• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Got the speedometer calibrated

Share this page

regularman

regularman

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
It reads something like 7mph when stopped but it is accurate according to the gps now. Went for a nice ride and burned out a half a tank of fuel or so. I wonder if I can check the odometer by the interstate mile markers or something. Here is a pic of me and the Father in law in the midget. I am obscured by the windshield.
midgetoutside.jpg
 
Your GPS should be accurate to 25 ft or so. Make sure you are going in a straight line when you check your odometer against the distance showing up on the GPS. Car looks great!
 
using the mile marker posts on the freeway and a stopwatch IS how i figure out speedometer error....

while each individual post might not be EXACT, they are accurate over longer distances...

it may be useful to print out a spreadsheet showing number of seconds/mph, otherwise you need to divide number of seconds into 3600 in your head as you drive. or have someone with a calculator along with.
 
Boy I can sure see all those paint flaws you were worried about....<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 26pt"> <span style="color: #FF0000"> NOT!!!</span> </span></span> :jester: :thumbsup:
 
A really nice looking ride. You have done really well.
 
Thought you had a trailer lined up?
 
Nice looking car, looks like a tight fit with the roof up. I am only 5-6 I guess I was made for the sprite.
Can hardly wait to paint mine.
Enjoy your toy
Phil
 
jlaird said:
Thought you had a trailer lined up?
Click to expand...
Well, there was some error in communication. He told me it was a small light trailer, but I talked to the guy that sold it to him and it is a large double axle enclosed trailer that is 16 feet long and I don't have anything that could pull that even if I could afford the gas to power it. I have not had anything but 4 cylinder cars and trucks since 1995. My truck pulls the camper but that is the max it can pull and the midget in this trailer that is larger than that would just be too much. I got another guy that will lone me the trailer I used to pull the junker over to my field, but its just an open wooden floored 6X10 trailer and the coupler on it has major problems. I may end up buying him a new coupler so that I can use the trailer for the trip. What worked well for loading the junker midget was two of those yellow wheel ramps that you use for changing oil in a car. We were able to push the junker midget up these ramps and onto the trailer by hand. Also the trailer has one of those hand crank jacks on the tounge so that you can raise the trailer tounge and the back end of the truck up quite a bit to make the trailer match the ramps if the ground is not level. Right now, this is what I am looking at using. Plus, I will need to repack the wheel bearings in that trailer as I am sure it has not been done in a long time.
 
That looks great Kim!

The mile markers are good for confirming the odometer is accurate but the speedo is a bit harder since there is a time element involved. I've found the best way to confirm speed is follow someone with a presumed accurate speedometer and cruise control. When I work on speedos and tachs on the bench I use a DC motor controlled hobby lathe. This allows you to match the gauge to the TPM number on the gauge face but it won't account for gearing errors and tire size changes.
 
dklawson said:
That looks great Kim!

The mile markers are good for confirming the odometer is accurate but the speedo is a bit harder since there is a time element involved. I've found the best way to confirm speed is follow someone with a presumed accurate speedometer and cruise control. When I work on speedos and tachs on the bench I use a DC motor controlled hobby lathe. This allows you to match the gauge to the TPM number on the gauge face but it won't account for gearing errors and tire size changes.
Click to expand...
I used the GPS and kept moving the needle until it reads right at 55 or so and that should be good enough for me.
 
Back
Top