A Large Ornament

[fozzza]

The Rover speedo in my Gold was pretty accurate, but when that engine and gearbox was re-homed in my Bronze, now with 12" wheels and Metro instruments, it was not surprisingly hopelessly inaccurate. Thats' what prompted the instrument upgrade. The beauty of the VDO speedo is it can be re-calibrated from the front. It's dead easy to set up in the first place, and change should I run different tyre or wheel sizes.

This is one concern of mine, getting my Mk 2 back on the road, is the accuracy of the instruments especially with all the speed cameras about, there's loads in the west midlands area. Even though I'm not a seed merchant its still a worry.

[benofbrum]

In my part of Siuth Birmingham, there are several roadside speed signs which give either a smiley face or frown depending on speedI always use them to check the speedo when I change car. The Excelsior is either dead on or 1mph fast, whereas the Picasso is 2mph fast. My new Quantum seems to be 5mph fast at 30 but also reads 65mph when following lorries on the motorway. Apparently if you have a smart phone, there is an app.

[DavidL]

In my part of Siuth Birmingham, there are several roadside speed signs which give either a smiley face or frown depending on speedI always use them to check the speedo when I change car. The Excelsior is either dead on or 1mph fast, whereas the Picasso is 2mph fast. My new Quantum seems to be 5mph fast at 30 but also reads 65mph when following lorries on the motorway. Apparently if you have a smart phone, there is an app.

I have Ulysses Speedometer on my HTC One, which in its current incarnation will either work on its own or with Google Maps, where it overlays a circle giving your current speed onto the map display. It seems to work well, although it's best if you use a car charger, since it seems to be a bit of a battery hog. I don't know what's available for iPhone users, but there must be something, I'd imagine.

[goldeneye]

Looks verry nice!

Do you have more information about that VDO speedo?

[Jon]

goldeneye - I bought mine from ETB instruments. Looking at their site for the first time in five years I've frightened myself all over again at how much these instruments cost. When I set out to upgrade the dash with VDO instruments I knew that what I was doing was in no way economically sound - the cost would never be recoverable in terms of increased value of the car, but never mind. You can see from the date on my original post that I've been dabbling with this on and off for five years, so the upgrade has probably only cost me £100 per year. Doesn't sound so bad like that.

My original post about the speedo: http://midasownersclub.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=1048&p=4338&hilit=speedo#p4338

ETB Instruments - mine is the 100mm/140mph one on the left : http://www.etbinstruments.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=61_91_96

[fozzza]

Those VDO gauges certainly look at home in the Metro pod and being able to calibrate the speedo I think is money well spent. I am looking to getting my MK 2 back on the road this year but changing the interior around a bit next year. I want to detract from the battleship grey, dash and panels colour but undecided whether to cover them in vinyl or coat them like you have done with your dash ( it does look impressive ). I had almost decided on using Smiths clocks but now may have a re-think.
Exactly what colour is your dash if you don't mind me asking.

[Jon]

fozza - It's from an aerosol can of Halford's finest steel wheel paint, with satin lacquer on top. I had the paint left over from refurbishing my wheels and initially just used it as a trial top coat, but liked the effect so stuck with it.