Speedometer turtle position

[qmdv]

If you are sitting in the engine compartment and looking to the rear, does the speedometer turtle threaded end face clockwise or counter clockwise. It will bolt on either way but will only work correctly in one direction

[koates]

It points towards your right from the position you are in or to the drivers side of the car in a left hand drive vehicle. Regards, Kevin.

[DavidG]

What year car are you asking about? The answer Kevin provided does not apply to all Ford model years covered by this site.

[qmdv]

Originally Posted by DavidG

What year car are you asking about? The answer Kevin provided does not apply to all Ford model years covered by this site.

It is a 32 with a later shortened rear end. The answer that Kevin gave is not relevant to my question. It should not matter what year you talk about. Question was if you look at it from the front, is it facing clockwise or counter clockwise. Facing left or right is not in the question.

[V8COOPMAN]

This is a 1935 turtle. The cable head faces the driver's side of vehicle. DD

[qmdv]

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Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

This is a 1935 turtle. The cable head faces the driver's side of vehicle. DD

Looking at it from the front, it is aimed clockwise. So it does not matter what year, they all aim clockwise, right? The shortened driveline I have has the turtle hole on the left side. So I should aim it down

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by qmdv

Looking at it from the front, it is aimed clockwise. So it does not matter what year, they all aim clockwise, right? The shortened driveline I have has the turtle hole on the left side. So I should aim it down

The torque tube/drive shaft in my picture has also been shortened. We strived to keep the turtle hole in it's original position circumferentially, although I suppose it doesn't really matter if the mounting hole has rotated to some degree. What is important is that the turtle is not pointed in the opposite direction from original, as it will turn the cable backwards. I'd point the cable connection clockwise (looking FROM the front) as you suggest. DD

[koates]

Originally Posted by qmdv

It is a 32 with a later shortened rear end. The answer that Kevin gave is not relevant to my question. It should not matter what year you talk about. Question was if you look at it from the front, is it facing clockwise or counter clockwise. Facing left or right is not in the question.

Well if you had stated in the first place that your car is modified then it would help with a correct answer. If your turtle is on the left side of the torque tube the threaded cable connection would point towards the ground(clockwise if you like). Be aware of ground clearance where the cable curves around as that bend in the cable should not be too tight an angle. Regards, Kevin.

[DavidG]

Clockwise is correct when viewed from the front of the vehicle, whether it is a stock '32 rear end where it is mounted on the bottom of the torque tube or a later rear end, modified or not, where it is mounted on the top of the torque tube as shown in your photo.

[19Fordy]

Here's the stock 1940 turtle position. I added a homemade grease fitting so the universal joint could be lubed from inside the car instead of crawling under the car. Tag should say "lift" off cover.

[Mart]

The long way:
You can work it out yourself from first principles. Then you can work out which way for any application.

Speedo's turn clockwise when viewed from the drivers seat, that is the direction you want the cable to be rotating. This would be anti-clockwise as viewed from the driveshaft end.
To achieve this, Look at the gear on the driveshaft in the photos above. It has a right hand helix. So as the car moves forward the surface at the opening scrolls forwards. (hard to put in words.)

So imagine the turtle gear sitting on that worm gear. If you angle the turtle towards the top of the pic, the forward scrolling would result in a clockwise rotation when viewed from the driveshaft. That's no good as we want anti-clock. So if you put it on pointing down, (towards the USA drivers side) then the rotation would be anti-clock from the driveshaft end, and anti-clock as it enters the BACK of the speedo. When viewed from the front of the speedo you would get the clockwise rotation you need.

While this is easy for me, as I have always been "mechanically minded" as my Gran used to say, I appreciate it might not come naturally to all. But sit sown with a pencil and paper and start doodling and drawing arrows of rotation and it might suddenly ring a bell.

The short way:
If the hole is on the top point the turtle to the left.
If the hole is on the bottom point it to the right.

My left and right are as normal convention which is as viewed from the drivers seat. (not as viewed from the engine bay as in the original post)

Hope this helps.

Mart.

[qmdv]

Thanks. My turtle is mounted on the left of the drive shaft and will be pointing down. Probably get a 90 degree adaptor to get it to point to the right

[Mart]

I just thought of another way of thinking about it based on my post above. The output of the turtle should point in the direction of the driveshaft rotation when the vehicle is in forward motion.

Mart.

[qmdv]

Originally Posted by Mart

I just thought of another way of thinking about it based on my post above. The output of the turtle should point in the direction of the driveshaft rotation when the vehicle is in forward motion.

Mart.

How bout simply counter clockwise when sitting in the front seat. Oh darn, this is no help to the generation of kids that have had all the clocks at home and school replace with digital LOL

[Tinker]

I always thought it can be installed either. But is dependent on cable position.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Tinker

I always thought it can be installed either. But is dependent on cable position.

Try to picture what those two gears really do when mated. When you turn that turtle around, it really will be rotated in the opposite direction. DD

[Tinker]

Just flip the gear in the turtle. On a 38 you can. Maybe wrong year or other. No way they mess otherwise.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Just flip the gear in the turtle. On a 38 you can. Maybe wrong year or other. No way they mess otherwise.

Tinker....I know that you can take these things apart. I posted this picture for another 'Barner about a year and a half ago. Turning the gear around leaves the shaft turning in the same direction. Clearly, turning the gear around does NOT reverse the direction that the shaft turns. It's kind'a like a fan blade. You can turn a fan blade around, but the direction the air MOVES will still be the same. You knew THAT, right? DD

[Tinker]

i agree if the blade is in the right direction. If I turned it the other way it'd be fine. gears are dependent on direction. But if you installed the turtle housing reverse and reversed the gears. Gears need to match. mesh. the housing/turtle best to my knowledge is symmetrical.


Maybe we are talking about different years. It is different for the forty then the 38 im guessing. So. the 38 turtle is different, on a 38 they can be installed wrong because you can switch them. my bad.


On a early ford the gears are just held in with the housing/turtle shell.





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[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Tinker

i agree if the blade is in the right direction. If I turned it the other way it'd be fine. gears are dependent on direction. But if you installed the turtle housing reverse and reversed the gears. Gears need to match. mesh. the housing/turtle best to my knowledge is symmetrical.


Maybe we are talking about different years. It is different for the forty then the 38 im guessing. So. the 38 turtle is different, on a 38 they can be installed wrong because you can switch them. my bad.


On a early ford the gears are just held in with the housing/turtle shell.

Tinker....In the example below, the green spiral gear perfectly represents the spiral gear on a Ford drive shaft. Consider that it constantly turns in the same direction when the car moves FORWARD. Note the direction that the straight-cut gear turns (representing the TURTLE gear). It should be clear that even if you flip the straight-cut gear on it's shaft, it's shaft will continue to turn in the same direction. DD





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