New 0 miles crate engine/old Odometer/vehicle registration?

[BlazerBill]

I will soon be installing a new crate engine into my ‘83 Blazer (restoration near completion) with the original odometer. What is the best way to begin tracking the miles driven with the new engine? Can/should I reset the odometer to match the new engine and if so, how and is it legal in this scenario? I have re-register the Blazer upon getting it road worthy again and will need to report the mileage.

 

[Keith Seymore]

Can/should I reset the odometer to match the new engine and if so, how and is it legal in this scenario?

No, no and no.

Write the mileage in the owner manual and throw it in the glove box.

K

 

[sidschev]

install new speedo = o miles most of these old rigs are mileage exempt pretty much anything over 100,000 is exempt .. life of any auto is 100,000 miles even though they can go much more.... auto makers 100,000 mile marks end of use...........

 

[TotalyHucked]

^Agreed with above. If you're leaving the original gauges, leave them alone and make notes of the mileage when the engine was installed somewhere in your records for future reference/sale purposes. If you're installing new gauges/the whole truck has been restored, then I'd say it's fine to do it from zero. That's what I did when I installed my Dakota Digitals, just picked it up from zero but I do have pictures and notes of the mileage when the new drivetrain/gauges were installed.

 

[squaredeal91]

I restored the speedo in my wheeler and set it all to 9s so I could drive it into new miles for fun. But it's most likely too old to need the miles for registration. Usually it's for vehicles 10 years and newer.

 

[PrairieDrifter]

My state also doesn't care about mileage after like 20 years probably less. I would say you should only change the mileage if you've basically rebuilt the whole truck or drivetrain.

 

[BlazerBill]

So, if I decide to install a new gauge to coincide with the new engine what miles do I report for inspection/registration purposes? 0 miles (on new gauge) or the old odometer reading? When I had my ‘86 C10 inspected, it had new New Vintage digital gauges that weren’t yet calibrated and didn’t read any miles. The inspection tech asked how many miles were on the truck and I said 44K (approximate) miles that coincided with the accumulated miles since engine overhaul and the renewed registration now indicates the same 44K miles which could be interpreted as original miles. Perhaps, I should have stated that the miles were unknown and track the engine miles separately as suggested.

 

[BlazerBill]

I have completely restored the Blazer with all new drivetrain. In Texas, reporting the miles is required however, I once bought a ‘68 Cutlass fully restored in Michigan and in that state the odometer can be reset to 0 miles and can be reported as such for registration purposes with documented restoration.

 

[squaredeal91]

Calling @HotWheelsBurban
Any thoughts?

 

[BlazerBill]

Actually, I got a hold of the county Vehicle Registration department and explained my situation. They said to remind the state inspection place that my Blazer is exempt and the renewed registration would indicate that, as well.

 

[TotalyHucked]

I was gonna say, anything that old in GA doesn't have mileage on it no matter the state of the title (clean/rebuilt/salvage/etc) so I couldn't help ya there. But had you not been able to talk to them directly, I would've just put fresh gauges in it and started from 0.

 

[BlazerBill]

So, since it is exempt, I could reset the odometer or install a new odometer with 0 miles to coincide with 0 miles engine and drivetrain.

 

[berno56]

I have never had an issue in Texas with reported mileage. I have a Model A I just bought and declared mileage unknown when I registered it with a Delaware title. I do live in a podunk little county and they know me and where to find me. Just be truthful when reporting it and that is a minor issue for the state. It's all about revenue!

 

[TotalyHucked]

So, since it is exempt, I could reset the odometer or install a new odometer with 0 miles to coincide with 0 miles engine and drivetrain.

Yep, I see no issue with that

 

[DoubleDingo]

Actually, I got a hold of the county Vehicle Registration department and explained my situation. They said to remind the state inspection place that my Blazer is exempt and the renewed registration would indicate that, as well.

I was going to say, just be honest and tell them it's a fresh engine and the miles are unknown to the vehicle, and that you are considering replacing the speedometer/odometer. Glad you got it figured out, but being honest with the powers that be usually doesn't go against you.