Speedo Question
 

I have a European V70. I say European cus it's LHD and it has a speedo which is only in KPH with no MPH conversion. Not sure why they came like this, but it seems to be the case for all LHD cars. Does anyone know if you can swap the speedo out from an RHD with MPH speedo and fit it to an LHD? The shape of the cluster and the fittings would be the same so that isn't the issue, but I guess my main question is about what's underneath? Is there anything that would prevent it giving an accurate reading?

Thanks

Speedo swap?
 

My recently purchased C70 came with a rev counter that read 1,400 instead of 900 when idling and a speedo that read nearly 80mph when doing 70mph - hardly ideal ! The MoT history showed a 'no-mileage' year and low miles for two years so it had probably had a speedo failure in its past.

From experience with my previous C70 I knew there was plenty of speedo units around for fair prices and swapping them over only takes an hour or so to raise and replace the dashboard/fascia top.

I bought the first one from Fleabay and found there were several changes i.e. it displayed mileage briefly then went blank, the rev counter worked perfectly but the speedo didn't work at all. I took it apart to try swapping the rev counter but found the mounting pins had been rotated some 45 degrees. This unit was advertised as being the same year as mine but turned out to be the next year. Beware registration year vs model year!

The next one supposedly came from a V70 in Poland but, had 'UK' style mph & kph markings and the same part number as my dodgy one. Surprise, surprise it had 'C70' hand written underneath and, eureka! both rev counter and speedo worked perfectly.

My suggestion is to remove the speedo unit from yours and take a few photo's, replace it then start googling the part number and check carefully the details of the advertised units. There are several commonly used part numbers over years but the key external one on mine was central and near the base - 9148932 69794-670T Also, my car is a 98 but the white plastic instrument case is dated with a day and month in 97 which is probably just before the car was built which, makes sense I guess.

Unless you've owned it from new, be prepared for what you might find ! In my case the 'service' light bulb had been removed and the instrument unit plumbed in with a generous bead of silicon sealant AND a further equally generous bead of chassis grease.

Good luck!

Alternatively contact Instrument Repair in Nottingham who used to calibrate the police speedos so will be able to advise and if necessary swop the facia plate for you.