I am planning to remove the meter circuit...

[lxdude]

If your OM-1 is not good cosmetically, I see no problem with removing the meter. The repair person can use the meter components in another OM-1, so nothing is lost. I would not take the meter out of an OM-1 in really nice cosmetic condition, but otherwise I don't see a problem with doing it. It's not like they are rare.
The resale value would be affected, though.

[baachitraka]

OM-1n is in great condition, except it needs a CLA and a little service to shutter which require two or three stroke to cock it.

Nevertheless, I'm still not decided whether to keep the meter or to have a clear view finder.

May be I research a bit to see what cameras have been used by great masters in the past and try to correlate whether meter/meter needle have any impact on composition.

[EASmithV]

I use averaging on my Sekonic L-508 all the time, and have no problems.

[BrianL]

The camera is only a tool and I suspect you'll not find "masters" who found the in-camera meter to affect their work though you'll find most had a preference for film size, type, film speed and either type of camera (tlr, slr, rangefinder etc.) or brand (usually a result of a look of the lenses or b/c of something like building a system and not wanting to diviate).

Go to the local camera shop and try some different types in the used department and see if it makes a difference. I suspect you'll find it makes a bigger difference viewing through a waist level tlr and a non-slr and slr than whether the in-camera meter is visible. Also, many cameras with in-camera meters had readouts that are actually difficult to see in the viewfinder, you need to look way off to some side and almost strain to see it. Back then it usually yielded a negative comment from reviewers but, might be a plus for you.

[baachitraka]

I got the camera with meter/bracket needle removed and it looks different. :-) Going to use only for flash photography. ;-)

[Bill Burk]

Did you cover up the "San Francisco Bay"?

[baachitraka]

Bill, I do not understand (* ! *)...you meant...

[Bill Burk]

Sorry I was thinking Spotmatics. They have the needle area cut-away from the edge. In OM-1 it's an intruding + / - and it doesn't really even look like the map of the bay area.

[Poisson Du Jour]

My first impression on reading this thread is that you are compromising a perfectly capable metering system on the slender justification of an "unobstructed view of the viewfinder".
If you are really keen do a 2-year intensive course in incident/spot/multispot/basal/shift/averaging metering. If not, leave metering to the OM system — I cut my teeth in early photography and study starting with the OM10, then OM1n, OM2n and the last, OM4 Ti (multispot metering on that camera was and still is a gem). Many more mistakes can be made by unskilled people using spot meters than those wielding an OM camera for the first time.

Metering-wise, there is no specific choice for landscape photography: reflected, spot, incident and complex variations of any, all have their specific uses in the right circumstances. Perhaps pick up a basic meter and hone your skills with that in tandem with the OM.

[wblynch]

Metering and exposure settings are a funny thing.

People work so hard to determine the perfect exposure, yet on most cameras you can't get closer than 1 stop anyway. Maybe you can swag it a little by trying to set your aperture between stop clicks.

Then you have to factor that the camera's shutter speeds might not be all that accurate and even if they were, you are back to that one stop thing.

Don't even need a meter. You can probably get within 1 stop, either way, just by using your senses and Sunny-16.