I am adding an aftermarket auto meter ultra-lite speedo in my 68 chevelle to replace the broken original. Do I need to go with Electric or Mechanical guages? I was told by Jegs that Electric was easier to install but the are about $100 more than mechanical. Is it worth it?

Thanks

I went for the electric when making this decision. The big sell to me is that you can recalibrate your speedo to whatever gears and tires you have.

I went electric on my 55. I'll never go back now. It's way easier to calibrate for wheels, tires and gears.

What about the install... is electric easier that mechanical? I believe the car is already set up for mechanical so I should be able to just switch the guages right?

There is a sender unit that screws into the transmission. ( should get one were you buy the elec speed-o from.) Then you have to run 2 small wires to the electronic speed-o. Its really a piece of cake and well worth the time it takes.

There is a sender unit that screws into the transmission. ( should get one were you buy the elec speed-o from.) Then you have to run 2 small wires to the electronic speed-o. Its really a piece of cake and well worth the time it takes.

The electric speed-o is 191 plus the price of the sender and the mechanical is 76. Do you think it is worth the extra money if we are not going to keep the car very long. Also, don't you think the mechanical should be an easy install if the original guages are still in the car... aren't the original guages mechanical?

That is pricey! If you don't plan on keeping the car long I would just replace the mechanical speed-o. Yes the original was mechanical.

Part of the decision in my case was the 20+ MPH error in the original speedo.

I picked up the electrical sender for the transmission off of ebay for about 1/3 of what Autometer wanted. You could also check wrecking yards for this item.

The problem with mechanical is to get the calibration, and thus the speed reading, right you have to get the right drive gear in the transmission. It can be done but is a lot more trouble than pushing a button, driving 2 miles, and pushing the button again. Calibrating the electronic speedo is just that easy.

Part of the decision in my case was the 20+ MPH error in the original speedo.

I picked up the electrical sender for the transmission off of ebay for about 1/3 of what Autometer wanted. You could also check wrecking yards for this item.

The problem with mechanical is to get the calibration, and thus the speed reading, right you have to get the right drive gear in the transmission. It can be done but is a lot more trouble than pushing a button, driving 2 miles, and pushing the button again. Calibrating the electronic speedo is just that easy.

The tranny is a TH 350 and has not really been upgraded. I am hoping that the speed-o will be within 5 mph of the correct speed. I think I am doing to go thith the mechanical. Thank for all the help. I will post a picture when I finish it in a few weeks.