Classic VW Beetle Second Gen. Speedometer Rebuild and LED Install

In this video I show you how I rebuild the second gen style VW Beetle speedometers (late 60's early 70's VW beetle0, I try and show you where the failure points are and how to address them. I also add an LED to it to increase the night time visibility.
I hope you find something useful in this video, if you do please hit the subscribe button!
Thanks for watching
wolfhausmotorwerks.com

[@tarekmounib2851]

Little lengthy but very clear,, Thank you

[@lcwatts2971]

thats badass! great work & video 👍👍

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

Thanks!

[@martinvandezande4822]

Thank you from Holland. My Mexico beetle meter is almost the same. He is up and running again.

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

That’s great!!! I’m glad it helped!!👍👍

[@brianzimmer5532]

Well done, thank you!

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

Thanks!👍

[@rasdavis8390]

Dope bro thanks 🫡💯👑shouts from England 🇬🇧

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

Thanks man!!👍👍

[@ferdinandbaez2410]

Excellent video. I’ll tackle my 71SB and my 73SB following your steps. Thanks

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

Thanks! Good luck!

[@VWJawbreaker]

Excellent video! Post a link to the led strip for the ones who’d like to do the same mod 🤙

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

I'll try and find one on Amazon, I got mibe from a local shop.

[@mra2957]

Awesome video thanks. Now ready to rebuild mine!

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

Awesome👍👍

[@FixinBugsNStuff]

Way to think outside the box. Never thought about adding a led strip.

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

I tried to find better bulbs etc. but nothing was strong enough to make a difference so using the led strip was simple and effective, and isn't visible when it's off.

[@williewillteeztorres8502]

awesome upgrade and video.

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

Thanks for the feedback! 👍👍

[@curtiscrawford1622]

Ppl like me use videos like yours when we run into problems. Like I did rebuilding my speedometer. The two toughest parts were resetting the miles and putting the back of the speedometer back on. Lining up the tiny little wire in the tiny little hole. Your video was very informative until you skipped showing the two hardest parts and cut away only to return with the part fixed but didn’t show how to fix it. Other than that it was okay. On another note I believe people like me don’t necessarily go looking for these videos unless we run into problems with something we are doing. If I find the video that helps fix my problems I mostly skip past all the BS ppl say and do to make their videos fancy and go right to the meat of my problems. Thanks for making them they help most of the time.

[@vintage76vipergreenBeetle]

Great info.👍

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

Thanks!👍

[@mabbott73]

Thanks for the video. It's the best one that resembles mine. You've allowed me to tackle this myself for my '74 VW Thing. There are a few minor differences but 98% identical. My glass is actually polycarbonate of something and it had no gasket. What kind of grease do you recommend?

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

Thanks! I'm glad it helped. I use a thick gear lube grease, you can use any gear type grease that is ok on plastics etc. It doesn't take much, you don't need it to sling around. Something like a good dialectic grease could work well too.

[@curtiscrawford1622]

Also I do like the led lights. Do you have the product info on the lights all the ones I find are about 1/2in wide and I think that’s to wide. Thanks

[@newalex1970]

Great video ! Would the LED connection need a resistor ? Or just connect it ? Thanks for your time big fan keep up the great work on VW DYI . Alex NJ

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

Thanks for the kind words! The les strips I get are 12v so on a 12v car it's a direct connection. On a 6v car id add a converter that converts 6v to 12v you should be able to find them on Amazon or alibaba etc.

[@ralphmans]

@@WolfHausMotorwerksdid you wire the LED strip to the dimmer on the dash?

[@benkanobe7500]

LED link? Is this a service I can pay you to provide on my '73 Standard Type 1 Bug? I don't need the Odo reset, just everything else. Thank you for this excellent guide!

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

You can DM me at [e-mail]

[@MarkDuncan-in3zm]

Would you be willing to rebuild my 74 super beetle speedometer?

[@Dawnzyxio14]

What are the light bulbs u used I can't find the model name of the exact bulb model number online

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

The Led strip I use is similar to this DC 12V Waterproof 1Ft 15 LED Strip Underbody Light with 6 inches Wires for Motor (White,Pack of 6) a.co/d/5ArgD3r I hope this helps👍

[@SupremeVdubs]

What size LED strip is that?

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

It's a generic Led strip, about 12" long and just a bit less then 1/2" wide, you can use a strip that is less wide but not really wider. The ones I have used can be cut shorter and most come with an adhesive backing. You can find them at most electronics stores or online. they run on 12V DC.

[@robertingram4562]

could you add a colored led light strip such as green instead of white

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

You could put any color you like, it may cause the needle to show more or less, but I'd recommend trying it before you close up the speedo to see if you like the look of it.

[@seandickson518]

Is it possible to buy the piece that the speedometer cable goes into? My old speedo cable rusted into that pin/gear. I finally got the cable off but a piece of the cable is still stuck in there so I cant get another cable in there far enough to turn the gear 100% of time but will work sometime. I want to take the speedo apart and replace that piece, I might even be able to remove the broken piece with it apart but didn't want to risk not having the piece before starting this. This is for a 74 Acapulco Thing.

[@seandickson518]

Second question if I do have to buy a used speedometer for this, is that gear pretty standard for these speedos that have the separate fuel gauge?

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

I'm not aware of many or any spare parts other than a gear for super beetle speedos. I usually source used units to pick parts from.

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

Ideally I usually get as close to identical unit to swap parts from.

[@phred1981]

Where can I find parts ?

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

I mostly use old speedos for parts etc. I’m not aware of any suppliers.

[@clemsonbloke]

Is it legal to run the mileage back? I thought it was.

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

I can't say what is legal or not in your area, however these speedometers often broke and were not accurate, easily replaced by one from another car, and at 99 999 they would go back to 0. In the video I show how to fix etc, you can also use this to put the correct milage into a replacement speedo for example.

[@Keith-tt1xi]

informative video but the guys hands go out of shot way too much kinda frustrating!

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

Thanks for the feedback Not always easy to film properly and get things done at the same time. 👍👍

[@curtiscrawford1622]

Most of your videos are helpful, but it be really nice if you would show the difficult parts instead of cutting away and then just showing them done back up so in my opinion, your video isn’t very damn helpful

[@WolfHausMotorwerks]

So is it just this video? What exactly is the info you need more clarification on? I had feedback that my videos were too long and drawn out.🤷‍♂️