R 60/2 – got an email from my rebuild contact [he’s asked not to be identified], he’s back from a camping trip and able to start working on the speedometer for the ’66. He said the issues are “mostly cosmetic” (that’s good) and the worst of it is the trip meter, the knob of which is seized with rust. Along with repairing that, he said he’ll clean and lubricate the various innards, strip and repaint the inner bezel, replace the scratched-up lens and install a new chrome outer bezel. He estimated $300 for parts and labor, and I’ll need to cover return shipping and the $20 customs fee he had to pay, so about $375 total including the $25 it cost me to ship it to him in the first place. Overall not a bad amount considering what a replacement would cost (if I could even find one) and what I’ve heard the big shops charge to do this work. Those places are more like $600. I saw somebody talking about Palo Alto wanting $750, but I think that was for a Slash 6, which has a more modern unit with a circuit board, a plastic cover which is prone to fading, lots of small lights inside, two separate gauges and the odometer and trip meters. Plus I get to support another MOA member and dude known for doing really great restoration work. I hope between him and Lee Deyoung I can get most of my answers and maybe even some in-person physical help down the road. That of course will depend on what I want to do and when.

Anyway, the ’66 is in progress. I’m going to try to get the work I need to do done before the speedo rebuild/refurb is done.