Technical Mechanical speedometer to electric

I'm replacing the 39 Ford tranny in my roadster with a 91 Camero 5 speed. I have a mechanical speedometer now but the 5 speed is electric speedometer. Is there some kind of adapter for the 5 speed so I can use my existing mechanical speedometer or do I just need to buy a new electric speedometer?
Thanks

 

CableX by Abbott industries will convert the VSS signal to drive your speedometer. Not cheap but works well.

 

Thanks, but I can buy a new SW electric speedo for a fraction of what that Cable X thing costs.
There isn't a gear drive set up that will replace the electric sender in the 5 speed?

 

you have to pull the tailshaft and replace the relunctor and with a gear . and IIRC doesn't the tail shaft cone have to be replaced with a spedometer type also as the sensor is smaller in dia .

 

Since you are going half way modern, why go all the way and get a GPS based speedo?

I have a few Garmin portable GPS units, keep one in each car.....use them all the time when traveling outside of home town........not that I would get lost....though some people have suggested that ....but because the speed function is more accurate than any of the mech or electric units in by DD's.

Plus, if I am going to an unfamiliar address it takes all the guesswork out of it.

Ray

 

^^^^^^ X2
I have a Speedhut GPS speedo in my roadster and like it.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GM-T5-T10-4...als-/111472263630?hash=item19f443c1ce&vxp=mtr

 

They make speed sensors that turn electric into kinetic energy or you can change out the tail shaft for one from an S-10 which has a speedo drive.

 

I believe this part is NOT a conversion item......but a replacement for the stock aluminum mechanical drive unit.

Ray

 

I saw that thing on Ebay for 16 bucks and will check it out. Is the thread on a speedometer cable a one size fits all thread, or is that too much to hope for?

 

This will not convert your trans to mechanical, Nor will it fit where the vss sensor is.

 

Traitor...to the "Traditional" way of things?

 

Just a bit of info for those that are confused: A mechanical speedo transmission has a GEAR on the tail shaft that drives the GEAR in the speedometer cable adapter. For an electric speedometer, there is no GEAR on the tail shaft, instead there is a wheel with several "teeth". An electrical sensor mounted kinda where the speedo cable is usually mounted serves to "count" the teeth on the wheel. This is what generates the pulse that you read about.

 

Take the VSS sensor output and convert it to work with a stepper motor. The stepper motor will then drive the mechanical speedo cable.

 

To obtain a mechanical spedo drive on your camaro trans, you have to replace the tail shaft and tail shaft housing. The tail shaft from a mid 80's S10 trans will do the trick. There is an extensive tech article in the April 2008 Street Rodder magazine. If you cant find a copy, e mail me at springgrange@personainternet.com and I will we mail you a copy of the article.

 

Speedhut has a feature that allows you to online, choose the dial face style and color, etc, the bezel style and profile, the needle shape and color to the point mine is almost exactly like the rest of gauges which are SW, including the tach.
Tradition is great, but damn, you could spend all your time alloted to hot rod work for a week just figgering out what you need, finding it, building and installing it. All for a speedometer? not me!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

LOL most of the time a speedometer is way down my list of important parts for a car. Mechanical speedometers are pretty simple a cable that goes from the transmission to the speedometer, calibration is a bitch sometimes but if you know how much it is off you just compensate.

I have had a few in the last couple of decades that are dead nutz and the rest I just deal with if they even work at all.

 

Beaner, I've had more than one DD over the years with an inop speedo and others I had to compensate for. And since I spent most of my working years commuting 75-80 miles a day, plus all the other driving we all do, I put lots of miles on vehicles in my 61+ years of driving.
But when it's an "in your face" pure hot rod like my roadster, BGII, the boys in blue tend to watch it closely for infractions of the law, and I like to have an accurate speedo.
She was purchased in a mocked up state with a full set of SW gauges in the dash, but no hookups, which I did when I finished her build.
When I started on the speedo, I had no idea what worm gear was on rear mainshaft of the toploader 4 speed, no cable or driven gear and no idea what driven gear to get. Started checking into all the if, ands and buts, and pricing what I needed, and also figgering cable& housing routing.
Then I discovered the Speedhut stuff and the SW is now in a box at the shop, with an expected final destination of a swap meet.

 

I totally understand what you are saying. I was trying to get one calibrated right back in the '90s and even the guys at the transmission shop didn't have a clue. I just prefer a mechanical if I am going to have one. It just works for me. The cops seem to ignore me for the most part. Although I don't get out much so maybe if I were more visible more often that may not be the case.

For the GPS specific crowd
I don't care for GPS because of when I was working civil design and when there was a major solar storm the GPS coordinates would be off sometimes by as much as a mile. If GPS coordinates are off what would that do to a GPS speedometer? Just a question.

 

Benno, I don't go out during solar storms .....I sit at home, and wear my tin foil hat..

Ray

 

I just looked and there are some pretty interesting GPS speedometers. Autometer makes a couple of different ones along with some other folks. I wonder when Moon will start making them?

 

LOL I am wearing my tin foil hat now but that is because of the spy satellites.

 

Dakota Digital sells an adapter, but is not cheep. Same price as a Speed Hut GPS speedo.
BTW, the thingy on the output shaft with the "teeth" on it is a reluctor.

 

Ford uses an adaptor from mecanical to electronic sensor on mustang t5's that will fit in a ford t10 or top loader, it may have to use a mustang speedo though? Lol. I have two removed from t5's that I run with mechanical gear drive they use the same gears just drive a sensor with plug for wires

 

Thanks for all the info guys. We may change the ass end of the tranny and move the shifter forward to avoid a crossmember in the Model a frame. I;ll tell the mechanic guys about the S-10 tailpiece.
The spy satellites have gotten stronger. You have to use double thickness of aluminum foil or they can read your thoughts !

 

Maybe lead foil??

Ben

 

My understanding is that a GPS speedo works on relative positions divided by time so unlike for surveying purposes, absolute position is not an issue. If you are here now and a mile away from here in 60 seconds you're doing 60 mph. Simple. Doesn't matter where on the globe you are.

 

I run a Cable X. I like it.

By the way, what's a Camero?

 

$350! looks like a great solution.

 

When there is a solar wind the satellites are moving around so in theory they may not know how far you moved because they don't know how far they moved. We are currently about half way through a severe 7 year cycle now. We haven't been hit hard enough to knock the grid out (LOL) but we have seen the aurora borealis as far south as Kansas this last June.

Anyway not for me, if you are happy with it I am good with that.

If it were me posting it would be lack of respect for Camaro. Hell even when I was a little kid and they were the neatest thing since sliced bread we called them a Sam A Roo