frozencaveman

Hey all,

I'm looking for some advice on removing the speedometer from my 1972 Vista Cruiser. I got the three 1/4" screws out, but it's still attached by the speedo cable and maybe whatever displays the gear (park, neutral, D, etc). I tugged on it a bit but didn't want to break it. Do I need to go in from underneath the dash to remove the cables from behind the speedo, removing all of the A/C ductwork and anything else I encounter, or am I missing something?

And what exactly am I disconnecting besides the speedo cable?

Thanks so much,

John

oldspackrat

John,
You will need to remove either the fuel gauge or clock/blank to get access to the speedo cable. At the rear of the speedo, you will feel a small clip on the bottom of the cable that you pull towards you while pulling the speedo cable towards the front of the car. Sometimes you might need to push the cable towards you, then push the clip & then pull the cable towards the front of the car.
There is small cover at the base of the column, held in with 2 phillips screws. Take that off & there is a 1/4" screw that holds a small clip that connects the column to the speedo. You can remove the small bracket from the wire that connects to the speedo itself.
Once you have the speedo cable off, the speedo will kind of fall towards you then you will see a black harmonica connector. Be careful with this as you slip a small flat screw driver between the connector & the circuit board. I gently pry up on each side a little at a time till it slides off. If you do break any of the pins, they can be repaired.
Good luck.

frozencaveman

Thanks for that. I should've thought of removing the clock blank! It was a little too dark out to do more than remove the clock blank, so I'll keep working on it tomorrow when I get home.