Hello from a first time user and first time El Camino owner!

My son and I are putting together a 1970 El Camino for his 1st car...If only my Dad was so cool 8-)

It's a 307 2bbl 3spd auto with factory air, 2nd owner car from California (no rust).

My question is, after replacing the speedometer ( the original didn't work at all) the needle rests well below 0 and seems to be about the same amount off as it is below 0, ie 40mph is reading 20mph. Is there an adjustment for that or is there a different gear for the tranny to make up the difference? I don't know what car the replacement speedo came out of, got it at a swap meet. Oh yea, it's the long speedo from the 'idiot light' style dash.

Thanks, Carl

If you look carefully at the speedo needle, you will probably find that it's bent right down next to the "hub". It's really easy to do when one is out of the car because they are very fragile. On the other hand, it's easy to fix. Just hold the center and very gently bend the needle so it is at "0". You will want to hold the needle as close to the center as you can as you bend it so the needle stays straight. If you grab it in the middle or on the end, you'll just make it worse. Do not use tools on it. Been there, done it.

Its very common for the speedo to be off. The year of Elky your talking about could have gone through several transmissions in its time or had different sized wheels or even the Rear End gears could have been swapped and it could be a combination of all the above.

Bending the needle on the speedo is not the answer to the speedo being off. You'll need to go about re-calibration. Here are some good links for that someone might have better ones.

About Midway down the page.

http://www.elcaminoplace.com/petes_stolen_tech.html

Thanks for the responses guys. I think that all the original equipment is still in the car but at 140k miles, I can't be sure. Now I've got some noise coming from the cable so maybe I need to look a little deeper.

Time to do a little research I guess.
Unfortunately ElkyPete, the calibration links there are bad. I'll keep lookin though...Thanks.

Later, Carl

The first thing I would try is get a new speedo cable. Because on my 68 it sits about 5 mph below zero and it reads just fine. Also try Advance Auto Parts they had a cable for my 68 behind the counter.

Unfortunately ElkyPete, the calibration links there are bad. I'll keep lookin though...Thanks.

Later, Carl

Sorry I guess Ring & Pinion .com's we site is down. Thats alright here this is a good link same thing just a different vendor.

http://www.tciauto.com/tech_info/speedo_gears.htm

If you've ever taken an old speedo apart, you know that the cable has absolutely nothing to do with where the speedo needle is at on the face of the speedometer. The cable spins a magnet inside a cup that the needle is attached to and that is how it raises. As the cable spins the magnet faster, the needle moves. If the cable is bad, it can cause the needle to jump, but that's because it's not spinning the magnet the way it is designed to. There is a stop on the back of the speedo that stops the cup at "0". I suppose its possible that the stop is bent, but it's unlikely. The post says that the needle sets well below "0", meaning toward the bottom of the dash and then works OK. If the speedo is not calibrated correctly, it will get progressively farther off as speed increases. If you think it might be calibration, which I don't, the easiest way to find out is to drive the mileposts on the highway for ten or so miles and compare to the odometer. If the odo says ten miles after you go ten miles, then the calibration is correct regardless of what the needle says about the speed.