Clock

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Clock

Postby Randl114 » Thu Sep 16, 2010 2:39 pm

Can anybody answer if the dash clock was a stock option in the 78 spyder. My clock hasn't worked since I got the car. Was wondering if it is replaceable or does it have it's own battery that i can change. Maybe it has to get taken to a clock/watch repair place. Has anybody had problems with their clock, if it is in fact stock. Thanks for the feedback.
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1978 Chevrolet Monza Spyder


Re: Clock

Postby acstestinc » Mon Sep 20, 2010 8:21 am

There were two clock options in 78.
The most common is in the gauge cluster (lower right) and came with the optional gauge package (tachometer, water temperature and clock).
The second , and extremely rare, option is the digital clock that is located in above the glove box.

The gauge clock is notorious for not working. I don't know about the digital clock.

You'll find gauge clocks occasionally on E Bay. I picked up a NOS one there.

Both clocks run off the car battery.
Not sure if a clock / watch place can repair them. Spare parts are not available.

There is a quartz conversion kit available for other GM clocks (Corvettes etc.) that looks like it could work in a Monza. I posted the question awhile back but got no responses so I don't think anyone here has tried it.

I'm going to try it this winter and I'll post the results.
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Re: Clock

Postby Randl114 » Mon Sep 20, 2010 11:15 am

Thanks for the feedback. I was going to take it out from above the glovebox just to get a better look at how it works. I know it has to be something simple. I figured what the heck, the clock doesnt work anyway, so whats the harm.
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Re: Clock

Postby gotmud7 » Mon Sep 20, 2010 5:55 pm

I wrote up a thread on this awhile back. "How to fix your hbody clock". Here is a link, and an update. Clock worked for about 2 weeks. I would do the quartz conversion next time. Mark

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23415
The only Vega's that only had a little rust were the ones still on the assembly line.
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Re: Clock

Postby TTait » Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:31 am

11 years later...

I resurrected my oem clock with some light cleaning and filing the points- it runs now but I'm truing to dial in the speed.

For reference I'm working on a 75 Monza,

With the protective shell off the clock housing I was able to clean and get it all running again, and I located the speed adjustment. Its a small lever forward (toward the clock face) from the spring assembly near the bottom of the clock, puhing the lever to the right makes the clock run faster, pushing it to the left makes it run slower. Wow - its a bear though.

The full range of adjustment is huge and therefore hitting the sweet spot is tough. In my mind I'd love to see the clock accurate to within 1 second over 12 hours. Its really hard because the lever binds a little and moving it just a hairs width makes a big difference. to do this right I'd like to build a machined jog to hold down the clock and have a precision lever click onto the adjustment lever and then extend out a few feet so I could index and move the long end of the adjusting lever a few mm versus and indexed scale and move the adjustment lever on the clock a few 10,000th of an inch to a repeatable position - but that's applying way too much thought to 70's tech.

I'm already to the point where the clock will run and not be dead in the dash, but currently I'm gaining or losing 10 seconds every 12 hours at best. I saw a video online that suggested that some manufacturers tied the adjustment knob to this trim adjustment. If you turn the time back it slows the clock down just a hair.
If you advance the clock it speeds it up a little. Did GM do this?

Do I need to keep fiddling with this out of the car, or can I put the case back together and reinstall it and keep fine tuning the speed inside the car just by resetting the correct time occasionally?

Tom
On my third H Body - 1975 Monza 2+2 4.3L Orange/Black (Current State: Running great - needs the AC finished before summer hits hard)
76 Monza 2+2 L4 (1982-1987)
77 Starfire V6 (1987-1987)
82 Delorean - Universal Raffle Car (2005-2013)
81 Delorean 2009 - Present
17 Chevy Bolt 2017- Sold back to GM for almost a full refund
22 Mustang Mach E on order
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Re: Clock

Postby 79MonzaSpyder » Tue Apr 06, 2021 2:44 am

Hi Tom, by the looks of this thread cleaning and lubricating the clocks seems to be a very temporary fix. Zeke (Chris) on this forum also fixed his by cleaning and lubricating it. I asked him a few months back if was still working and he said no, only worked for a few weeks and stopped again. I asked because both of the clocks in my Monza didn’t work either and I thought i would try cleaning and lubing them if it worked but if it only lasts a few weeks it’s not worth it so I bought an NOS clock and hope even though it’s 40 years old that it works for a while. It works now but I am a long way away from installing it in the car.
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2018 Toyota Camry XSE V6
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80 Monza 2+2, Cloned into a 79 Monza Spyder V8 4 Speed (Current Project)
80 Monza Spyder V6 Auto (parts car, sadly)
80 Honda CB750K Fully Restored with Custom Full Dress
80 Honda CM400A 10,000 Orig. Miles Full Dress
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Re: Clock

Postby TTait » Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:10 am

The cleaning and lubricating certainly didn't hurt, but it wasn't a dire case as the clock was partially working when I got the car. The clock would run for a minute or two and then stop for a day or two. The problem appeared to be with the points in the clock. They were definitely been arcing- as soon as I pulled the clock out and cleaned them up it stared running OK. I then blew out a bunch of dust, so I cleaned and then re-oiled it to freshen it up.

