Speedo swap question

Hi all,
Been a few years since posting on here. So I'm hoping I'm following the rules etc. Please correct me if not.

So I recently took the plunge after wanting a defender for years and got one. After years of telling myself that they rust and cost a load of dosh to keep running etc. I went for it and bought a 110 ex military defender.

It's from way back in 1985. I belive it served in Germany for the RAF police. Of course its not always easy to know is it?

But the speedo is reading in k/m and not mph.

So my question is this. Is it as easy to by a mph clock and swap them out without having to calibrate anything? My thinking is that the clock itself is calibrated and nothing else?
And is there a way of changing the millage to show what the truck has now?

Thanks in advance.
Mac

Mac-1990 said:

Hi all,
Been a few years since posting on here. So I'm hoping I'm following the rules etc. Please correct me if not.

So I recently took the plunge after wanting a defender for years and got one. After years of telling myself that they rust and cost a load of dosh to keep running etc. I went for it and bought a 110 ex military defender.

It's from way back in 1985. I belive it served in Germany for the RAF police. Of course its not always easy to know is it?

But the speedo is reading in k/m and not mph.

So my question is this. Is it as easy to by a mph clock and swap them out without having to calibrate anything? My thinking is that the clock itself is calibrated and nothing else?
And is there a way of changing the millage to show what the truck has now?

Thanks in advance.
Mac

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Im not certain, but I think there are 3 different speedo drives for the transfer box. These are usually for setting the speedo to the tyre size used, so that would say to me that the speedo has the gearing for MPH and KPH built in. So I think you are correct and can just swap them over. To make sure, have a look at a parts manual for the year you have, and see what parts are listed for the speedo drive.

Mac-1990 said:

bought a 110 ex military defender.

Click to expand...

Mac-1990 said:

the speedo is reading in k/m and not mph.

Click to expand...

thought they were all in (NATO?) kmh

at least our1986 Ninety tul, ffw has a kmh speedo & it's about as accurate as Mystic Meg's lottery predictions

Rich.

Millage doctoring is illegal plus you need a drive motor akin to a power drill to turn the clock safe enough. Couldn't you just mark the dial face two car behind beeps for slow three for police blue light to fast.

Zed. said:

thought they were all in (NATO?) kmh

at least our1986 Ninety tul, ffw has a kmh speedo & it's about as accurate as Mystic Meg's lottery predictions

Rich.

Click to expand...

Trying to think in my old RAF days UK was standard unless lefthand drive vehicles or being transferred to abroad.

i know what you mean with speedo never lies was bunkum anything past first and second gear was a bonus on the Falklands tours. Funeral cars drove faster than what mine ever could down there.

Just read the smaller inner scale that’s in MPH. You get used to it, mine has been KMH for years and it does t bother me anymore.

All army defenders and wolfs are in kmh, it’s to do with map reading and routes

Swopped the KPH speedo on my ex-MOD RHD 90 as soon as I bought it direct release back in 1999.
Just bought a SH unit at Billing, noted the mileage on both clocks and jotted them down in my records, also kept the original speedo in case anyone should ever ask to see it (which in 22yrs they never have). Speedo's from that era are all the same, it is the drive-gear on the transfer-box that is different (think mine is blue).
Mine has been checked numerous times against GPS, radars etc and always proved to be very accurate (no more than 2-3MPH out at 70MPH).

Wow loads of response thanks everyone. Its interesting to know the reason for k/m for map use in the military!

I have seen that the mph is on the inside. But it's got such little markings that passing a 40mph speed camera in the dark is playing Russian roulette!

I have seen you can get a replacement face that adapts the clock to read in mph but at what I think is almost half the price of another clock it's seems extortionate for a bit of paper/plastic.

So just to clarify it would be a straight swap? I wouldn't need to change anything else?

Thanks again guys really appreciate the information