but were afraid to ask: The lens on the speedometer in my '77 MGB is yellowed and stained, and I would like to replace it. Last year I had a short circuit in the wiring which resulted in replacement of most of the wiring in the dash. At that time, the mechanic cleaned or replaced the lenses on the other gauges, but did not touch this one because he said that it was complicated to remove due to the odometer reset pin. Does anyone have experience with replacing this lens? It seems strange that this one is more complicated then the others.
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Acrylic cover for speedometer
- Thread starter RoseRoyce
- Start date
Not sure how the odometer pin removes on the later MG's. It most likely just screws out in the opposite direction that you use to reset the mileage. With the pin out you can turn the basel about 1/4 to 1/2 inch and remove the basel and the plastic cover. Don't bend the tabs on the back of the basel. Don't try to clean the plastic cover. Take the cover to a glass shop and have one made of glass. The plastic cover for the speedo was a dumb idea, always gets cloudy from the UV exposure.
Thank you for the response. The pin pushes in to reset the mileage. I tried turning either direction, turning while the pin is pushed in or pulled out...nothing seems to work...the pin turns easily, but it does not appear to be screwed in.
You are right about the acrylic, even thougfh we have not had a lot of sun in Montreal, the lens is clouded and yellowed. I contacted a local glass shop, and they agreed that glass would be better. They can cut and drill a new lens, but could not offer any advice on getting the old one out.
You are right about the acrylic, even thougfh we have not had a lot of sun in Montreal, the lens is clouded and yellowed. I contacted a local glass shop, and they agreed that glass would be better. They can cut and drill a new lens, but could not offer any advice on getting the old one out.
On a late B, you have to just remove the bezel without moving the plexi. Tricky, but it can be done. When I redid mine, I just went with a modern lexan, which will far outlast the old-style plastic they used. A local shop made a new one for less than $10 (that was about 10 years ago). Glass would be better yet, but it may be overkill since good modern the modern lexans and acrylics have VERY good tolerance for UV . You decide.
You may have to tweak the tabs on the basel to get it to turn with the lens not turning. The knob on the reset pin has to be removed. Needle nose pliers would hold the shaft while you remove the knob. My daughter spent last year in school at McGill. She didn’t see much sun, mostly snow.
I just got one from ebay. It is a guy in Pennsylvannia that must have set them up on his saw. Works fine, BUT now that I have taken the speedo apart (unscrewed the cover) and replaced it, the speedo won't work anymore. I put an allen wrench in the speedo and flicked it and the speedo responds but when I put it back together and drive........nothing. I traced the cable and it seems tight at the gearbox end. I am stuck on what to do next. I think that perhaps I need to drive without the speedo attached and see if the end of the cable rotates. Any ideas? 1977 B.
John S Farrington
Jedi Warrior
Offline
Good idea to isolate the problem. Sometimes the cable does not seat at the speedometer end. This sounds like your problem. I have made the speedometer lens out of glass rather than plastic and the results are great. If you cannot find a local source to accomplish this, I can supply a glass lens with odometer hole. I will have to figure out the cost if you need it.