IMPORT SPEEDO CONVERSION?
Discussion
One of my best mates is currently trying to buy a Honda del-sol si vti, but being an import, has kph speedo. An AA inspector has cleared the car other that the dial, which he says will invalidate the potential insurance policy. What's the best/cheapest/easiest way to change this? Is anyone recomended in the cambridge area? Please help, he want's this car and my CR-X want's a friend to sit next to!
Any car being brought into the country now as an import has to have it's speedo converted to MPH, else it will fail it's SVA test (frequently it's just a case of putting a new face on the speedo, leaving the odometer in Km).
Any vehicle that's already in this country can have it's speedo in either reading .... I've never heard of the insurance thing either (my wife works for a Japanese importers)
Any vehicle that's already in this country can have it's speedo in either reading .... I've never heard of the insurance thing either (my wife works for a Japanese importers)
Reply from my wife :
quote:
The neater way to convert a vehicle from KMPH TO MPH is to fit a speedo convertor (which can be either electric or manual). We don't tend to fit faces, as they don't look that good.
But if you want a face, then Aurora Graphics in Derby is the place. If they haven't made a face for the vehicle in question before then the speedo will have to be stripped ***CAREFULLY*** & a copy of the face given to Aurora... Their phone number is : 01332 345 032, ask for Dave...
Nice one adi, with my design talent and your ideas we could go along way, not much help right now though! Nev I look forward to hearing more, I know jim really wants this car, so the help is appreciated. On the insurance thing I'm not sure, but I think it was a problem specific to the AA policy that inspector guy was checking it out for. Am I right in thinking that (as the car was imported over three years ago) if it was brought over from japan before the SVA test came around then the speedo may not have needed to be changed? That's probably crap, hasn't the SVA has been going longer that anyway?
Dont know how long SVA has been going on for (could ask Tess, but she doesn't read her emails very often 
) More likely, they've changed the rules with SVA and it USED to be okay to have a KPH speedo .... just a guess.
Probably the best thing to do is ring your current insurers (or whomever you might be going with) and put the question to them .... they'll be able to give you a quick answer.
Actually, just remembered, my mate's got a LHD 328 which is still in KPH, and he obviously doesn't have a problem ... (he has a little sticker on his steering wheel to remind him of the conversion from K to M .... weelll, he IS an American !
)
) More likely, they've changed the rules with SVA and it USED to be okay to have a KPH speedo .... just a guess. Probably the best thing to do is ring your current insurers (or whomever you might be going with) and put the question to them .... they'll be able to give you a quick answer.
Actually, just remembered, my mate's got a LHD 328 which is still in KPH, and he obviously doesn't have a problem ... (he has a little sticker on his steering wheel to remind him of the conversion from K to M .... weelll, he IS an American !
)I made up a new face for an old Alfa. A three quarter circle of shaded graphic film was stuck to the outside of the dial glass and used as a base for new numbers made from Letraset. Leaving the centre two thirds of the dial uncovered meant you could see the needle.
Cost less than a quid and could be taken off easily if required.
If used it on a Nova you could put 60 where 30 should be and fool yourself that the car could hit 80!
Cost less than a quid and could be taken off easily if required.
If used it on a Nova you could put 60 where 30 should be and fool yourself that the car could hit 80!
quote:
I made up a new face for an old Alfa. A three quarter circle of shaded graphic film was stuck to the outside of the dial glass and used as a base for new numbers made from Letraset. Leaving the centre two thirds of the dial uncovered meant you could see the needle.
Hmm, an interesting solution. I have relied on mental arithmathics for my LHD barchetta, but that might solve the problem.
Any ideas where I would find "shaded graphic film"?
C
I made a set of white faced dials for my wife's import CRX (1989 Si). I drew the dials on CAD at work and printed the on card. Slightly tacky I know but it meant that I didn't have to dick about trying to get the back lighting to work.
We did try the stick-on MPH numbers but with the backlighting from the KPH shining through she couldn't tell what speed she was doing at night (got the same problem on my bike).
We also tried to use a mechanical converter but this screwed up the cable routing and we got through three speedo cables in a month before we gave up.
We did try the stick-on MPH numbers but with the backlighting from the KPH shining through she couldn't tell what speed she was doing at night (got the same problem on my bike).
We also tried to use a mechanical converter but this screwed up the cable routing and we got through three speedo cables in a month before we gave up.
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