New Odometer setting ? Restoration

[Jerry W.]

Doing complete Resto on 62....What are the excepted rules on Odometer reset setting for a resto....True mileage on this car is unknown...it has rolled over at least once as it is currently in the low teens.

Thanks in advance for your opinions

[Richard G.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

There is no need to change the mileage, but of course it is your project and you can set it where you like. I'm the second owner of a '61 that I bought in 1968 and it is very original. I sent the speedometer out to be restored. It had 67000 miles on it and I instructed the restorer to roll it back to zero. My thinking was that the engine was ballanced and rebuilt and the odometer would indicate engine miles. In hind sight I wish I had left it alone. Turns out the odometer was returned to me showing 7000 miles, maybe there is some regulation or law about turning an odometer to zero. Anyway, I can calculate car miles and read engine miles minus 7000 but I wish I had left it alone to show original miles. Hope someone else has some solid reasons for for leaving it alone, but it's your car, pick a number if you want to change it.

[Pete B.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

I hope we get some additional "seasoned" members to chime in...I will be facing the same issue...In my case I have a documented, through DMV, 55k mile car. I did a body off as there were some body/paint issues. I belive I will leave the mileage alone....But with everything being as close to factory brand new it sure is tempting to set it at 7 miles or so if nothing else just to take a picture!

[Brian M.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

I left my mileage as it was.

[Terry B.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

I did not reset my mileage either. I think a case could be made for either choice but I have a saying that helps me with decisions sometimes, when in doubt, don't.

[Pierre J.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

I have done several total restoration projects and there were no way to determine the original mileage on the cars. What I did is set the mileage on the odometers at exactly 50000 miles.

That didn't look "out of place" and made it easy to determine exactly the number of miles driven on the car from then on.

Pierre

[Roy B.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

When I restored my 55 30 plus years ago it had around 30,000 miles because it sat for 18 years . I left it that way so that I "knew" how many miles were on the Corvette. Now it shows 18,000 miles ,and people ask is that the original mileage. I'm proud to tell people no, the paint is still nice but under the hood with it's mileage and greasy dirt look it looks to be original. Not an NCRS perfect pretty look which makes people think that.
Today if no one knew me or my 55 Corvette I think I could pass it off as Bowtie or cross flag award

[Michael W.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

.What are the excepted rules on Odometer reset setting for a resto..

There are no accepted rules other than it's probably illegal to deliberately tamper with an odo reading.

Why would you choose zero? The car is still 47 years old with 47 year old parts on it- each with hundreds of thousands of miles.

[John D.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

I agree with Michael Ward. When my 63 was restored it had 30,000 plus miles on it. Left it alone.
If you want to get in serious legal trouble in PA go ahead and tamper with the odometer. JD

[Ken A.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

Why would you choose zero? The car is still 47 years old with 47 year old parts on it- each with hundreds of thousands of miles.[/quote]
I really doubt there are more than a handful of early Corvettes with hundreds of thousands of miles on them-and maybe not even 1. Most states have no "laws" regarding mileage on old cars, the seller just states: "true mileage unknown" and that's it. Set it to what makes you happy, as I'm sure the last owner did.

[Jerry W.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

Thanks for the responses so far....I picked up an brand new 62 340hp with off road mufflers ( a different 62 from this one )from Mathews Chevrolet in Granite City Illinois in june of 62. It's about ten miles from the St louis plant as the crow flies. I was chagrined at the time that it had a few miles on the odometer but that feeling soon dissapated when i started up the engine and drove out of the driveway....What a thrill....Thinking back on this....Perhaps it was picked up by the salesman for dealer delivery....I never asked.

[Joe R.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

If the odometer is broken and being repaired it can be set to "O" or the original mileage (if known) can be placed on the odometer.

If you are selling the car it is unlawful to falsely misrepresent the mileage on any vehicle. In other words, if you have someone put 33,000 miles on a 100,000 mile car and present that car as a 33,000 mile car you are breaking a federal law and can be liable.

Titles in most states have blocks to check.

Titles have an Odometer Disclosure statement. I certify that to the best of my knowledge that the odometer reading provided in the box below is the actual mileage of the vehicle unless on of the following statements is checked.

Exceeds Mechanical Limits. The mileage stated is in excess of the odometer's mechanical limits.

Warning-Odometer Discrepancy. The odometer is not the actual mileage.


While you are restoring an automobile it is your responsibility to present the car as honestly as you can possibly do and that includes correct mileage. Step outside those lines and you may be paying a lawyer to correct your mistake.

JR

[Chris E.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

When I did my restoration on my 67, I left it alone. That way, the had written mileage log my dad has going back to before I was born fits nicely with the miles that I'll start to accumulate.

[Stan E.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

In NY you must put a tag on the door post with the original mileage and supply a statment with the title or registration stating the correct milage when altered at the time of sale.

[Michael W.]

Re: New Odometer setting ? Restoration

I really doubt there are more than a handful of early Corvettes with hundreds of thousands of miles on them-and maybe not even 1.

The OP states that his own car has gone over 100,000 miles at least once.

There's HUGE difference between 'mileage unknown' and 'I deliberately tampered with the odo reading' at least in the eyes of the law.