I'm one of you guys now

[joe231]

yeah, but i guess it is kinda a rarity....I have seen several big Chevys sitting around...guess I need to go look at them

[menace121978]

yea i'd take a look. i know everytime i go out to pick n pull i'll be looking in every truck just for the tach. now...

[joe231]

are the tachs you neighbor has guaranteed to work?
I found a site online tachman.com
I just emailed him to ask about mine, he immediately responded saying the circuit board is bad, he can replace it with a solid-state board with a 2 year warranty for $165

I asked him about a group rate.....

[menace121978]

joe i love your new quote!

i'll ask but man i sure hope so for $100. so when you go to a tach gauge you need the whole cluster?

[joe231]

it was in an email I got...thought it was fitting and hilarious

THESE REALLY WORK!!

AMAZING SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES:

1. AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU CHOP.

2. AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH THE FEMALES ABOUT LIFTING THE TOILET SEAT BY USING THE SINK.

3. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF AND BLEED FOR A FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS. REMEMBER TO USE A TIMER.

4. A MOUSE TRAP PLACED ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL PREVENT YOU FROM ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON.

5. IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES. THEN YOU'LL BE AFRAID TO COUGH.

6. YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE.

7. IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.

DAILY THOUGHT:

SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

You need the back of the cluster, the tach with plug, small fuel gauge, and I think the flexible circuit board.
oh and you will need a lens that doesn't have a clock hole in it. all the other gauges are the same.

[menace121978]

well buddy i went to the largest pick n pull around looking for a tach cluster. no luck out of maybe 50-60 square bodies pretty well picked through today. same trucks there from last month. the was a fresh 90's burb there w/ a lot of custom stuff on it called starcraft i think... seen another truck w/ some clean chrome trim pieces but i was on a mission for something else!

[joe231]

I love to just walk around and browse junk-yards

from my understanding and from reading on the internet, they quit making the in-cluster tach in 1981, and the ones before '80 were junk, so the 80-81 is highly sought after and sometimes sell on ebay for upwards of $450-$500
I need to find a bunch and get them fixed up and sell them...after we get one for John

[menace121978]

so your saying for me to be looking for a tach w/ the old style font is more or less a wild goose chase!
and the newer style is only avail. in 80-81?! they are different right?

yea, that deal my neighbors dad has isnt sounding so bad now! we should get them and try to mate them and be millionaires

[joe231]

they have different font.......

check this out

EBAY LINKY

item #390071791026

and..

FUEL GAUGE LINKY

item #220456670504

[menace121978]

huh, so they are out there... i like the looks of that tach with the old box and everything... im going to keep watching and see how high it gets. i was starting to think i'd just go w/ aftermarket gauges!!

[joe231]

yeah you would just need to swap out your speedo to match....
I'm thinking I need to go dakota digital and cut out the headaches

[joe231]

and another option....


CAMARO TACH

oops, i think that is for V-6...


here is a New Hampshire craigslist listing....


http://nh.craigslist.org/pts/1273967234.html

[joe231]

Originally Posted by 73-87.com

73-87 Factory Tachometer Information

This article, I believe, is one of the most important on this site and covers one of the most misunderstood options/upgrades for the 73-87 model years...TACHOMETERS. Dave is one of my on-line friends, and one of the, if not the, most knowledgeable person when it comes to tachometers for our trucks. If you have any questions about tachometers after you are finished reading this, visit the 73-87 message board on this site and look for a man named "Crossy".

Written by: Dave Cross (Crossy)

