I have a 69 camaro that I have been working on for a few years now. when i bought the car the speedometer had like 72,000 miles on it. Now that the restoration is almost done (every nut bolt washer sheetmetal is new) frame off resto. I am about to install a new dash gauges and was wondering can I start a 0 miles? thanks for any imput

I am not a dealer, but IMO 72,000 miles is pretty dang low for a 40-year old car............ If I was a prospective buyer, I'd be more comfortable seeing the 72,000 rather than 0.

I'll be interested to see other comments.

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Honestly, I never gave it a second thought when I installed my digital gauges after a full redo of the car. Who cares what people think! Not that my car will be sold any time soon but the people that have asked if it was for sale did not seem to mind that the odometer had such a low milage reading.

Is it 72000 or 172000? Do we really have anyway of knowing unless it is a 1 owner car or the guy is SUPER HONEST? Most people won't be.

If you are just looking for opinions. Mine is, I don't think it matters. Just keep a log of what you are doing with pictures.

I built a vehicle once that was in a fire and even the dash was burnt. Not that I was going to reuse the existing dash anyway, But the Autometer gauges I installed started at zero (0.5 If I recall exactly) and the buyer of that vehicle didn't care what the miles were since the driveline had zero miles on it when I built it with the odometer showing about 2500 when sold.


I should note, when the vehicle was sold, I gave the buyer the option to take the original gauge with mileage still showing. (Whether or not the gauge reading was accurate I will never know)

I put a new 140 speedp in mine, so the odometer reads the miles since the frame off restoration.

Odometer miles can be easily reset but as mentioned, the 72K or what ever you have would be nicer. Mine rolled over from 102K and I am back to 30K now. Don't mess with it unless you know what you are doing too. Also remember there are some speedo laws in some states that need to be followed. I think.

I believe my 69' had 110K actual miles on it when I bought it, but the speedo had lost its calibration, and I verified it after installing a TKO last year. So, I bought a new speedo and it works like it's supposed to. BUT...I kept the original...just in case.

On my 85 iroc I had the new 140 speedo set to actual miles. On the 68 I started with 0 miles on a new autometer spedo when I actually started to drive it on the street.

Thanks for the inputs, I am in New York and am not sure about the laws. yes the car is a two owner car with 72000 miles.

zdld17 in Texas you have to sign an affidavit regarding the actual milage of the vehicle. Just state whether the odometer is true or not.

My 68 has 72099 miles & am going to leave it at that. I also have a 87 monte SS that was deamed a total loss in 1988 the odometer read 8013 when I bought it in 2000 still not repaired ,now the odometer reads 9??? & people don't believe that is the actual miles.

zdld17 in Texas you have to sign an affidavit regarding the actual milage of the vehicle. Just state whether the odometer is true or not.

Yes, like "exempt" in GA.

Regardless of what you do, that mileage was on the old car with the old drivetrain, your mileage of 0 is with the new drivetrain so it makes more sence..

Regardless of what you do, that mileage was on the old car with the old drivetrain, your mileage of 0 is with the new drivetrain so it makes more sence..

Ditto! :thumbsup:
Not only that, but it makes it easier to remember when to service the car.

Odometer miles can be easily reset

I was going to post the same question, but I don't see where anyone answered as to how to do it. Kevin

?? :d

I had Autometer set the odometer on my new electric speedometer to match my original odometer. I had 44,xxx miles and it was original so I wanted to keep the miliage acurate and the title clean (no exemptions). In Florida you can legally replace an odometer if it has either the original miliage or higher on it. Autometer only charged a few bucks to do it.

Resetting a mechnical odometer:
DO NOT attach a drill to it and run backwards, this will result in the mile numbers not lining up correct.
If u wish to rest, dismantle the cluster to 00000 it is a very fiddly job
I pays to send off to a specalist .....
OR , and much more enjoyable, drive your camaro a LOT

I have 62.000 genuibe miles on my Camaro, and seen 00000 twice, and expect to see it again within the next 3 to 5 yrs

If you cannot prove that 72,000 is the true milelage (very hard to do)......
it makes no difference what you set the new odometer to.

FEDERAL ODOMETER LAW Motor Vehicle Cost Information Act, 49 U.S.C. Section 32704

1. (It shall be unlawful for a person) "with intent to defraud, operate a motor vehicle on a street, road, or highway if the person knows that the odometer of the vehicle is disconnected or not operating; or

2. The owner of the vehicle or agent of the owner shall attach a written notice to the left door frame of the vehicle specifying the mileage before the service, repair, or replacement and the date of the service, repair, or replacement.

3. A person transferring ownership of a motor vehicle shall give the transferree the following written disclosure

A) Disclosure of the cumulative mileage registered on the odometer,

B) Disclosure that the actual mileage is unknown if the transferror knows that the odometer reading is different from different from the number of miles the vehicle has actually traveled.

(b) Mileage Statement Requirement for Licensing. - (1) A motor vehicle the ownership of which is transferred may not be licensed for use in a State unless the transferee, in submitting an application to a State for the title on which the license will be issued, includes with the application the transferor's title and, if that title contains the space referred to in paragraph (3)(A)(iii) of this subsection, a statement, signed and dated by the transferor, of the mileage disclosure required under subsection (a) of this section

http://www.odometertampering.com/index.html

My advice is to contact the local DMV or State Police as they will know what is the best way to go about this in your state. Remember that Federal Law does override local laws unless they are more stringent.


Kev

When I bought my car it had 53,000 original miles on it. I know the owner who bought it in the lat 70's. So I had him fill out a form as original miles . When my title came in it states actual miles. Why not just take picture of both speedometers and list the original as the miles before resto and note that the other is new scince the restoration. That should keep it legal because your showing original miles at the start of the work. The other will give milage scince the restoration.
Wayne

My advice is to contact the local DMV

The LAST people I'd get involved is the DMV; just put "unknown" or "exempt" as in (B). In most states, cars over 25 years old are exempt from the odometer disclosure requirement.

:beers: