Kmh Odometer from a compatible Speedometer?

[jedwards]

Dear Fellow enthusiasts,

I have  1967 250SL auto and plan to use a KMH adhesive label to convert my speedometer to Kmh.  It’s a simple and easy DIY task however, that still leaves the odometer in miles.  Using a ratio box would reduce the speedometer’s arc, so that’s not a good solution.  So other than acquiring a new kmh speedometer from Europe, which is hard to find and quite costly, the best solution appears to be to deal with each element separately. 

The VDO mechanical speedometers of this period were used in a lot of cars, including Porsche 912 and 911,  some VW’s and a large number of other Mercedes, all of which will be  far more common than our  w113, therefore easier to find.  I was hoping that it mighty be possible to acquire a VDO Kmh speedometer (from a 911 of the same period for example) and transplant the odometer module into my original W113 speedo.
Has anyone done this successful, and if so, what’s the best target vehicle with a compatible speedometer

I hope you can help.

Jeff
In sunny Western Australia

[450sl]

Hi Jeff,

At this very moment i have opened my US-speedo to glue a Km-sticker , and like You i am puzzled what to do with the Milesodometer.

I have noticed there  are 3 sets of (Worm)gears , so at least one set should be changed .

Looked at      www.plastikzahnrader.com/mercedes.html  and  www.odometergears.com to no avail.

www.eagleday.com/nepoodge.html   have a choice between Euro and Us , but they dont state the difference in gears , and this is just the finaldriveset anyway.

Anyhow, these gears seem to be unavailable anywhere , so finding the right parts from a donor speedo seems the only way to go.

Hoping , as a last resort , for  an answer  from the real SpeedoPros  amoungst us ...

Mark

[Flyair]

Jeff,
except for entrusting your speedo to professional shops to do the full modification (internet search does miracles , I found no other solution than buying a km/h replacement speedometer. to address the issue. Stickers look cheap in my opinion, I saw two speedometers arranged in that way, but you can see the difference. I believe that the only worthy modification without changing gears is to go for replacing the front, which you can source for example from SLS
http://www.sls-hh-shop.de/230-280SL-R113/54-Elektrische-Ausstattung-Karosserie/54-a-Cockpit-Instrumente/
 

[Garry]

And remember if you are buying a KPH speedo, they do come in left and right hand drives. The rear input is on either side depending which you are after.

Dont ask how I know but I have a beautiful LHD KPH speedo in a box   I wonder if it can be changed to a RHD??

[drmb]

Garry i have speedo housing, and housing that cable screws onto from a mph 300se 111 coupe, these parts may be able to be used on the 113 kph speedo to get the cable pointing in the right direction.
I have had the SLS kph speedo faces before but sent them back as the graphics color was way off.

[Garry]

Hi Lloyd,

Let me have a look at the back and innards of the LH speedo I have.  I would have thought it had a different drive attachment to the worm drive inside otherwise I could have used my casing from the existing mph speedo.

Garry

[jedwards]

As I am in Ozz  and we have both MPH and KMH speedos in various models, the most economical solution appears to be to locate a KMH speedo and either use that if it is good or transplant the odometer portion if it is cosmetically less acceptably than my current MPH unit.

Can anyone tell me which Mercedes models used the same speedo as the W113?

[w113dude]

Here is one I have that came out of a LHD 66 w111 coupe, identical to w113, this is correct up to mid 67. not sure if left and right hand drives were made differently? and it is available by the way.

[Garry]

The drive shaft out of the back is on the wrong side for a RHD car and the speedo cable will not fit on it.  That is the problem. Later today when I get home to my car I am going to check if the rear  from a RHD unit will fit the LHD unit.

[georgem]

Gary,

I think this will be a six beer discussion in Canberra - I`m keen to explore using a similar era RHD speedo that may be in KPH - if there is such a thing

Have a safe trip

[Yem]

Shaun,

Your speedo entry for the cable is exactly the same position/angle as on my car which is a RHD.  Please see post below for more info:

http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=17909.0

[jedwards]

As there appears to be no "easy" way of resolving the Miles to Kilometer odometer conversion issue at reasonable cost,  I am starting a little project to design a replacement set of odometer drive wheels and worm shaft to alter the spin rate of the miles odometer so it displays accurately in Kilometers rather than miles.   I have a nice 3D printer that can make really accurate ABS cogs,  so it will be fun little project.   I'll post images as I go if there is interest from other members.

I've attached an image of a new cam/wheel we made using this technique for the central locking on a work  colleague's Mazda. It worked perfectly.

[Garry]

That sounds like a great project and then using the KPH face cards that are available in KPH it would be a great outcome for RHD cars especially.  Please keep us informed on how it goes.

Garry

[RBYCC]

How about something like this installed in a reverse fashion?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B19H83Q/ref=asc_df_B00B19H83Q12830384/?tag=dooyoocouk-21&creative=22110&creativeASIN=B00B19H83Q&linkCode=asn

[Peter]

Hi Jedwards,

I read you plan to make the 3D print of a drive wheels and worm shaft for the conversion of the odometer from  Miles to Kilometers.
I’m struggling with the same problem and you “print” would be a marvelous solution.
Where you successful?

Kind regards, Peter

[cfm65@me.com]

Hi Guys,
With regard to the LH/RH  speedo cable entry, cant you fit a slightly longer cable or perhaps a 6 inch or so cable extention to go the extra distance?
Regards
Chris

[Garry]

No doesn’t work/fit otherwise it would have been easy.

[Pawel66]

Hi,

As my speedo had broken down, I was studying the topic a bit - the LHD and RHD.
For W113 there is one EPC number for LHD and RHD speedo. It is A0045425506 for chassis as of 014545, but applicable to the US and Hong-Kong cars. I also spotted A0045420006 with reading in miles and others for various axle ratios. There is no reference to LHD/RHD - the speedo for W113 is one for both sides. For other Mercedes cars models there may be a difference between LHD and RHD - you spot it as most of the speedos on the market are W111 or W112 etc.

The difference between the LHD and RHD is in the flexible shaft. There is a whole bunch of kinds of these shafts for automatic left and right and manual left and right.

This is what I managed to figure out.

Merry Christmas!
Pawel