Gringoloco's Camaro tach install

[gringoloco]

Played around with the truck a little on Saturday- thought I would show you guys some pics.

This is what I've been staring at since I got the truck- BLAH. There was also a column mounted SunPro tach- very functional, but not the prettiest.

[gringoloco]

I started out by tearing the Camaro tach out of the cluster I bought on eBay and started modfying the truck gauge tin to fit it. You can see here where the back tin must be clearanced for the black plastic insulator to fit through.

[gringoloco]

Here you can see where I mounted the backing plate from the Camaro cluster to mount the tach to. Also note where the plate had to be trimmed for the right blinker bulb and the area that the dash connector was is flattened out.

The plate is marked for the input and 12V the upper middle stud is the ground. I just ran a nut down it and grounded the tach to the cluster. I ran a wire from the ammeter input to power it and a wire from the distributor for the signal. Dont forget all the plastic insulators on the studs!

[gringoloco]

You can see in the last pic I also replaced the ammeter with a voltmeter. Just personal preference. I used the guts from a $15 SunPro voltmeter. Basically just tore the gauge apart, trimmed the stock face plate to fit, and drilled two holes in the backing plate.

Again, I just grounded the voltmeter to the cluster and used one of the old ammeter leads to power it. Luckily the SunPro bucket is the same depth as the stocker, so it mounts right up

[gringoloco]

Used some metal polish to take the lines off the inside of the tach lens and slapped it back together with a new bezel. I also used a spare fuel gauge needle on the tach so it would look like it belongs.

It all just kinda fell together(with a little trial-and-error) and looks tons better than before. Whatcha think?

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by c10crazy

How in the world did you ever get that sunpro gauge to come apart?

The pressed-on chrome trim ring comes off easily with a small screwdriver. Just pry around the edge a little at a time until it 'pops' off.

Originally Posted by clos69

That looks real nice Gringo....what year is the Camaro you got the tach from? That way I 'll know what to look for when I start hitting the junkyards....

The eBay ad said '72-'78. I have heard anywhere from '70 to '81 will work. See pic below- I think I paid $30 for the whole cluster.

Originally Posted by dave2953

Looks great! I thought you had a 3 hole bezel w/ the quad 5" Autometers? Really nice job, though. I think this should be added to the FAQ.

The Autometers are slated for my 2wd Blazer. These went in the truck as a quick solution to that UGLY cluster that was in there.

That's kinda the reason I did this. I thought the FAQ was lacking a little in the details of how to mount the tach- this could maybe be added to it?

Originally Posted by Frizzle Fry

That does look great. How does the back lighting work out at night?

Backlighting is perfect. The tach sits about 1/4" from the inner tin letting light in all the way around. I'll try to get a pic this eve.



Thanks guys for all the compliments. This really is very easy to do with a little time and a dremel.

-Chris

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by c10crazy

Thanks Chris!. You pry along the backside of the gauge right?

Yep, the chrome ring is very thin metal- very easy to do.

[gringoloco]

Here's those nighttime pics I promised; anyone notice anything different about the second one?