Tach Dash Differences

Factory tachometers were offered in all 6 & 8-cylinder GM pickups from 1973 to 1981, and beyond in some cases. Tachometers were offered on 1981 and up models, but they are not listed in the "options" catalogs and are extremely hard to come by. The gasoline powered light trucks came with a 5,000 RPM tachometer, while the medium/heavy duty diesel trucks came with 4,000 or 5,000 RPM units. The medium/heavy duty trucks are easily identified by a tiny fuel gauge under the tachometer and anything from a clock, blank, air pressure, or vacuum gauge can be found in the lower left corner where the clock usually resides in non-tachometer equipped trucks. The tachometer itself is easy to wire, but if you are unsure you can look closely at the back of the tachometer it will tell you where the wires go. Also, getting at least a short piece of the factory pigtail on the back of it is nice to have…but not a necessity. Many people don't know that there was a 'filter' (looks like a condenser) installed in the factory wiring on most of the trucks for radio interference reasons, it was mounted on the firewall behind the distributor…but this is not a necessity for the tachometer to operate correctly. Speaking of distributors, it does not matter if you have and old point ignition or HEI, the tachometer will still work. For the most part, all the tachometers & gauges look alike, but there was a slight change in the gauge numbering starting in 1980, as well as the needle colors. Although all 73-87 (88-91) clusters look strikingly similar, there are many differences…

73-75: Amp gauge instead of volt gauge. This cluster will only work for these three years only and are NOT serviceable since they are completely sealed. Just plugging one of these clusters in a 76 and up truck will result in instant meltdown upon turning the key.

76-77: Volt gauge, but mechanical oil pressure gauge. This cluster will only work for these two years unless a complete wiring change is made in the later model wiring connector. It is not just a simple matter of using the mechanical pressure gauge instead of the electric. If you are brave and think you can rewire it to be compatible and use the mechanical oil pressure gauge, then something to keep in mind here is to get at least a little piece of the factory oil line and fitting that was on the back of the gauge. I say this because the factory gauge has a unique type of ferrule and fitting on the back of the gauge that is good to save and reuse. I have made aftermarket lines/fittings that work but have also had them blow off the back and make one heck of a mess. The factory used a steel oil pressure line and I prefer that to plastic, or you can buy 1/8" copper.

81-84: ‘78 and up tachometer cluster will work as a “plug in and go”, but you will not have use of your factory cruise control if the truck is an ’83 or newer (the green box behind the speedometer).

85-86: ’78 and up tachometer cluster will work as a “plug in and go”, as long as you have removed the factory feedback carburetor, ESC distributor, etc. Most 85 models do not have the feedback carburetors, all 86 models do. The feedback carburetors require feedback from the VSS behind the speedometer that you are not able to reuse. (The VSS sends input to the ECM, a.k.a. the "computer", behind your glove box)

87 EFI trucks, 87-91 Blazers/Suburbans: Cannot install tachometer cluster because of speed sensor (VSS) feedback needed for the factory EFI computer and ABS brakes (90-91).

The big things to get from all of this are…

1. AMP or VOLT gauge mix-ups could cause a fire.

2. Know the gauge cluster works otherwise it will cost a small fortune to fix it. If your tachometer needs to be repaired, it will usually set you back a minimum of $125, and on top of that, most repair shops do not carry the parts to fix them.

3. Is it an 8-cylinder or 6-cylinder tachometer? Tachometers were also offered in both 6-cylinder and 8-cylinder applications, be sure to get the correct one since a 6-cylinder unit will read slightly higher in an 8-cylinder powered truck 6-cylinder tachometers are pretty rare and are normally found in the large trucks.

4. Big truck (like C-60's and such) tach dashes can be made to work in a pickup, but offer many of there own unique problems because of optional gauges that were available in them (see above). Also, all the years mentioned above do not follow suit on large trucks...your on your own there!

5. If you try to make a dash out of parts & pieces, you had better know that you need the CORRECT printed circuit for your year truck/dash also...even the plastic housing itself was different.

6. Before you go hunting, know this...75% of sellers on E-bay don't care about your concerns. I Email them all the time hoping they will correct their ad and they don't, only 25% are grateful. Most are advertised "untested" or "as is" for a good reason, and it's most likely because they are bad.

