resetting odometer

[Silver R/T]

How do I reset odometer to 0 on 68 gauge cluster?

[Sweet T]

Isn't that a little dishonest.  You want to make all the hard miles your car put in disappear like they never happen.  I don't know about that.....just thought I would start the pot stirring.

[Silver R/T]

completely unrelated....I just want to reset it that way when I;m done with resto it'll have 0 on odometer. Many guys have done that

[A383Wing]

I've done it, no big deal...it's not like I'm trying to pass it off at a lower mileage...you gotta remove speedo head, take the little clippy thingy off that holds the barrel of numbers in the head and just move them all to "0" and reinstall...

It looks like a bent paper clip that just snaps over a pin

[jeryst]

completely unrelated....I just want to reset it that way when I;m done with resto it'll have 0 on odometer. Many guys have done that

Illegal, whether other guys have dont it or not.

[Silver R/T]

oo

completely unrelated....I just want to reset it that way when I;m done with resto it'll have 0 on odometer. Many guys have done that

Illegal, whether other guys have dont it or not.

Go ahead report me

[FLG]

Its not a big deal imo...how many times have these cars rolled from 100k to zero?? You have no idea unless your the only owner. Mines actually 40 mi from going back to zero, and when I put the new motor in its going back to zero again.

[Chatt69chgr]

It's pretty easy to reset.  Mine has 104,xxx on it.  I'll probably leave it that way when I get the car restored----I'm doing a complete resto including 440 drivetrain replacing 318 drivetrain.  The speedo will then tell me how many miles the old girl has on her since birth.  I can always subtract the 4K to indicate engine miles if I want to.

As far as the legality, I'll leave that to others to hash over. 

[Musicman]

When I install my new engine, tranny and rear end, I will be resetting mine back to "0" as well. That way I will know at a glance how many miles I have on my new drive train.

[FLG]

The only way i see it in a "bad" way is if you have some kind of origional car with XX numbers on the odometer and that mileage is known to be true and is being sold as a survivor with XX miles. But if im rebuilding my engine tranny and rear and/or am dropping in new ones, i think the odometer reading is quite irrelevant at that point.

[jeryst]

Federal Truth in Mileage Act (TIMA)

The Federal Truth in Mileage Act (TIMA) requires sellers to provide actual, truthful odometer readings and to disclose any known inaccuracies. TIMA makes odometer fraud a felony. Failure to disclose that an odometer has been changed or repaired (altered in any way) and/or falsifying mileage documentation will result in fines and/or imprisonment.



Penalties include fines and imprisonment. Just for anyones information. You can have any reason you want, but it's still a federal felony to do so. and it also carries additional penalties at the state level as well. Some of them are very harsh. Just depends which state you live in. Some states have certain exemptions for older vehicles, but that varies as well.

[Musicman]

Federal Truth in Mileage Act (TIMA)

The Federal Truth in Mileage Act (TIMA) requires sellers to provide actual, truthful odometer readings and to disclose any known inaccuracies. TIMA makes odometer fraud a felony. Failure to disclose that an odometer has been changed or repaired (altered in any way) and/or falsifying mileage documentation will result in fines and/or imprisonment.

Your not guilty of anything as long as you don't hide the facts from the buyer.

[Silver R/T]

Nobody's selling anything. I'll have the car till I'm alive

[A383Wing]

Federal Truth in Mileage Act (TIMA)

The Federal Truth in Mileage Act (TIMA) requires sellers to provide actual, truthful odometer readings and to disclose any known inaccuracies. TIMA makes odometer fraud a felony. Failure to disclose that an odometer has been changed or repaired (altered in any way) and/or falsifying mileage documentation will result in fines and/or imprisonment.



Penalties include fines and imprisonment. Just for anyones information. You can have any reason you want, but it's still a federal felony to do so. and it also carries additional penalties at the state level as well. Some of them are very harsh. Just depends which state you live in. Some states have certain exemptions for older vehicles, but that varies as well.

This is only true for cars 10 years & older here...after that, no odometer readings are taken at DMV

[Rolling_Thunder]

the speedo is easily turned back - once you get it apart it makes total sense...    be careful with the small metal plates between the rollers...   they break easily

[jeryst]

Federal Truth in Mileage Act (TIMA)

The Federal Truth in Mileage Act (TIMA) requires sellers to provide actual, truthful odometer readings and to disclose any known inaccuracies. TIMA makes odometer fraud a felony. Failure to disclose that an odometer has been changed or repaired (altered in any way) and/or falsifying mileage documentation will result in fines and/or imprisonment.

Your not guilty of anything as long as you don't hide the facts from the buyer.

