Unknown speedometer cable to instrument cluster mismatch

[dcp14]

First off, thank u guys for your help with my car breakdown in South Bend Indiana last October.  I ended up getting a used lower half block from 2002AD, towed the vehicle back to Philly myself, and eventually got the car running again, this time with a new chain/guides, rear and crank seals, E21 modified oil pump, water pump, and machined head (Lorenzo’s Fast Flow Heads in Hulmeville, PA).  Cylinder#2 was toast and bent the valves in the process.  I’m attaching some pics just for fun.

Anyway, my problem now is something that even Ben at 2002AD hasn’t seen this before.  While the car was still sitting in South Bend, I sent a spare instrument cluster that I had picked up from a guy at Limerock years ago and sent it to Ben to repair since I had thought they were interchangeable.  Well, I got the cluster back from Ben and tried to put it in but the opening in the back of the repaired cluster is smaller than the one in my car and definitely won’t fit (pic included).    Anyone seen this before?  Any suggestions?  Should I try to rebuild the cluster myself if he won’t bargain me a second cluster repair? It was $175.  I offered to send both clusters in if I could get my original back and working well.  He’s offering to send out a new cable but I’d rather just use my original cluster.  The cluster on top is the repaired one from Ben with the smaller opening (it’s not the camera angle, believe me).

 

It’s a 1975 2002A.  
 

Thanks guys!

 

Dave P.

1975 BMW 2002A

1989 Mercedes-Benz 420sel

2009 Mini Cooper Clubman

2017 BMW 330xi (my son’s car)

 

[TobyB]

So the drive square of your cable won't go into the spigot in the speedometer?

 

Yup, haven't see that!  I think, in your shoes, I'd pull the core out of the cable and 

triple- confirm that it really won't fit in there.

Do you have the engine- service box in the middle of your cable, or is it one long run to the trans?

If you have the box, I think I'd try a one- piece cable just to see if IT works...

 

Beyond that, yes, it's pretty easy to just swap the speedometers in the clusters.

 

all I got,

t

 

[Mike Self]

Can you post a picture of the offending speedo head? 

 

Just to clarify, you're saying that the threads on the cable end fitting are a different size from the thread on the speedometer where they fasten together...

 

Looking at page 62-8 in the factory parts book, it shows a two piece cable for 75 and 76 US cars and only a single part number for the upper portion of the cable that fastens to the speedometer head, implying all US 75 and 76 cars used the same speedo. 

 

Looking further, US manual shift cars that use a single cable (1974 and earlier) use the same part number cable (62 12 1 350 977) as Euro 75 and 76 cars that use a single cable (no thermo reactor warning box).  That would imply that all 02s would use the same speedometer head (other than the face trim and whether km or mph) and thus the same threads on the head-to-cable connection.  And we know that an automatic shift car's cable will work on a manual shift car, as this is the fix for additional length when fitting a 5 speed.  I have a pretty good stash of speedometers, and the threads are all the same as far as I can tell. 

 

So that's kind of a mystery.  

 

mike

[jgerock]

Not specifically your issue, but possibly related🥴.  When I converted my 69 to a 5 speed I had to swap the longer (new) cable to another one (both from @BLUNT).  One on the left wouldn’t attach to the stock speedo head. One on the right was the proper one.  Both opposite ends were the same. Cable on the left had a straight grommet; one on right had the angled grommet. Weird. Steve handled it with grace👍🙏.

[Mike Self]

6 hours ago, jgerock said:

 When I converted my 69 to a 5 speed I had to swap the longer (new) cable to another one (both from @BLUNT).

Was the longer cable you used from a 2002 automatic or from a Bavaria?  I used a Bavaria cable (a few inches longer than the 2002 automatic cable) when I converted to a 5 speed and it connected with no problem.  Like the original cable it has the much longer thumb nut on the end, like the one to the right in your picture.  

 

I've never seen a 2002 speedo cable with the small, reeded edge nut like the one on the left.

 

mike

[jimk]

9 hours ago, Mike Self said:

when I converted to a 5 speed and it connected with no problem. 

+1 Bavaria cable

Edited March 29, 2023 by jimk

[Conserv]

9 hours ago, Mike Self said:

 

… I've never seen a 2002 speedo cable with the small, reeded edge nut like the one on the left.…

 

+1

 

Never.

 

Steve

 

[dcp14]

Mystery solved.  Thanks very much guys for all ur comments.  I probably should have included the cable pics at the beginning, in which case y'all would've known right away what the problem was.  I guess the inner part of my spigot got dislodged and came out with the cable and that explains why it wouldn't fit into the other spigot.  As I was going to take a picture of it to post, the thing dislodged and voila, the cable appeared.  Put it into the repaired cluster and now I finally know how fast I'm going again.

 

I suppose this was a "duh" on my part, in the end.  Cheers...

 

[jgerock]

On 3/29/2023 at 12:51 AM, Mike Self said:

Was the longer cable you used from a 2002 automatic or from a Bavaria?  I used a Bavaria cable (a few inches longer than the 2002 automatic cable) when I converted to a 5 speed and it connected with no problem.  Like the original cable it has the much longer thumb nut on the end, like the one to the right in your picture.  

 

I've never seen a 2002 speedo cable with the small, reeded edge nut like the one on the left.

 

mike

I don’t know.  Was looking for older emails pertaining to this issue. 

[TobyB]

Ha!  that's kind of funny!

 

But glad it's resolved.

 

t

never does things like that... 

nope, didn't put those spark plug towers in the E46 in backwards once, no way, nohow.