Mr onetwo
Well-Known Member
Hey guys, I need some opinions.Does this car have 40,000 or 140,000 miles judging by the speedometer? It is a 1967 Newport.Thanks
40K or 140K ?
- Thread starter Mr onetwo
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Others may chime in with better indicators, but two things are VERY telling in this regard. Front seat upholstery, and brake pedal. If it has the fabric/vinyl interior, if there are many splits in the fabric, etc., and the brake pedal shows lots of wear, it is probably 140K. If there's little to almost no wear, probably 40K.
My experience with odometers and apparent placement of digits, despite some claims otherwise, have no bearing on whether the odometer has rolled over or not. Some say perfectly aligned digits suggest the odometer has not rolled over, some say if the first digit is out of line with the rest of them, it has turned over once, and others still say that if the first two digits don't line up with the rest, then it has turned over twice. I personally have evidence among my fleet of cars that all that stuff is just hogwash. All you can do is go by the condition of the car itself and inspect how much accumulation of grease and dirt is on the undside of the car, whether the strut bar bushing roll pins have been replaced or not, condition of the busings themselves, presence of original components rather than replacement components and things like mentioned in the post above plus a bunch more.
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MacLebaron
Active Member
Oh boy, this will be an interesting learning experience to see everyone's reply.
I would add the carpet on the drivers side of the car can give good indicators as well. Does it have any holes, or heavy wear/staining, how is the rubber pad under the pedals? Also, how does the driver's door open, does it sag or creak? Does it close well? Another area to check is how does the turn signal arm look? Does it have all of the white letters worn off?
Do the windows seem to be loose or roll up improperly? I would also check the bushings on the front end and the rear springs. How does the drivers seat feel, are the springs still decent or worn out?
Just keep in mind any of these can be changed or corrected to make the car look better. My experience is if it involves much money or effort most people will not do it to sell a car unless they are selling for a hefty premium price. Plus, something to keep in mind everybody's driving style if different in regards to what items wear; how they adjust there seat, position their feet on the carpet, etc.
Just a few thoughts to consider.
I would add the carpet on the drivers side of the car can give good indicators as well. Does it have any holes, or heavy wear/staining, how is the rubber pad under the pedals? Also, how does the driver's door open, does it sag or creak? Does it close well? Another area to check is how does the turn signal arm look? Does it have all of the white letters worn off?
Do the windows seem to be loose or roll up improperly? I would also check the bushings on the front end and the rear springs. How does the drivers seat feel, are the springs still decent or worn out?
Just keep in mind any of these can be changed or corrected to make the car look better. My experience is if it involves much money or effort most people will not do it to sell a car unless they are selling for a hefty premium price. Plus, something to keep in mind everybody's driving style if different in regards to what items wear; how they adjust there seat, position their feet on the carpet, etc.
Just a few thoughts to consider.
traintech55
Senior Member
I forget what year Chrysler started doing it, but they installed a little felt pad with ink on the odometer. When it turned over from 99,999.9 it put the ink stamp on the first zero. If you can, get the speedometer out and look at the mileage from the back side.
MoPar Maniac
Well-Known Member
In would think the ink would dry out long before the 100k mark.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
I heard the same thing but I've never seen it.
Here's my observations and experiences. IF the odometer rolls over normally, then the digits will line up as they always did. Same on the '66 Newport and on the '70 Monaco, both with over 100K on them. IF the odometers were rolled BACKward, THAT's when the digits would not line up correctly AND when the white spacer would appear. In the era when many used car dealers allegedly rolled the speedometers back in order to get a higher price AND before it was easy to check such things via prior records. In an era when you'd have to take the instrument panel apart just to get to the speedometer assy.
When I later learned more about speedometer assemblies, the "numbers not lined up" didn't make much sense, unless the alleged perp damaged the plastic holder of the digit tangs on the odometer drum. On Chevy pickup speedometers, from the '70s, the drum was held in place on the back of the speedo head. The plastic retainer kept the individual segments of the drum from spinning on their own, BUT you could remove the retainer and put the numbers where you wanted them, if desired, and then put a new retainer on the drum if the old one was damaged when it was removed. On some, there was a separator/washer that was white on the back half, which would show the next time the drum turned.