True, but in PA, for example, if your odometer is not correct, you are supposed to have a notarized document stating the actual difference in mileage, and you must use that whenever you get your car inspected (if it doesnt have antique plates), so that the inspection station can record the correct mileage. Either way, you must inform anyone interested in buying your car if you ever put it up for sale.

[A383Wing]

Hey jeryst...just drop it fer cryin' out loud...it's his car, he can do what he wants...bet a number of members here either installed another speedometer that did not match the OE odometer reading...

Go ahead, report us all...if it makes ya feel better. Our cars are over 30 to 45 years old...there is nothing anyone can do or prove that odometer was even turned back because records were not kept back that far

I have done it on 2 of my cars....report me also....want my name & address?

[Musicman]

Bryan... your kill'n me 

[Silver R/T]

jeryst, I'm NOT planning on selling car and if I do sell it I will tell seller everything I've done to the car. Nobody's really concerned with mileage unless it was a number matching survivor with low miles. Most of us are here to enjoy car not really counting miles

[Musicman]

   

[Brock Lee]

The information of rolling the odometer back comes in handy for other purposes as well. My speedometer went bad so I bought another cluster to replace it. I was able to adjust the odometer using the same method to match the mileage of the one I took out.

[Cooter]

Well, My odometer has been rolled back to "0", I own a 1970 Charger 383 "SE", Auto, car, that has been converted to a straight drive, converted over to 8 3/4 rear, has 1968 Pass. Side Fender, 1968 Hood, 1969 Left Front fender, 2002 Right Rear Quarter panel, And the VIN number on the dash as well as the entire dash frame comes back to a 1969 Dodge Charger with a 318/904/non 8 3/4 rear car, and I think the Data plate came off a 1970 Cuda...Oh, and it's been painted orange with a BIG "01" on the doors......They gonna bury me under the jail...

[jeryst]

Hey jeryst...just drop it fer cryin' out loud...it's his car, he can do what he wants...bet a number of members here either installed another speedometer that did not match the OE odometer reading...

Go ahead, report us all...if it makes ya feel better. Our cars are over 30 to 45 years old...there is nothing anyone can do or prove that odometer was even turned back because records were not kept back that far

I have done it on 2 of my cars....report me also....want my name & address?

Why get belligerent with me just because I'm trying to convey some information? Or do you do that with everyone that doesnt share your own little view of the world?  I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I'm just saying what the law is. I'm allowed to do that. Last time I checked, this was supposed to be a forum where everyone can express their views. I could give a shit what you or anyone else does with your cars. I'm just saying that there are laws, and there are penalties, and anyone that does it should think about the consequences. I know a guy that got arrested for it, and it cost him a lot of money by the time it was all over with, and he wound up with a police record to boot. Luckily, he didnt get any jail time, but it affected him in other ways (probation, firearm ownership, job huntng, etc). True, he did it for monetary gain, but sometimes the reason doesnt matter. For example, the law doesnt care if you rob a bank because you want a new car, or you did it because you got 3 starving kids that need to eat, you are still going to jail if you do it.

[Tilar]

Actually, if you check your local laws, They more than likely have a provision in there that if the car is totally rebuilt that you CAN reset the odometer to zero to reflect the true mileage since nothing mechanically on the car has any miles on it. I know that in Texas it is/was that way.

[Darkman]

The odometer gives you a reading of the miles the vehicle has done from production. It gives you and/or buyers an indication of the condition the parts are in (from factory). If you replace any part of the drivetrain/suspension etc, the odometer reading does not really make any difference then does it as the parts are no longer original. If a tranny has been replaced with a 2nd hand one, how many miles has it done? How do I factor that into the current odometer reading?

I would only ever reset the odometer if the drivetrain, suspension and brake components were completely replaced with all new items at the same time. Then and only then will you have a "new" car in the true sense.

But if you are not going to sell the car, and you want to track how many miles your engine and tranny replacement has done or how many miles your new suspension has done then it is up to you.

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Are the clips between the #s supposed to slip over the edge of the metal frame?  If not, what are the positions these clips are supposed to be in?

[A383Wing]

the clips that are between the numbers are supposed to be on the metal frame...there is a slot in each tab on the numbers

[ws23rt]

Hey jeryst...just drop it fer cryin' out loud...it's his car, he can do what he wants...bet a number of members here either installed another speedometer that did not match the OE odometer reading...

Go ahead, report us all...if it makes ya feel better. Our cars are over 30 to 45 years old...there is nothing anyone can do or prove that odometer was even turned back because records were not kept back that far

I have done it on 2 of my cars....report me also....want my name & address?

