Speedo cable for 54 ford to C4 - are the fittings standard?

So I have my dash dis***embled and prepped for a weekend flake job. I never had a speedo cable and decided this would be a good time to source parts for it. Does the 1954 Ford gauge cluster have a standard fitting for speedometers? Does the C4 require anything to make it work to go from a 54 guage cluster to it?

I saw on Dennis-Carpenter's site that he sells a speedo cable with housing. They do not specify which ****** it goes to so I ***ume it is the same throughout. They also offer three gear types 19 teeth to 21 teeth. What is that about? Has anyone gone through this and if so what was your fix?

 

look at the speedometer, does it have a 5/8" diameter fine thread where the cable attatches? if so then it's a standard speedometer, uses a normal speedo cable at the top end.

C4 trans requires a Ford speedo cable (try one from the 1960s), and the gear fits onto the end of the cable, with a clip to retain it. Which gear you need depends on tire size and rearend gear ratio, and you might need to know the number of teeth on the output shaft to be able to calculate it out.

http://www.tciauto.com/Products/TechInfo/speedo_gears.asp

scroll down to the bottom of the page for Ford info

 

Thanks for the link squirrel. That site is very helpful.

I went to SoCal on my break and they suggested I use the GM with female fittings on both sides then go to ****'s Speed-o-Tach and see if they sell the adapter from the GM speedo to the C4 ******. Now I just have to figure out which gear to get.

 

I can tell you that the cable that came with my C4 almost fit into the speedo on my '51 ford perfectly. The inner square portion of the cable is an exact match. All i had to do was cut the metal shroud at the speedo end a bit to allow it to meet with the ford guage.

 

I used a cable from a late-60's ford truck with a c-4 on my 52 Ford Vicky with a 289/c-4, everything went together fine.

 

I used a late 60's Cougar cable and it worked fine with no cutting or adjusting.

 

The guys at the speedo shop said Ford went to a smaller sized fitting on the back of their speedo after 54. Did I hear him wrong. Also on those Cougar or late 60s truck, did the speedo cable come with that part that clips onto the plastic gear in the ******?

 

Do the C4 and the C6 share the same speedo drive? I need to put one in my 55 Ford Customline with a c6.

 

yeah, C4 and C6 work the same.

I don't know where you get the clips, maybe dealer? junkyard? trans shop? HELP (dorman) section of the chain parts store?

 

I used a speedo cable for a 65 galaxie on my 55 sunliner that has a C-4. Jeff

 

I think I found a place that sells the complete ***embly.



at:

http://www.transmissioncenter.net/speedometer_calibration_______va.htm#Speedometer_Cables

Last question. It seems as though my speedo is siezed. I dis***embled it down to the base with the gl*** and don't see how I can get at the gears to clean or fix it. The local speedo shop said they can fix it in about a week for an unknown amount. Should I just hand it over? From what I can see there are no more screws or bolts to remove and yet the ***emly is still large. I don't see any clips or pressure tabs to push apart.

 

that looks like just the speedo cable, does not have the gear or gear retaining clip on it.

Look at the bezel, is it crimped all the way around? or only in a few places? if it's all the way around, you will have fun getting it apart and back together so it looks right. if it's just a few places, then you should be able to bend the crimps straight, and take it apart.

a picture would be helpful for those of us who don't have 54 ford speedos laying around, but would like to help.

 

Ah, crimped...that makes sense. Well, I think maybe I will just give it to the speedo shop as I don't want to fool with that kind of thing.

I looked at my ******, I have the fork piece holding the ***embly in and a tube coming out of the center of it that looks like where a cable would go. Is it possible I have the bottom half of the speedo cable above (I ***ume a gear is already inside)...as if someone removed the cable and the rubber housing from the unit?

 

could be someone just cut the cable off, or it broke. Odds are reasonably good there's a gear and clip in there, take it out and see. If the tube has 3/4" threads on the end of it, then you already have the neat adapter to attach a GM style threaded type cable to it.

 

No threads, just a metal sleeve that looks like a cable was ripped from it. Thanks for the info thus far.