerd1 - 26/11/10 at 08:40 PM

the sensors are mostly analoge for things like temp and pressure (varible resistance I think) but speedo and rev counters work from pulses per rotation

the problem is modern cars use CAN bus systems (not sure about the polo) the sensors are connected to the ECU and that talks to the dash digitaly - think of it like a buch of computer talking to each other through a network


not saying it can't be done, but it seems like alot of work when you can get an aftermarket one that almost plugs strait in (needs some sensors obviously)

have you ever thought about fitting one of these (or something like it)
http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/8-digital-speedos

[Edited on 26/11/2010 by mcerd1]

Tilo - 26/11/10 at 08:52 PM

i'm not into digital speedos... A like the old fashion needle gauges!

The polo dash i'm talking about is like this

http://cgi.ebay.es/VW-POLO-MK5-8V-1-0-MOTOMETER-SPEEDO-UNIT-6N0-920-904-D-/220679324610?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item33618343c2#h t_1536wt_907

I'll try to find some details before buying one... Maybe I'll manage to get speed and revs going by copying the connections of the donor car following the signal with a tester.

mcerd1 - 26/11/10 at 09:04 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Tilo
i'm not into digital speedos... A like the old fashion needle gauges!


in that case:
http://www.etbinstruments.com/

http://www.caigauge.com/index.html

and loads of other makes too....


or your engine donor's gauges:
ebay linky