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Trying decide what tach to buy. My first instinct is to mount something flush in the dash where the factory tach/clock would have been. Then another part of me says strap it on the column where it's right in front of my nose. Let me know what set up you have and what you like and dislike about yours.. Pics would be appreciated too.
Back in the day I put a tach in the spot where my clock blank was. It fit perfectly and is easy on a 72 since the dash plate comes off the front. It looked great. My 69 went on the column since the dash access isn’t as easy.
Stewart Warner tach bought from Summit Racing.....I believe I carved a hole in a factory blockoff/blank that fills in the tach/clock hole on the right side when nothing optional was ordered. Then slipped/jammed the tack into the hole (clear lens on the blockoff/blank was removed first).
May have had to slightly shorten the rectangular mount tab in the chrome/woodgrain bezel.....the tab under the tach area (there's another tab on the other side) that gets the small screw from the underside. Reason being is the chrome/woodgrain bezel had slight interference with the chrome rim of the tack when it was angled to install.
I know it wasn't mentioned yet, but for some reason a hood tach does not gel with the body lines of a 442. Buicks and Pontiacs seem to have the right lines for a hood tach. Good luck
I have one of the tach/clock combos in the dash of my 70. I like the stock appearance and the fact that the clock keeps perfect time. The only issue I have is that I can’t see the needle between 1500-3500 RPMs very well without moving my head to look. The gauge trim sticks out just enough that it blocks that portion for me. I sometimes think about swapping positions with the speedometer... you can kind of see what I mean from the picture.
I like the tach up front on the column. I don’t trust the factory tach. I know you can calibrate them but there’s a lot of money in a nice build. Like the old school Sun Tach. Al
Btw while you have your dash apart treat yourself to some new 194 bulbs. They are cheap and it’s nice to have brightly lighten gauges. The pic above was taken after I replaced all of my bulbs. Al
Wow, lots of good ideas here. I'm leaning towards installing in blank dash slot but I also like the idea of having it on the column. I guess I'll order one from Summit and play around with the location. Thanks for the input guys.
I had to scrap my tilt steering install to keep my tach on the steering column. There is not enough room between the dash and the tach for a tilt and the install into the dash on a 69 has to be done from the back.
I replaced all 3 gauges in my 68 Cutlass. I had a bunch of gauges hanging from the dash that I was able to remove. My car had idiot lights. I never could get my speedometer to read correctly after a trans and rear end change. I had 1 of those GM tachs and I would not work with a GM HEI & an MSD box.
The speedometer is GPS and has several functions like 1/4 mile speed and time.
The oil, temp and volt also have user programmable setting for idiot lights.
I replaced all 3 gauges in my 68 Cutlass. I had a bunch of gauges hanging from the dash that I was able to remove. My car had idiot lights. I never could get my speedometer to read correctly after a trans and rear end change. I had 1 of those GM tachs and I would not work with a GM HEI & an MSD box.
The speedometer is GPS and has several functions like 1/4 mile speed and time.
The oil, temp and volt also have user programmable setting for idiot lights.
I have to agree with the speedhut vote. The options for customizations are endless. While they do carry a hefty price tag, they are top notch units. I have a very similar setup in my LS swapped '71 and they are flawless.
Yes that beer can is hard to follow but might I suggest the 64 thru (I believe) 67 factory pod tach, it fits right in the back of the standard shift console.
Bought an Autometer tach and installed it in the dash. It was too hard to see through the steering wheel so I sent it back. Bought another tach to mount on the column. Hoping to play around mounting that today. It looks like it's going to be difficult strapping it to the column. May have to make a custom bracket.
Question: How do you attach the tach to the column if you have back drive linkage? Mine is disconnected because I'm running headers but I'm curious how that would work with the column rotating around.
i have one of these for a 70-72...really decent...cheap..and new...
I bought one of these for my ‘68, was so cheaply made that It wasn’t even useable. Seriously I couldn’t even install it. The holes were off on the thin plastic case and it wouldn’t bolt up, had hot melt glue oozing out. Really looked like it was put together by a second grade arts and crafts class. I ended up butchering it and stealing the innards and making a tach out of an old clock.
