6.9 Speedos

[Oversize]

How many different speedos were available for the 6.9? I've seen the Aust delivered ones which display a max speed of 260kmh. I've seen AMG ones on the net reading up to 300kmh & even 320kmh!

What did the Euro & US (or any other) ones look like? Photos would be great..... BTW my Euro has a standard 450 one in place, so I'm in the market for a replacement.

 

[Styria]

Hi Mark, as far as I know, the following speedos were available for the 6.9.

260 kilometers for metric countries, inc. OZ.
85 miles per hour - very rare - America only, year unknown.
300 kilometers (as you have stated) for AMG as in WGB's car.
Picture of dual read speedo (but miles per hour) as in Gleaming Beauty.....



Very rare, not easy to come by - I do have one almost exactly the same, but to suit the 450s. - again quite rare and it may have to be sourced from England or similar. Regards Styria

 

[Oversize]

I'm finally getting the hang of posting pics & thought I'd add this one to this thread. I'd suggest it's a custom installation in an AMG.



I'm not sure if the link to the Youtube video below will work. It shows the tacho of a 6.9 being revved. What interested me was the speed with which the revs increase. Again I'd suggest AMG modified (althought the speedo doesn't suggest anything special)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-McifFC2nWA&feature=fvw

One thing I do know is there's plenty of morons out there willing to make idiotic comments below some of the videos!!

 

[SELfor50]

I'm finally getting the hang of posting pics & thought I'd add this one to this thread. I'd suggest it's a custom installation in an AMG.



I'm not sure if the link to the Youtube video below will work. It shows the tacho of a 6.9 being revved. What interested me was the speed with which the revs increase. Again I'd suggest AMG modified (althought the speedo doesn't suggest anything special)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-McifFC2nWA&feature=fvw

One thing I do know is there's plenty of morons out there willing to make idiotic comments below some of the videos!!

Unsure about the modified 6.9 video with fast revving engine. By the sound of the engine, it wasn't revving that fast. Bouncing tacho is an electrical issue (I think) that is caused to to different resistance in the circuit. Oscar has had this problem on his 350 I think before. The engine speed in this vid definitely doesn't sound like it's hitting 4,000rpm's..

I hate being a doubter, but that's my 2c.

320kmh tacho looks like AMG.. but I think the AMG one's had AMG decal inside the tacho?! WGB can comment, he has one installed on his.

 

[Oversize]

SELfor50 I think you may be right:



So I wonder who made the 320kmh one if it wasn't AMG? Could any good speedo place change the dial & recalibrate a standard 450 speedo to suit the 6.9?

Were the Euro temp gauges in deg F & oil pressure in lbs?

 

[Styria]

SELfor50 I think you may be right:



So I wonder who made the 320kmh one if it wasn't AMG? Could any good speedo place change the dial & recalibrate a standard 450 speedo to suit the 6.9?

Were the Euro temp gauges in deg F & oil pressure in lbs?

Countries with imperial measures showed miles and Fahrenheit (such as U.K. of course) and America (I think) showed miles and kilometers, and also Imperial readings - keep in mind, though, that the American galloncarries a lower liter volume than its British equivalent. Regards Styria

 

[WGB]

Here is a picture of my repro AMG face.



The design was copied from a photo of what was purported to be a Genuine AMG speedo on e-bay ( from memory they were asking about US$2000) and another photo that was taken of a definitely genuine AMG speedo in a museum in Germany.

There are no shift points on the speedo as per the two others that were used as copies and the face was silk screened in Perth by an instrument maker (he made a few other copies that were purchased by others) and then he calibrated my speedo to the new face.

It seems to read deadly accurate speed in all the usual speed ranges.

Bill

 

[BenzBoy]

It certainly looks smart Bill.
There is a theory that the comfortable cruising speed of a car is when the needle is at the 12 o'clock position. Can you verify this is the case?
Regards,
Benz-Boy

 

[WGB]

I can neither confirm nor deny that BB.

And with a new speedo cable (admittedly a 450 one which fitted perfectly - as the 6.9 specific one is no NLA) it has a rock steady nedle through all the usable range.

Bill

 

[Oversize]

Beautiful speedo WGB! Now the big question is does he still have any faces left & if not can he reproduce more? In this case faster isn't better, as I really didn't like the look of the 320kmh one.... and to me the speedo / tacho are like windows into your car's soul (plus you're always looking at them in Vic), so it's important they look good!

 

[WGB]

Here is the original discussion thread at the other site.

http://forum.w116.org/interiors-and-exteriors/the-holy-grail-a-genuine-amg-6-9-instrument-cluster-(0-300kmhr)-on-ebay/45/

I am not sure how many faces were made at the time but at least three were made on reading the thread .

They were made at Applied Instruments Balcatta WA by David and mine cost $250 fitted and calibrated.

Bill

 

[Oversize]

I'll give them a call tomorrow, or Monday. Can't wait to test the 12 o'clock theory!!!

 

[Styria]

Hi Oversize, just changing the subject completely - now that you have mastered the transferring of pics, I am curious to get more details of your Buick Roadmaster - we do have a section where you can run wild talking about cars other than Mercedes. Regards Styria

 

[Oversize]

Here's a good video of the Euro 6.9 instruments including the speedo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQosKLRrhkw

 

[260ebenz]

6.9 is purring like a kitten it's music to any Mercedes owners ears!

 

[Tony66_au]

I had my R100's speedo recalibrated (After a few tickets) at a shop in the service road on Maroondah Hwy just before you head down into Ringwood years ago and the guy mentioned to me that he could refurbish the face and tidy it up repaint the needles etc.

Half way through the job he called and suggested I add 50 or 60 Kph to the dial so I could better see the legal limit posts on the speedo through my steering wheel as this was a slight problem for me as well and I agreed. (The Tacho is dead center of the dash and the speedo was offset as per a track car where RPM is far more important than speed.

The end result of the cluster rebuild was great and the whole thing cost me a touch short of $350 a bit over 20 years ago.

My point is this, Any good instrument technician can do this job and there are a few in Melbourne as in other states.

Tony

 

[Oversize]

I managed to track down a 170mph speedo n cluster for Blue Flame! Yay! Finally she'll look correct from the driver's (my) POV! Pics when it arrives... Very happy Jan

 

[Oversize]

Well here 'tis just in case anyone was curious... All the way from Hawaii!! Needs quite a bit of cleaning, but I'm very happy. Funny that Styria just posted a pic that was very similar!!! Now she's getting closer to the way she's meant to be.... Next I'll be removing the LPG system and using my parts cars as donors for modern EFI

 

[Styria]

Hi Mark, for whatever reason, I never seem to be able to open photos that are marked with a red cross. Thus, all I have seen so far is the other cluster incorporating oil, temp and fuel readings. Can someone put me wise ? Regards Styria

 

[BenzBoy]

If there is a red cross it means either there is an inappropriate file extension on the picture - so it can't be opened by the programme you have; or there is nothing in the file to open.
The red cross means nothing will happen.
Regards,
Brian