Restoring a slat speedo...dial up warning..lots of pics.

1941 - 1945, MB, GPW Technical questions and discussions, regarding anything related to the WWII jeep.
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Sean
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Restoring a slat speedo...dial up warning..lots of pics.

Post by Sean » Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:47 am

I was given this piece of junk and as I had the day off thought I would see what I could do with it.... :lol:
As you can see it appears in a pretty bad way.
Ok, many have wanted to see it so here it is. A step by step process of how I restore a speedo. The speedo repair shop that lets me use their magnetiser and calibrating machine asked me to restore this speedo for one of their customers when I was down there a couple of weeks ago calibrating some speedo's, I give them priority for obvious reasons.
The bezel and backing ring have rust through in places so I will probably replace them.

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Numbers are to remain original if possible and a new face printed as the original is scratched and discoloured. A quick inspection
found it to be in reasonable condition and seized. I like when they I are seized as they tend to be in good condition inside and not worn out.
Very dirty but mostly fine dust. Appears to be wood dust and smell like it.
First up is to remove the bezel and glass and pop the needle off. This is the scary bit as it is easy to snap the needle shaft while trying to remove the needle (pointer).

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Hair spring adjuster is rusty and the jewel is worn so I will replace them with Nos ones and fit a new hair spring.
Look at that... quite clean inside and Motometer on the frame for all to see.
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Looking good so far.
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On removal of the face I found the paint to be flaking off the white trip meter number wheel I have another trip meter with a fairly good white wheel so will swap them over to to keep them all original
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After removing the trip and odometer rolls the speed cup cover has to be pried apart before the top plate can be removed .
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Top plate off and first drive shaft is out. It has dried hard grease on it but is in excellent condition.The next shaft has to be removed and is held in by the brass bush in the middle of the frame. It is staked in and a little tricky to get out.
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Second shaft out and also caked with dried hard grease.

Excellent...the needle shaft bush in the center of the magnet is not flogged out .... this is why I like seized speedo's.

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Speedo parts laid out for inspection. The three silver wheels below the frame are the trip wheels, these come apart and have three small springs in them and a tiny lever. I have left them together for the moment as losing just one spring will stop the trip meter from working.
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Every single part in hand cleaned with a toothbrush and solvent. That dried grease can be very stubborn to get off.

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Nice clean parts ready for greasing and re-assembly. This speedo is in really great condition so no time spent trying to fix or source other parts.
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The number wheels weren't bad except for some weathering where they were exposed. I want to keep this speedo as original as possible so will accept the weathered sections. I clear coated them to stop further deterioration.
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New cork gasket fitted.
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Speed cup assembly set up and installed. New hairspring fitted.
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Odometer, trip meter and reset arm fitted.

Re-printed face and painted needle fitted. Bezel cleaned and painted. The
needle still needs the luminous paint applied, new glass and seals to be fitted
and bezel crimped on after speedo has been re-calibrated.
This speedo was in excellent condition and came up brilliantly. John Bartons
slat speedo is also siezed and appears to be in even better condition
than this one is. I am actually looking forward to doing it.

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The original face is covered in surface rust and I have a couple of patina'd spare originals.
I clear coated the best one to preserve it and will fit it to this speedo to keep it all original.
Last edited by Sean on Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sean Elliott
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Post by Bill Eldred » Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:05 am

Sean you are a master craftsman. That looks absolutely fantastic. I only hope mine looks that nice, even if it is not a true Slat speedo. Nice job.
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Post by Charlie S. » Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:38 am

Sean,
congratulations !! Fantastic job and the best.........thanks for share with us your job.
Sean, you mentioned a new face printed......
If isn't too much ask from my side, could you share with us how is this face printed new ???
Cheers, and many thanks in advance for your reply.
Charlie S.
Slat Grill #124991 - March 1942
CJ-2A #114467 - July 1947
Spen Model S 1948

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Speedo Restoration

Post by Buster » Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:39 am

Thanks for the posting Sean. Always interesting to see "how it's done".
I'm sure all here will appreciate your sharing the info.
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Post by Jeff H » Wed Sep 20, 2006 7:04 am

Nice how-to. Thanks!