Needles to say I wouldn’t recommend one of these.
Bought an Autometer tach and installed it in the dash. It was too hard to see through the steering wheel
Interesting. I've been using a tach in the clock opening since the 1980s and never had an issue seeing it. It's just about the same as all of my other vehicles with factory tachs.
Originally Posted by Cincinnati Rick
Question: How do you attach the tach to the column if you have back drive linkage? Mine is disconnected because I'm running headers
Never heard of an issue with headers and backdrive linkage, but that seems immaterial. Wouldn't mounting the tach on the column be the same with or without a functional backdrive linkage? The collar will move with either one, right?
I drilled a small hole through the steering collar and then used an Allen keyed bolt through the collar into a threaded concave piece of aluminum for a backing plate inside the column. A real PIA to install. I had to take the steering wheel off and use needle nose pliers to hold the plate while I screwed the tach mount to it. I just didn’t like the worm band look but it would have been much simpler.
I bought one of these for my ‘68, was so cheaply made that It wasn’t even useable. Seriously I couldn’t even install it. The holes were off on the thin plastic case and it wouldn’t bolt up, had hot melt glue oozing out. Really looked like it was put together by a second grade arts and crafts class. I ended up butchering it and stealing the innards and making a tach out of an old clock.
Needles to say I wouldn’t recommend one of these.
Interesting. I've been using a tach in the clock opening since the 1980s and never had an issue seeing it. It's just about the same as all of my other vehicles with factory tachs.
Don't get me wrong, I can see it but it's definitely obstructed by the wheel.
Never heard of an issue with headers and back drive linkage, but that seems immaterial. Wouldn't mounting the tach on the column be the same with or without a functional back drive linkage? The collar will move with either one, right?
OK, now you have me thinking. I don't know if I was told the back drive linkage wouldn't work with headers or I just made the assumption. I'll have to look at that.
So if I mount either a shift light or tach to the rotating part of the column, that's not a problem?
RROLDSX,
I like the look and positioning of your tach
Originally Posted by RROLDSX
I drilled a small hole through the steering collar and then used an Allen keyed bolt through the collar into a threaded concave piece of aluminum for a backing plate inside the column. A real PIA to install. I had to take the steering wheel off and use needle nose pliers to hold the plate while I screwed the tach mount to it. I just didn’t like the worm band look but it would have been much simpler.
Last edited by Cincinnati Rick; November 25th, 2017 at 06:21 AM.
So if I mount either a shift light or tach to the rotating part of the column, that's not a problem?
I never mounted one to the column so I didn't think about where it actually mounted. From the pictures posted (and actually thinking about it) the tach would mount to the fixed section and not the rotating collar.
I replaced all 3 gauges in my 68 Cutlass. I had a bunch of gauges hanging from the dash that I was able to remove. My car had idiot lights. I never could get my speedometer to read correctly after a trans and rear end change. I had 1 of those GM tachs and I would not work with a GM HEI & an MSD box.
The speedometer is GPS and has several functions like 1/4 mile speed and time.
The oil, temp and volt also have user programmable setting for idiot lights.
Are these the 4" diameter? How did the factory black bezel fit to the gauges? Just inside the bezel or not?
Yes, They are 4" gauges. Each gauge has a removable trim ring. I used 3M Super weather strip (black) to fasten the existing bezel to the front edge of the ring. The gauges are very lightweight, so I just inserted the gauge and the bezel into the dash without any fasteners.
BTW: My dash pad has been covered with vinyl so maybe that's why they require no fasteners.
2nd attempt.
I can see this a lot better but not totally digging it. I might try a smaller tach or put this in the dash and install a shift light.
I used heat shrink on the spiral clamp to clean it up a bit.
my 2 cents, a adj.rpm shift light on dash with a adj rev. limiter is the safest way to go eyes are looking down tract not hunting for the pin, you and your engine go home in one pice. been there, tachs look cool but you shouldn't need it for every day driving
October 19th, 2017, 04:50 PM