I realized the points could have simply gotten scored when the battery ran low but I also checked the electrical connections in the car. I got good voltage on the + wire but moderate resistance on the ground wire. I traced out the black wire and found it cut and stripped at the end and laying on top of the heater control, completing ground depending in how the car was being driven. Nice! This was obviously the bigger problem. For those who haven't been through the clock threads, the clocks are actual old school mechanical clocks with gears and springs which are only "wound" electrically once every two minutes or so. The clockwork slowly closes a set of points like in an ignition system, completing the circuit to a small solenoid in the clock which quickly and rather loudly winds the clock enough for another 2 minutes of operation. If the power faulters for a moment in that time the clock doesn't slow down because its mechanical timekeeping.

There's what looks to be several runs of alternate speaker wire down that way as well, mostly unterminated, so I suspect someone found the clock wire and tried to pit it to use while doing a stereo modification, or stole its homerun to ground for a similar project in the early 80s.

I repaired the ground connection obviously. I'm betting that helps reliability. Having ground wires flop around behind the dash looking for bare metal was a technique usually only used by Lucas in British cars I thought?

I just hate bending the pot metal tabs back on the casing without doing my best to trim the speed, they don't have many cycles in them.

I'm hoping the clock will run for a while.

Time will tell...

Or not.
On my third H Body - 1975 Monza 2+2 4.3L Orange/Black (Current State: Running great - needs the AC finished before summer hits hard)
76 Monza 2+2 L4 (1982-1987)
77 Starfire V6 (1987-1987)
82 Delorean - Universal Raffle Car (2005-2013)
81 Delorean 2009 - Present
17 Chevy Bolt 2017- Sold back to GM for almost a full refund
22 Mustang Mach E on order
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Re: Clock

Postby Monza Harry » Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:56 pm

Tom I get the "to keep it as new" purist slant, but I bought the quartz conversion kit, it is for the '76-'80 style I have no idea if the '75 is the same for those that are wondering. I want mine to work well too! I haven't finished the car and the clock will be awhile before I get to that. :( Harry
eBay listing: https://www.ebay.ca/str/clocks4cars/QUA ... _bkw=Monza
And Google search: https://www.google.com/search?q=quartz+ ... e&ie=UTF-8
I'm not a hoarder I'm a preservationist 78 Monza Spyder (~Soon(ish +/- I guess) To Be 2+2 with Spoilers)
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Re: Clock

Postby TTait » Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:20 pm

Wanted to wait a while to reply to see how things were going.

For now the clock is is running well so I can save the money for other disasters. The car still has all the original bushings for example. It is running a little slow, but its running.

A clock upgrade is somewhere on the list, but if you saw the car, you'd understand its not at the top. at least its not frozen.

At the moment I think the only things not working are two of the high beam headlamps that I haven't installed yet, and the windshield washer - but the reservoir may be empty - I keep forgetting the check. I just got the AC running last night - progress has been fast even if the clock runs a little slow.

Thanks for the encouragement.
On my third H Body - 1975 Monza 2+2 4.3L Orange/Black (Current State: Running great - needs the AC finished before summer hits hard)
76 Monza 2+2 L4 (1982-1987)
77 Starfire V6 (1987-1987)
82 Delorean - Universal Raffle Car (2005-2013)
81 Delorean 2009 - Present
17 Chevy Bolt 2017- Sold back to GM for almost a full refund
22 Mustang Mach E on order
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Re: Clock

Postby TTait » Tue Jun 01, 2021 9:26 pm

Its been a while now and the clock is running and keeping excellent time. I am probably not a textbook case however because the primary problem seems to have been an intermittent ground. Cleaning, light lube and filing the points were more a tune up for me than a repair. It looks like its running accurate to within about 2 minutes a month currently. I'm not clear if resetting the time trims the running speed on this unit or not, but that was a feature on some 70's clocks similar to this design.
On my third H Body - 1975 Monza 2+2 4.3L Orange/Black (Current State: Running great - needs the AC finished before summer hits hard)
76 Monza 2+2 L4 (1982-1987)
77 Starfire V6 (1987-1987)
82 Delorean - Universal Raffle Car (2005-2013)
81 Delorean 2009 - Present
17 Chevy Bolt 2017- Sold back to GM for almost a full refund
22 Mustang Mach E on order
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Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2021 1:47 pm

Re: Clock

Postby zeke » Mon Oct 18, 2021 8:33 am

Nope, didn't say it stopped working. I said it wouldn't keep time. :rolleyes:
Chris

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zeke's 78 Sport Coupe

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Re: Clock

Postby sirrick4 » Mon Oct 18, 2021 6:03 pm

"I repaired the ground connection obviously. I'm betting that helps reliability. Having ground wires flop around behind the dash looking for bare metal was a technique usually only used by Lucas in British cars I thought?"
Good old Lucas electrical systems, I know exactly what you mean. Australia used to be full of old Pommy cars and they were always a pain to work on. Ozzie isn't the only Prince of Darkness.
Rick ......1975 Monza 2+2
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