6000 rpm tach anyone...

[Chevysdominate]

I thought I'd share a little project I've been working on. I like the stock tachometers, but the 5000 rpm limit was a killer with a modern engine. So with a little thinking and tearing apart of a few tachometers this is what I've come up with. A 6000 rpm tachometer that looks very similar to the original. It really just bolts in with no fuss at all. I've gone through a few renditions of the gauge face and I'm still working on that. Its hard to find a font that matches the original. As you can see the titanium white paper really puts to shame the old and faded white markings from the cluster. I need to do something about that.

[64shortbox]

Excelent job!! What Tach did you use?

[70cst]

Very impressive

[jocko]

That looks good! I'm usually hesitant about stuffin individual non-factory gauges into a stock dash - because they often don't seem to "match". But yours matches quite well and the sweep and face size is perfect. Nice job!!

[qksilver]

Let us in on the secret, what tach? I am trying to update my dash, I have the vacuum gauge already and was looking for a tach.

Thanks,
Steve

[Chevysdominate]

The tach is marked as a Super Pro but it's an 8000 rpm tach to start with. The secret is refacing it to 6000 rpm while retaining the same 90 degree sweep. Then running the tach in 4 cylinder mode. I know it sounds weird but the math works out. I was just testing the accuracy against my laptop with OBDWiz and it works great. I think I bought the tach at Carquest but I cant be sure. Ive seen them labeled as other brands too. They're all the same tach except the gauge face is different.

Its the same tach as in this article which was my inspiration, but I didn't really like the execution. I also didn't like the small resolution a 90 degree sweep 8000rpm tach gives. So I thought about it for a bit and realized I could reface it as a 6000 rpm tach and run it in 4 cylinder mode.

I'm not 100% satisfied with the first iteration of the tach so I'll probably make another one this week. I might do a small writeup showing all the things needed to convert the tach to a bolt in install too.

[MalibuKasey]

Please do. Looks good!
Posted via Mobile Device

[qksilver]

yes, please do............accuracy is nice, but for me being close is good enough for what I want.

Thanks,
Steve

[LostMy65]

subscribed

[Chevysdominate]

I got it installed and love not having a tach on my column anymore. I need to get new set of white guage faces to match the white letters on the tach. Unfortunately my radiator died so that will postpone a second tach build for a week or so.

[earl84]

Hey, chevysdominate, can you share any more details on how you did this? It looks SO NICE. And I do like your execution of it better than the original article you used as a reference. Would love some more details if you have the time.
Incidentally, that tach is available at Carquest, P/N 81316, $59.99 online.

[Chevysdominate]

Its been a while and i never got around to doing the second one. I've been busy stuffing an lq4 into a series 1 1973 jaguar xj12.

i wish i had taken more pictures but i was just flying by the seat of my pants when i made it. I'll document the next build much better.

You basically remove everything from the 8000 rpm tach and you are left with what looks like it belongs in a clock. The spacing on the studs is close but you need to drill new holes for the gauge face to bolt to the studs of the tach mechanism. I'll try to aid as much as i can if you have any specific questions.

Originally Posted by earl84

Hey, chevysdominate, can you share any more details on how you did this? It looks SO NICE. And I do like your execution of it better than the original article you used as a reference. Would love some more details if you have the time.
Incidentally, that tach is available at Carquest, P/N 81316, $59.99 online.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by earl84

Hey, chevysdominate, can you share any more details on how you did this? It looks SO NICE. And I do like your execution of it better than the original article you used as a reference. Would love some more details if you have the time.
Incidentally, that tach is available at Carquest, P/N 81316, $59.99 online.

That Tach you list appears to be 2" Diameter.
I think we need Part Number: 81315 - Price: $72.99

[earl84]

LostMy 65, the one I used and installed was indeed the 2 inch, P/N 81316. Chevysdominate referenced the original article that he modified and it used a 2 inch tach as well.
Basically, all you use is the guts of the tach, you take it completely apart and use your own blank plate out of your dash and screw the guts to it after slight modification. It fits well. You also end up having to trim down the inner case and the black exterior case to screw on the back.
Also, I wish I would have done a little more research on the decal material on Youtube, dang it. I think it would have been much easier to print on a different material, like that vinyl waterproof inkjet printing paper, but it did work out OK. Still like how mine turned out in the end, but did have to paint the blank plate the Jade Green to get it to look right, as I wrote up.

[jesseo]

Very nice. I am going to carquest today to pick one up. I am in the copy and print business and will play with fonts, paper types and font colors to see if I can't get something that works. I've been wanting to do this for a while. I sell decal materials that will work great for these. Need to get the font and color right to reproduce now.

[chevyrestoguy]

Here's a gauge overlay that closely matches the original font. You could probably email the seller and see if he makes that gauge with the correct green font. Shouldn't be a problem at all.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Premium-Dash...f7d98d&vxp=mtr

Is there any way you could do a step-by-step on how you did this mod? I have been doing a lot of research on using an older Sun tach and modifying it to fit, but like you, I wanted a more realistic RPM range.

[Chevysdominate]

I would be very interested in a good gauge face that matched the original better. The different font and color are something that still bugs me.

Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy

Here's a gauge overlay that closely matches the original font. You could probably email the seller and see if he makes that gauge with the correct green font. Shouldn't be a problem at all.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Premium-Dash...f7d98d&vxp=mtr

Is there any way you could do a step-by-step on how you did this mod? I have been doing a lot of research on using an older Sun tach and modifying it to fit, but like you, I wanted a more realistic RPM range.

[MARTYZ]

Subscribed, very interested

[earl84]

So what did you print the gauge face on? Some kind of adhesive backed vinyl or did you have to go to a print shop or something? If you printed it, where did you get the black paper/vinyl/whatever it is?

[jayoldschool]

Originally Posted by jesseo

Very nice. I am going to carquest today to pick one up. I am in the copy and print business and will play with fonts, paper types and font colors to see if I can't get something that works. I've been wanting to do this for a while. I sell decal materials that will work great for these. Need to get the font and color right to reproduce now.

Jesseo, can you share the image with us when you're done so we can print it ourselves?

Also, why the 2" version? Is the 3.5" too big?

[earl84]

Lostmy65, here's a link (hope it shows up right) for replacing the ammeter with a voltmeter. I have my dash apart and have done this, but mine doesn't look as neat as this one.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ltmeter&page=2

[LostMy65]

I surely want to do this mod.
I also want to do the one where a voltmeter replaces the ammeter.
Posted via Mobile Device

[theastronaut]

Thanks for posting this, I wanted a tach that went to 10k and looked stock but didn't know how to do it... so I paid to have one made. I like to do stuff myself though so this is good info for the next project!

Here's mine, Jason at Greenback Decal built it from a block-off plate.

[Grandpa54]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

thanks for posting this, i wanted a tach that went to 10k and looked stock but didn't know how to do it... So i paid to have one made. I like to do stuff myself though so this is good info for the next project!

Here's mine, jason at greenback decal built it from a block-off plate.

theastronaut, do you mind sharing who did your tach

[1963c-10]

astronaut....what tach did you use? I have an extra delete plate and his contact info, so that aspect is easy. Do you have a thread on the 10k tach build?