C/k truck 7k tach&130 mph cluster 73-87

[78-5.3]

check this out!! amazing!!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/80-86...Q5fAccessories



what are those gauges off?

[clinebarger]

Looks like 3rd gen Camaro tach & speedo, but i chould be wrong. The gas gauge looks a little out of place doesnt have the right lettering

[78-5.3]

Originally Posted by clinebarger

Looks like 3rd gen Camaro tach & speedo, but i chould be wrong. The gas gauge looks a little out of place doesnt have the right lettering

yeah i saw that on the fuel gauge

[N2TRUX]

I don't know what it is but I do like it. I wonder what the windows in the speedo/tach say when lit up.

[STOCKISH]

Yeah, the lettering isnt right on but I would love to have that for my truck. Looks awesome.

[DirtyLarry]

Man, that is cool but wouldn’t be worth the money for me to get 130 MPH speedo and 7,000 RPM tach. At 75 MPH the 8.1L is wrapped pretty tight and sounds like the pistons are about to start swapping holes and I doubt the big block would ever come close to the 7,000 RPM mark before it left 8 big dents in the hood.

[BIG V]

1970 rs or ss camaro tach 1970-73 rs camaro speedo actually alot of guys were doing that conversion in the early 90's

[68Timber]

Originally Posted by BIG V

1970 rs or ss camaro tach 1970-73 rs camaro speedo actually alot of guys were doing that conversion in the early 90's

Yeah, it's 2nd gen Camaro (Z28) gauges. I emailed a gauge rebuilder a week or two back and and asked if this "conversion" could be done. I got the idea from the thread on the 3rd gen Camaro tach swap. Those numbers look more correct to the 70's era trucks like mine.

I never did hear back from the guy (http://tachman.com/) but it would be nice to see it offered as an option on refurbished 73-87 clusters.



The gauges would match better if the small gauges were pre-80's font. Then it'd match up really nice.

[BIG V]

well they bolt together its almost a bolt in swap, i had a set on my 73 i sold a few years ago. i should make a few to make xmas money for the wife to waste

[smashingchuck]

I used to have a tach from a 78 camaro in my gauge cluster way back in the day (in the 78). I don't really remember the details but it was not a hard swap.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

The gauges would match better if the small gauges were pre-80's font. Then it'd match up really nice.

That's exactly what I was thinking. The speedo/tach font looks very similar to my 74 temp, oil pressure, & clock. I actually swapped in a voltmeter from a 75/76 cluster in place of the 74 ampmeter & the font matches the earlier stuff.

Hhmmm.... I think I'll research this further. I was looking for some options a while back but lost interest. This has rekindled the interest.

[menace121978]

whoa... i like that ALOT! too bad i'm not at that point of my build yet.

definitely something to research and maybe start piecing together. i like the looks of that alot better then the aftermarket gauges i've been looking at. someone's bound to start making them. hint... hint...

[68Timber]

I emailed tachman again and included the ebay link and this link. And I asked him again if he'd be interested in doing this to my cluster.

I'll let you know when I hear back and what he says about it.

[68Timber]

I did hear back from Gary Herbert (tachman). He said he was backed up on work already in the shop but to get in touch in eight weeks or so and we'll talk.

Works for me, I've already got my Christmas present and it's not a refurbed instrument cluster.

The small fuel gauges - are those rare or otherwise hard to come by?

[68 TT]

The early 2nd gen Firebirds have 160 mph speedos too if 130 is not enough for you.

The good thing about this swap is that both the tach & speedo have warning lamp windows in them to maintain what the truck had from the factory.

I'm assuming the fuel gauge came out of the donor Camaro too.

[68Timber]

I'm not sure about the origin of that fuel gauge. It looks like a truck fuel gauge that had the tach dash where the tach wasn't a tach/fuel gauge combo. But I'm not sure.

Classic parts does have the small truck fuel gauge for that spot, new of course, for $50.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

The small fuel gauges - are those rare or otherwise hard to come by?

The full size vans had them depending upon the options but they have a smaller bezel. It fits but doesn't bolt to anything so you have to secure it in place somehow.

I came up with a better option by just creating a gauge face overlay to make another gauge face that bolts in hold the fuel level gauge mechanical section. This way you don't have to find a rare small fuel gauge and monkey around with it to make it fit.

Starting with about post #85

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=276995&page=4

Putting a fuel gauge in the clock / batt warning location is troublesome due to the lack of mounting studs in some of the clusters.

The 2nd gens are pretty hard to come by so I would stick with the 3rd gen Camaro as a donor, they are plentiful and cheap.

If you need the extra warning lamp positions you can install a diesel glow plug display above and between the speedo & tach and just make a new lens for it to say what ever you want it to.

[68 TT]

You could use all the 2nd gen gauges but the Camaro didn't have an oil pressure gauge. It did have a clock though I doubt any of them still work. It's been 25 years since I owned a 2nd gen but I think the temp gauge was a C-H type one too so it sucks too.

You could always make gauge face overlays for all the truck gauges to match the Camaro gauge fonts for the older trucks or for the Camaro parts to make them match the newer truck font.

[menace121978]

good news! thanks bruiser!

[BIG10]

That does look like a truck fuel gauge. I have the truck tach cluster in my 78 and the fuel gauge looks the same.

[Daniel U]

Very cool thread. I want a tach for the wife's 85. All the vehicles we own have tachs. I want one for this truck too.

[Slick17]

I'd love to have that. But wow, $400.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by Slick17

I'd love to have that. But wow, $400.

I agree, $400 seems quite high for a few used gauges and some time wiring it all up.

I could see maybe $200 for his setup considering how easy second gens are to find in wrecking yards and on CL.

I have all of $30 into the gauge setup on mine with the Camaro tach, 240 degree water temp, 80 psi oil pressure & optical sensor speedo including the cost of the material for the gauge face overlay work I did.

[asphaltburner]

Yo! Haven't done this to my '78 K20 yet, but I completed a similar conversion to my '76 Camaros' dash in 2006. It had idiot lights and what I call the "giant fuel gauge". I spent $15 for the used tach and $10 for the used fuel gauge,...the three 2 1/8" Autometer gauges were a bit more (!). These clusters are SO easy to swap gauges in!
I intend on removing my trucks' fuel gauge, installing a GM tach, and relocating a truck or Z28 fuel gauge in the blank where the clock would go if the truck had come with one.
The floppy-circuit in these GMs is so problematic that in the Camaro, I hard wired the back of the cluster, and pigtailed to individual plug-in electrical connectors. Here's a link to my cardomain.com page with how I did it and stepwise pics FYI:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/639261/3
Todd.

[texasfunk]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

Yeah, it's 2nd gen Camaro (Z28) gauges....

i knew i recognized them from something! i miss my 78 z28 now..