There were stories of some used car dealers putting the cars on jackstands and putting the trans in "R" and letting it run for a good bit. Or attaching an electric drill to the back of the speedometer head and running it backwards that way. But in either case, not a big lot of miles would be removed that way.
I concur on looking at the otherwise general condition of the car. If it's 40K, then the car should look reasonably new inside and out. If it's 140K, the brake pedal pad, lh frt carpet, and windshield should have some signs of wear on them. AND things like the timing chain should have been replaced (which should be apparent from some visible cues in that area, generally). The front grille emblem (if it has one) would show "impact wear", too, plus some fading of the colors. In other words, that additional 100K miles should be apparent. Look for any service station lube stickers on the lh door/door frame, too.
But back to the odometer appearance question . . . the numbers lining up is NOT a good indicator, as they should line up anyway, even at 140K.
Just some thoughts and observations,
CBODY67
When I later learned more about speedometer assemblies, the "numbers not lined up" didn't make much sense, unless the alleged perp damaged the plastic holder of the digit tangs on the odometer drum. On Chevy pickup speedometers, from the '70s, the drum was held in place on the back of the speedo head. The plastic retainer kept the individual segments of the drum from spinning on their own, BUT you could remove the retainer and put the numbers where you wanted them, if desired, and then put a new retainer on the drum if the old one was damaged when it was removed. On some, there was a separator/washer that was white on the back half, which would show the next time the drum turned.
There were stories of some used car dealers putting the cars on jackstands and putting the trans in "R" and letting it run for a good bit. Or attaching an electric drill to the back of the speedometer head and running it backwards that way. But in either case, not a big lot of miles would be removed that way.
I concur on looking at the otherwise general condition of the car. If it's 40K, then the car should look reasonably new inside and out. If it's 140K, the brake pedal pad, lh frt carpet, and windshield should have some signs of wear on them. AND things like the timing chain should have been replaced (which should be apparent from some visible cues in that area, generally). The front grille emblem (if it has one) would show "impact wear", too, plus some fading of the colors. In other words, that additional 100K miles should be apparent. Look for any service station lube stickers on the lh door/door frame, too.
But back to the odometer appearance question . . . the numbers lining up is NOT a good indicator, as they should line up anyway, even at 140K.
Just some thoughts and observations,
CBODY67
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If I don’t use my printer once a month it dries up...
traintech55
Senior Member
I have seen this over the years, it darkens the "0" not erase it. Also like "CBODY67" when we had to replace a speedometer, the new one would come in at all 00000.0. We would have to remove the drum and set the miles to the same as the old one. If you knew how to remove the drum, it was very easy to reset any odometer. What made it legal for the dealers to do was setting it to the documented mileage.
Mr onetwo
Well-Known Member
Great info guys! Here is a couple of other photos of the car for your perusal.May be real 40K IDK
rkrochen
Senior Member
Great looking car. Need a lot more pics to make an informed decision. Take some of the door hinge area under hood etc. To me looks like it has been repainted at some point.
The possibility does exist that it is original mileage but as said need to see more.
The possibility does exist that it is original mileage but as said need to see more.
traintech55
Senior Member
The most important thing in documenting the true mileage on any vehicle, is knowing how they looked when they left the factory. As a car ages, things break and get replaced. I have inspected cars for a few members, one in particular was Moparnutcases Cordoba. I could swear the mileage was true at 11,000.0 miles as it still had the factory brake drum retainers on the lug nut studs,
Take you time and look over everything, the more you find, the more the mileage is higher.
Take you time and look over everything, the more you find, the more the mileage is higher.
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
Arm rest...…… Grain should match the rear arm rests pretty close on a 40K car. 140K should show substantial wear. Perfect likely means a replacement.
My 67 Polara has 86K documented miles and the drivers arm rest is slap worn out.
My 67 Polara has 86K documented miles and the drivers arm rest is slap worn out.
Ripinator
Old Man with a Hat
73Coupe
Senior Member
Reminds me of Ferris Bueller and the Ferrari...
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Here’s what 156K looks like on a ‘67 Imperial.
My NOS speedo..numbers dont line up perfectly. So that debate is out...
Never did figure out why the trip odometer numbers (on our '66 Newport) were more prone to not be lined up than the regular odometer numbers. We got the car when it had 7100 "small town' miles on it, when the '67s came out. We knew where it'd been and with whom.
CBODY67
CBODY67
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