1967 Speed Warning lens

[wluessen]

Hi All
As a new member this will be my first post, I have a 1967 coupe with the speed warning option. One of the first items I took care of after I purchased my Sting Ray 2 years ago was to replace all of the scratched guage lenes and relpace the clock movement.
The problem I am having is with the plastic lenes on the speedo. If I install it convex there isn't enough of the speed warning set shaft sticking though the lens to get the tiny knob onto. If I install the lens concave, it touches the center of the speedo needle and won't let it rotate up to show the speed. Has anyone else expernced this?

Tired of taking out the guage cluster...

 

[midyear]

67 speed warning clusters use plastic convex lens's. typical replacements are 63 plastic lens's as opposed to the glass lens's for 64-67 standard clusters. how do your new lens's compare to the old ones?? I have a s-warning cluster in my roadster, the lens are plastic 63 type, convex and the knob fits fine.

 

[JohnZ]

Both Noland's book and the NCRS JG say that '67 U15 Speed Warning clusters have convex plastic speedo and tach lenses (vs. concave glass lenses on non-U15 cars), and here's a photo of the Dobbins '67 with U15, with convex plastic lenses - you can see the reflections of the convex shape.

 

[wluessen]

Thanks Mid-Year. I'll will compare the old with the new lens tonight.
I am surprised to hear that a '63 lens would fit on a '67. Didn't the '63-'64 guage have a deep concave cone face, where as '65-'67 went to a flat face?

 

[nick67vette]

Concave vs Convex

For me the jury is still out on this one. As an active NCRS 200 Club judge and a NCCB judge, specializing on 1967 interior, I have looked at hundreds of cars. Unrestored examples I have seen (including one of my own) with U15 have had the lenses installed concave. Restored examples have almost all been concave as well. The few I saw with convex lenses (like the books say) looked out of place, the knob could not be threaded on the shaft completely, and rested on the lens. Ironically, the two convex installations had no supporting documentation for the factory authenticity of the option.

I spoke with the 4 major gauge cluster restorers at different times. NONE could say they had ever seen them installed convex on original clusters sent to them.

Since there is no description I could find in factory assembly manuals, and lacking direct factory installer input (somebody correct me if I am wrong) there is no way other than observation, research and interview to verify which is correct. Many issues creep into low production, often duplicated options like this. It is never wise to say it must be one or the other. It may be possible the factory did it both ways...

For now, I would not deduct for convex installation in spite of the fact that my expierience indicates concave to be most common and supported by direct observation. It would be great to hear from verfiable ORIGINAL owners of u15 cars that have good memories. There were 2,108 of them. I wonder how many are left?

 

[JohnZ]

Good question, Nick - as you said, the best evidence is unmolested original cars; must be some Bowtie cars out there with U15....somewhere :eek