Why get belligerent with me just because I'm trying to convey some information? Or do you do that with everyone that doesnt share your own little view of the world?  I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I'm just saying what the law is. I'm allowed to do that. Last time I checked, this was supposed to be a forum where everyone can express their views. I could give a shit what you or anyone else does with your cars. I'm just saying that there are laws, and there are penalties, and anyone that does it should think about the consequences. I know a guy that got arrested for it, and it cost him a lot of money by the time it was all over with, and he wound up with a police record to boot. Luckily, he didnt get any jail time, but it affected him in other ways (probation, firearm ownership, job huntng, etc). True, he did it for monetary gain, but sometimes the reason doesnt matter. For example, the law doesnt care if you rob a bank because you want a new car, or you did it because you got 3 starving kids that need to eat, you are still going to jail if you do it.

The question was about how to reset the odometer.  

Are you one of those that are afraid to remove the do not remove tag on your mattress?

How many readers here do you think have not heard about selling a car with mileage misrepresented is just wrong.  (It's telling a lie)

BTW a law about this is a reminder that ripping someone off is bad behavior.  The letter of the law is something lawyers need to prove a point which some would not get otherwise.

[JB400]

The DMV usually marks the mileage as exempt on cars over 10 years old.  I see no big deal on resetting the odometer when these cars are this old.  Now, back in the day when these cars were new, and when that law was written, then I see the need for enforcing that law.

[hemihead]

The one factor I think everyone forgets in this discussion is that guys say " I'm never gonna sell it anyway ." but someday we all pass away and guess what ? That car will get sold . Then they say " I won't care because I won't be around ."  That's real nice for the next person that buys it . Besides , whatever family member that sells it is going to catch the heat from that sell .
  I don't see what the big deal is about showing how many miles a car has on it . Don't we buy these for the history ? Mileage is part of that history . IMO , if you want low mileage buy a low mileage car or buy a new one .
Be

[fy469rtse]

My car was a rolling shell when I got it , cluster was off ebay , speedo reading was probably right for the car it came out of, I have no way of knowing what miles my car had done , so what then
? Restored gauges and everything on this car, so it's like brand new in every aspect, so of course I have put it back to zero

[Fitz73Chrgr]

the clips that are between the numbers are supposed to be on the metal frame...there is a slot in each tab on the numbers

I took apart another dash and see that now.  Do you know how to align the metal clips after setting the odometer to zero?  The clips seem to be fixed to the number cylinders.  Do you take the metal gear off of the end and slip the rod out?  If so, how do I do this without damaging the plastic cylinders?

[A383Wing]

just grab one of the metal tabs and roll the number next to it back to where you want, then grab & hold the next tab and roll that one back while holding the other one you just did...then grab the third one while holding the other 2....once you see how it works, it's real easy to change odometer readings

[Calif240]

Didn't Ferris Bueller show us how to roll the odometer back???    I'd say try that. 

I rolled mine back. Very easy as described above. Car wasn't accurate when I bought it (speedo cable had broken many years before) and I'm doing a complete restoration. While it is technically illegal, no one is gonna care as long as you don't try to misrepresent it. Remember that technically your odometer is wrong if you've ever changed a rear gear to something different, had a broken speedometer cable, changed tire sizes from factory exact, and any other number of modifications along the drivetrain. Unless A) you sell it AND B) you lie about the POSSIBLE mileage that it could have then you're golden.

[A383Wing]

I don't think you know how long it would take to roll odometer back using a drill motor....

about 1000 rpm on the drill motor spins about 60 mph from what I have read.....so at say 60 mph, how many hours, days. or years would it take to reset to "0" miles if your car had 50,000 miles showing? If it was over 50K, then you would just keep spinning it forward...

you can do the math...I don't have enough fingers to figure it out

[UFO]

I don't think you know how long it would take to roll odometer back using a drill motor....

Actually it will not roll backwards you have to go forward with a drill.
I used a spare gauge and with a drill it was spinning at 132mph.Even at that speed it is a whole lot faster to disassemble and move them by hand.
Here there is a paragraph that states whether or not the odometer has gone beyond it's limits.
Ever see a speedometer with red tenths? That is what you got with a over the counter gauge.

[A383Wing]

they will roll backwards...at least my 66's speedometers will

[Fitz73Chrgr]

I have several odometers to play with.  The first one I rolled back with a drill from 5000 (105000) to zero in less than 10 mins.  I then finally figured out how to reset using the tab holding method (start on the left and work right).  The latter is much faster.

[UFO]

they will roll backwards...at least my 66's speedometers will

No kidding, Since the speedo needle did not work I reversed the drill.
I will have to try it again just for kicks.