Thread: I'm rebuilding highschool hotrod "1959" 28"A"V8

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Been playing with getting my "never worked before' 1928 "A" oval speed-o to actully read. It always just filled the oval hole and I read my speed by looking at my tach in high gear. But seemed to be time to fix that. So We have a 1928 oval "A" speedo that a I make a drive cable for out two cables,one "A" 1/2 an one 1957 Ford 1/2 to go to 57 ford tranny that hooks to { now a 65 Mustang rearend with 28in. tall tire=what could go wrong here?. I check out the speed-o and lub all,make my custom cable an hook it all up,first test is jacked up on stands and front all blocked,an let tires spin slow. Holly molly it reads some speed So get my son to go for a ride with me ,he has GPS ground speed thing on his cell phone so we can check our real speed. We go to our local long block were we can run 40 mph on the dash for about 1/4 mile. Your not going to beleve what it read,as were holding 40 mph on dash,the GPS is reading 42mph WAy closer then I had hoped for really.

Heck I like your dash and your choice of wooden highlights. Heck I like your three pedals across the floor. Okay, heck I do like your car and admire that you build it a couple of years ago or so and you still have it as your pride and joy. I admire to that you have that neat luggage rake so that you can take your lovely wife out to that night spot for a bit od studying the stars. . Marvelious luck on the speedo too...

Wow, Bat, I don't think I've ever seen anybody bother to get the stock speedo in a Model-A working with a late-model transmission. They usually just replace the whole dash with something later or do without. Grafting the two cables together is truly unique and a testament to your mechanical genius. Isn't it interesting how things that were "good enough" when we were young just won't do now?

The old roadster is looking great in its "second incarnation". I'm sure glad you kept the pieces all these years...

Bat, The dash looks really great. I envy you guys with refreshed Model A parts incuding the original style instruments. Since I had a 1931 Fordor in hgh school I am acutely aware that my fiberglass replica does not have an original style dash and I had to mess with the electronic speedometer setup. I finally found a measured mile about 20 miles away and waited until traffic was light to set the speedo and wouldn't you know it just when I got to the end and was messing with the setting a big truck passed me and forced me into the mushy side. Anyway my real trouble with the electronic speedo was clearance in the side of my 700R4 and I had to find/buy a 90 degree gear to make the bend to the pulse generator. I congratulate you on finding the simpler way but wonder how you spliced the cable? Your car looks great and I can appreciate the nostalgia and memories you have while I am wiping off dust from fiberglass! Just complimenting you here but I wonder whether your rear gear just happened to match one of the original Model A ratios like 3.78? I ended up with a 3.55 in a '74 Maverick rear so I had to make the adjustment using the electronics inside the speedo, just sayin'.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Very cool that your "hybrid" cable worked so well! I love old stuff, and making it work!

Great work Bat! That speedo is too cool! Most you see anymore are just for looks.

Thanks,nice ya all liked it.
Dan asked;" I congratulate you on finding the simpler way but wonder how you spliced the cable?" What I did,cut both cables an used the ends that fit,layed the inter cables with cuts facing each other in a agale iron "V" and brazzed them together. The two parts of outer housings were spliced to gether with rubber reinforced gas line and small hose clamps{that let me adjust how long outer housing is to match the inter cable so it fit right into both speed-o head and the tranny drive gear.
The fact it reads so close to right is just big time good luck. The old 1928 A speed-o is built to just read off a drive gear mounded on the front wheel of a Modal A Ford;a lot like a pedal bike speed-0

This is a vid I posted on FB,its a ride along on a test drive of my hotrod,the sound mested up,so have it low or off,ya can see how EZ a hotrod can steer if front end is set up the right way. This was before I finish painting it.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=2&theater

The link doesn't work for me Bat.

Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe

The link doesn't work for me Bat.

Me either!

X2 me neither

x4 for me either

Brazing the cable may be the way to go.

In days past, I tried welding a Speedo cable, it wouldn't hold more than a few days, no matter how I annealed it.

I remember back in the DAY that parts stores had universal cables--they were long and you cut them to length and swedged on the end s that you needed----------

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=2&theater
My link is too my FB page,its the only way I know how to do a vid,so looks like the first time it got shorter an didn't work,it may do same again,but it dose work when i check it?

Jerry,I was not able to find one of those kits now days,I had used those back years ago too,,so had to just brazz it