Do replacement needle shafts exist or is the only source to take one from a donor speedo?

Jeff H

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Post by Sean » Wed Sep 20, 2006 7:43 am

Bill, yours will look just as good. Motometers are the easiest to do and this one was very easy as the number wheels were in good condition as was the rest of the speedo. It could turn to crap when I take it down for calibrating though, the magnet could be weak and need re-magnetising. This would mean doing all that again as the main shaft must be removed to magnetise it.....I am quietly confident with this one though as the magnet felt strong.


Charlie, The faces are screenprinted. Jon Rogers and I spent months scanning all the faces and re-drawing them to make prints from. Well actually, Jon did all the work. I just looked over his shoulder and nit picked till I was satisfied they were perfect copies... :roll:


Jeff, the needle shaft is cinched into the speed cup so it is easier to replace the cup assembly if you can find one. I get new shafts lathed up and re-cinch them into the cup.....they are the worst thing to do as you have to position it exactly right.

Guys, this may look easy but it's not. To do it correctly you must totally dis-assemble the speedo. Those wheel assemblies are tricky and must be put together correctly, the cogs must be positioned a certain way or the whole assembly will jam up and strip the cog. Believe me, I learn't by trial and error and buggered a few speedo's in the process.
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Post by Chris Warne » Wed Sep 20, 2006 8:28 am

Looking at the complexity of one of those speedos (outstanding work by the way Sean!) I take it you can refurb Rolex watches with ease?! :wink: :D
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Post by Mike Wright » Wed Sep 20, 2006 8:30 am

Refurb :shock: :?
Heck, He can build them from scratch :shock:
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Post by TOPSGT » Wed Sep 20, 2006 8:51 am

Amazing work! Sean, do you re-build fuel gauges as well ???

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Post by Wendy » Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:42 am

Your work is really fantastic Sean! Thank you for sharing this with us!!!!



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Post by Charlie S. » Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:43 am

Sean,
thanks a lot for your answer about printed faces.
Do you know if Jon would sell me a pair of these faces for my slat speedo ?I ask you because I saw that Jeepdraw will not sell more drawings. Is that correct ?
Cheers and tks in advance for your answer/news.
Cheers,
Charlie S.
Slat Grill #124991 - March 1942
CJ-2A #114467 - July 1947
Spen Model S 1948

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Post by Jeff H » Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:52 am

Hi Sean
Oh I realize this is not for the amatuer. I was just curious about the availability of spare parts. I assume that most must come from donors or be machined new as you do with the shafts.
Thanks
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Post by rp256 » Wed Sep 20, 2006 11:06 am

Hello Sean,

Congratulations for this great "How it is done".

However one question : what kind of grease do you use to re-grease internal parts of speedos ?

Many thanks again,

Best regards from France,

Stephane
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Post by Michael J. Boyle » Wed Sep 20, 2006 11:23 am

Beautiful, Beautiful work. After looking at the complexity and what is involved, I know that I will not ever attempt to rebuild one. First I would have to find a slat speedo and even if I could, my eyes would not allow it. There is alot to be said about having an experienced craftsman doing work for you. As Sean said, he has learned the hard way and ruined a few speedos doing this work. If you dont know what you are doing, you could end up having to find another speedo and attempt to rebuild that one. And at what cost?? It would be best to have someone like Sean doing it from the very beginning. Alas, it apppears that option no longer exists. So it seems that I will have to settle for an incorrect repro. Fantastic work Sean!!!! Keep up the excellent work and darn the antagonists.
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Post by Jon » Wed Sep 20, 2006 1:43 pm

Sean wrote:Charlie, The faces are screenprinted. Jon Rogers and I spent months scanning all the faces and re-drawing them to make prints from. Well actually, Jon did all the work. I just looked over his shoulder and nit picked till I was satisfied they were perfect copies... :roll:
Oh yeah....Sean nitpicked...but then, I'm a perfectionist too, so I didn't complain.. well.. not too loudly.....

Sean....I need a favor shortly, but I'll phone you this evening about that mate

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