North Hollywood Speedometer

[Dick Steinkamp]

The tach on my Bavaria was not accurate according to my digital one. I did a quick research on The Best Resources for Parts and Services on this site for tach repair.

North Hollywood gave a pretty firm price ($200) unless it was something weird. They quoted a 2-5 day turnaround. The others either had a higher quote or wouldn't quote unless they had the instrument and they couldn't commit to a time frame.

North Hollywood delivered on their price and time quote. I installed the tach today and it works perfectly.

The tach has a new movement in it. I believe it is a stepper motor. They returned my original movement also. I think this is how they can make a firm commitment on price and time. They don't fool around with the antique mechanisms. They just replace with a (semi) universal modern replacement. Smart!

 

[jmackro]

The tach has a new movement in it. I believe it is a stepper motor. ..... They don't fool around with the antique mechanisms. They just replace with a (semi) universal modern replacement.

I don't think you can generalize about whether NHS will repair the old mechanism versus install a modern replacement. I suspect it depends on the make/model/year of the gauge, availability of parts, condition of the old unit, etc. etc.

I currently have a '66 Alfa speedometer with a bad odometer at NHS. I took it apart before sending it to them and found a small, broken plastic part that was clearly the issue. When they got the gauge, I offered that if replacement parts weren't available, they could substitute the better-designed mechanism from a later Alfa (which I happen to have). But they said, "no we can get the part and fix the original design". So sometimes they do fool around with the antique mechanisms. Unfortunately, their supplier of replacement trim rings is backordered, so while my odometer is now repaired, the cosmetic stuff that is holding up the job.

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

@jmackro...I think it is easier to update an electrical gauge like a tach than a mechanical gauge like a speedo. My guess is they do the same thing with clocks. Makes a lot of sense especially if you can use a fairly standard module to do many makes.