Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

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Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by Dan Szwarc »

In 1967, the scrolling speedo received a tweak where the speedo changes from White with black lines to RED with black lines at speeds above 70 MPH.

I can confirm they still used this in 1969, but what about 1970 to 1977, the last year of the scrolling speedo?

I've had my 77 over 70MPH and am almost certain it does not turn red, but it only has the 80/85 MPH speedo. What about the 120s?

Did it in 1976? 75? When was the last year it did?

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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by Eddie Lives On »

My MY77, built March 77, doesn't turn red. It has the 85 speedo.
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by kellyz »

My previous Oct.1976 1977 Town Car did not turn red over 70. I had it as fast as 110 and still no red.
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by Castrosua »

mine is a 72 MY built in late 71 (have to look, cant remember right now). She has a speedometer that goes to 120, and it turns red from 75

((EDIT: WRONG!))
Last edited by Castrosua on Sun Sep 04, 2022 2:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by mechatech »

I noticed that you have this MY prefix. What does it mean?

My car was built June of 72. The speedometer goes to 120 and is white all the way.
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by Dan Szwarc »

MY means Model Year.

So if I create a list based on info so far:
  • 1966: Black lines on White bars 0 to 120.
  • 1967: Black lines on White bars 0 to 70, black lines on Red Bars 70-120
  • 1968: Black lines on White bars 0 to 70, black lines on Red Bars 70-120
  • 1969: Black lines on White bars 0 to 70, black lines on Red Bars 70-120
  • 1970: ??
  • 1971: ??
  • Early 1972: Black lines on White bars 0 to 75, black lines on Red Bars 75-120
  • Late 1972: Black lines on White bars 0 to 120.
  • 1973: Black lines on White bars 0 to 120.
  • 1974: ??
  • 1975: ??
  • 1976: ??
  • 1977 w/120s: Black lines on White bars 0 to 120.
  • 1977 w/80s: Black lines on White bars 0 to 85.
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by Castrosua »

OK..an update...clearly i must have been exhausted to the point of seeing red when i was in Michigan and bought the my car...because my speedometer is all white with black bars...

The only red is the actual line that shows the speed....so its my mistake.

At least somebody that looks from now on out wont go on inaccurate data
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by xjrguy »

Mine is a late 1973 and has the 120MPH speedo.

It does not change color when over 70MPH and stays white.
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by Dan Szwarc »

xjrguy wrote:Mine is a late 1973 and has the 120MPH speedo.

It does not change color when over 70MPH and stays white.
My post above updated.
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by Castrosua »

Dan Szwarc wrote:
xjrguy wrote:Mine is a late 1973 and has the 120MPH speedo.

It does not change color when over 70MPH and stays white.
My post above updated.
Same with mine..the early 72. Its still white with black bars all the way to 120
1972 Lincoln Continental 4dr, 1973 Lincoln Continental TownCar
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by Castrosua »

Funny how time makes you forget. I drove mine up to...let's say fast. And no sign or red speedometer. Facebook groups got to me...but, I see my old posts, my own words. Who am I to argue with myself, right? :grin:
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1974 Ford Ranchero GT 500, 1993 DAC 112 UDM
1994 Rocar 112, 2004 Ford Crown Vic Sport
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by Dan Szwarc »

Thread from 2011! Information is still correct.
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by TonyC »

A few years ago I bought a speedometer unit on E-Bay, because at the time my old speedometer was acting the fool and I didn't know why. The one I bought had the color-change feature at 70...but there was something else. Although listed as '67, and the drum part looked like it was compatible, the odometer was of a very different construction, and the part number on the unit started with a "D." That told me the unit I got was actually out of a '70s organ donor, either '70 or '71. It still looked compatible with a '66 dash, but I never tried installing it. After I got my old speedo drum out, I saw why it was acting crazy, fixed that, freshened up the surfaces with model paint, made a blue filter for the high-beam indicator to replace the red lens which fell out of the panel (I found it later on and stashed it in a box of spare parts), and re-installed. It has worked perfectly since.

On a side note, I also discovered why the "40" on my dash panel always looked dimmer and discolored compared to all the other numbers. There was a piece of tape, like brown package tape, right over the "40" inside the panel; that had to be a factory gaffe, something nobody ever really bothered to notice, much less remedy. Now the "40" is brighter than the rest of the numbers on the scale, but it also is the right color.

I still have the speedo drum I bought stashed away somewhere; if I dig it out I can give the full part number. That could answer the ??s regarding at least the '70 and '71 models.

---Tony

P.S. One day when I get a notion to, I have to pull it out again and see what I can do about one thing that isn't working on it. The drum spins perfectly, the regular odo registers properly (to include the 1/10 register), but the trip odo does not work at all. It must be something in the gears, but I didn't take a whole lot of time going into it when I last had it out. Being that the regular odo still worked and I fixed the jam in the drum, I didn't want to take the risk of erasing the numbers already on the regular odo, or worse botching the whole bloody mess, by tinkering with the trip-odo gears. One day I'll have to do that.
Last edited by TonyC on Mon Jul 04, 2022 1:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by frasern »

11 years, and no pictures!
DSCF5481 (2).JPG
DSCF5480 (2).JPG
This is from a '68 parts car, but appears the same as my '67, so I brought it home to clean and inspect. The drum is cleaner than my other one, they seem to get small flakes, which look like large bubbles through the magnifier. But this will let people know what one looks like inside.

Edit; This will show the white, black, and red lines in operation.
DSCF5482 (2).JPG
DSCF5484 (2).JPG
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Re: Attn MY70 to 77 Owners: Speedo color over 70mph

Post by Castrosua »

frasern wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 9:02 pm 11 years, and...
Nice! I dont remember if I took photos, but I think somewhere in the Member Projects with my car I did put some photos about removing the dashboard, and "gauge cluster" (haha), but I dont think I took detailed photos.

Im pretty sure the horsepower wars in the muscle car world have seeped into the luxury sedan consciousness, and removing the red would imply higher top speed, thus sportiness, muscle etc. :think:
1972 Lincoln Continental 4dr, 1973 Lincoln Continental TownCar
1974 Ford Ranchero GT 500, 1993 DAC 112 UDM
1994 Rocar 112, 2004 Ford Crown Vic Sport
2014 Chevy Camaro 2LS, 2022 Dodge Charger 392 Hemi Scat Pack Wide Body
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