Tachometer Testing

Look closely at the back of the tachometer, you can see the markings as to where each lead needs to go (COIL, GND, 12V). Tachometers are very easy to hook up and test on an V-8 engine, especially if you have one around with an HEI distributor (HEI's have a 'TACH' terminal right on the distributor cap). If you have anything around with the old points distributor, then the terminal marked COIL on the tachometer goes to the (-) side of the coil. The 12V terminal of the tachometer and GND terminal are self explanatory, you need any 12V power source and a ground. If you do not have original wiring pigtail then a .250 female spade crimp-on connector on the end of a wire works fine. When tachometers start to go bad they read high, like 1200 RPM at idle, and get worse as the RPM’s increase. Having a known good tach in the vehicle to compare it with is a real plus. At idle you should see 500-800 RPM and a quick tap of the throttle should see 2500 RPM or so. As some go bad the needle responds very slow to RPM increases or it will “stick” as it moves forward. When they really get bad they will bury immediately or not register at all.

quoted from

http://www.73-87.com/7387garage/inte...achometers.htm

follow the link and there are pics

[menace121978]

dakota's the way to go mr. money! man if i had the funding for that she'd be getting something a whole lot bigger than a 5.3!

here's another my neighbor tells me... man if i had all your money i'd burn mine!

seriously though, i like the look of the white autometer gauges that go right into the stock bezel. that would also be an easy fix for the digital speedo signal w/ my swap. probably end up being just a tad cheaper than the dakota.

[menace121978]

good reading joe thanks!

[joe231]

I wish I had a money tree...

I really love the look of the factory tach......but.....
I just get frustrated sometimes trying to work with damn near 30 year old parts

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by joe231

I love to just walk around and browse junk-yards

from my understanding and from reading on the internet, they quit making the in-cluster tach in 1981, and the ones before '80 were junk, so the 80-81 is highly sought after and sometimes sell on ebay for upwards of $450-$500
I need to find a bunch and get them fixed up and sell them...after we get one for John

We need to talk about what I got paid for that cluster then!

Originally Posted by menace121978

dakota's the way to go mr. money! man if i had the funding for that she'd be getting something a whole lot bigger than a 5.3!

here's another my neighbor tells me... man if i had all your money i'd burn mine!

seriously though, i like the look of the white autometer gauges that go right into the stock bezel. that would also be an easy fix for the digital speedo signal w/ my swap. probably end up being just a tad cheaper than the dakota.

My uncle went with the Dakota Digital in his 85. It looks really sweet, and has a lot of capabilities. Such as things you can program into it. I am going with aftermarket gauges in mine, and mounting them behind the bezel. That way I can get a little bigger gauge, and with the bezel on it looks more stock. Like Ocbaud did his, but with a different gauge.

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by menace121978

well buddy i went to the largest pick n pull around looking for a tach cluster. no luck out of maybe 50-60 square bodies pretty well picked through today. same trucks there from last month. the was a fresh 90's burb there w/ a lot of custom stuff on it called starcraft i think... seen another truck w/ some clean chrome trim pieces but i was on a mission for something else!

All the trucks at the local pull a part here had been pretty picked through too, but this one truck still had all the gauges in it, and luck would have it a factory tach cluster. Only bad thing, as Joe found out, it didn't work.

[joe231]

got a little update....
I got a sport bumper from RicksTrucks, Thanks Rick!!
put it on last night, I haven't had a chance to clean it up yet, but I wanted to take some pics before I forgot







I like it!!!

I have an idea as to how I'm going to tuck it closer to the body.....I will post how it turns out

[scotts62]

Thats cool man i like it!

[joe231]

much better huh?

[scotts62]

Oh yeah

[JohnC]

Looks awesome man. The element looks cool too. Bet it's a lot different to drive than the burb huh?

[joe231]

yeah, the element is cool and the wife is happy.....so I'm happy.... and she is encouraging me to get a crew cab

she has wanted an element since they came out in '03....and I have wanted a crew cab at least since the mid 80's, so........

BTW this truck is for sale to fund a crew cab......I will post in the classifieds in a bit

[menace121978]

looking good buddy! good luck on your search for a cc... i see them on cl all the time and a few around the neighbor hood.

sounds like a great deal she gets a car you get a truck. we did that for a while but it was my 2 to her 1 and on the 4th time Amy finally put her foot down and said NO MORE!! and that is why i started working on my truck... next thing you know i dont have that urge to buy anything new again but i kept taking things apart on the truck until i realized "hey dummy your doing a frame off resto!"