Tachometer , any cool ideas?

[74chevy4x4]

Originally Posted by carloscanales

hey guys
i wan to get a tach for my truck
im looking for something little , maybe something i can install on the ashtray compartment o maybe on the steering column
i want a clean look
any ideas??
good tach brand??

here are some interior pics

I've been looking too and found these for $279.00

http://gmsportssalvage.com/?q=node/1318&size=preview

They supposedly plug right in. I have a 74 K20 and will be ordering these next week.

[Pop's C-10]

Originally Posted by 3r!c84

with it dance

YouTube - tach swap

It's aliveeeeee

[tallcrown]

Take a close look at Dash. frenos This truck is from Mexico.
Gauges. "We dont need no stinkin Gauges"
I had a 74 years ago and put a center console in it. It came up on the Dash and covered the Ashtray area. Gauges were in there at a slight tilt toward the driver. EZ and I did not have to take the dash apart. or... they have a pilar post gauge holder. Looks great to me.
Good Luck

[BLE 'BURBAN]

Originally Posted by kikkegek

@ Ble Burban: very nice! look sweet! do you have a PWM connected to dim the LEDs?

I've always ran with my dash lights at full power so I personaly have no need for one. They stay at the same brightness until the factory dimmer switch is turned down aboy 3/4 of the way then they simply shut off. Doesn't bug me any.

[motornut]

well i went with my top right tach idea
worked out cept the tac quit after running for about a day
bout 18 years old lol time for a new one

found a short inside works fine now

[NCD1966]

Originally Posted by 3r!c84

watch it dance

YouTube - tach swap

Is your speedo off or your truck just has that kinda of power to make mph climb like that?

[3r!c84]

Originally Posted by NCD1966

Is your speedo off or your truck just has that kinda of power to make mph climb like that?

check my build thread

[NCD1966]

3r!c84 ahh nice with the 400 sb. I like the look of your truck not too much over the top. Very Clean.

[3r!c84]

Originally Posted by NCD1966

3r!c84 ahh nice with the 400 sb. I like the look of your truck not too much over the top. Very Clean.

thankyou sir wanted to look mostly stock.

subscribe to the thread there is going to be more in the near future

[NCD1966]

your truck makes me want to mod my grandfather's 84 now. My plan was to leave it bone stock, which will be hard for me to do because I modded every car/truck i ever owned.

[81c10]

I just put this in last week. Its kinda low but I can see it just fine.



...Ok. Lets try this again...

[3r!c84]

any pics?

[81c10]

Originally Posted by 3r!c84

any pics?

There you go dude. Sorry. My pictures were way too big to upload.

[LivNLo94]

heres what i did, i found a small autometer tach that best matched the factory gauges, then attatched it using a black hose clamp. it pops up into place when u shift into drive. in park it hides down low.

[Pop's C-10]

Nice placement

[JBRAVO383]

Its great until that shift light blinds you when your racing in the middle of the night.

[Rogue_Alphonse]

I took a good fuel gauge, a small Sun-Pro tach, a clock, and the white-faced gauge kit and made this.


Basically what I've done was drilled out the rivets on the fuel gauge, removing it from the large faceplate, then drilled two holes and used screws and an old temp needle with the small white-faced gauge cover-up on the old clock faceplate. Then I took the fuel gauge face plate, drilled the holes for the tach, fastened it to the back, used the white-faced tach cover on the fuel gauge, set it to 6 to match the numbers on the sticker [it was off by about 100RPM after 2,800 RPM... 100RPM more...] THEN I installed all LED bulbs, painted the black and green gauge reflectpr shroud blue on the outside, white on the inside, and it lit up bright white. To make the fuel gauge work, I used an old N64 controller wire and screws to jump the three connections from beside the speedometer over to where the clock was.


I wish I would have kept all the pics when I did it... I mean, I still have what's left of the gauge cluster... as in the tach and fuel gauge and the N64 wire I used if I needed t take pics. I gave it to my buddy and it went downhill from there...

[87chevy.com]

Thats something I thought of too... putting a tach behind the fuel gauge... but if the tach is off by 1000 and so on... doesnt it make it usless and inaccurate?
just sayin... but nice execution... I might have to do that with the tach I have now..

[87chevy.com]

Turns out I had a spare fuel gauge and a spare oil pressure gauge and started playing with it. I didnt test fit the oil pressure sheetmetal frame into the clock spot... but the mounting points looked similar. I had an old clock but didnt want to tear it up even though im not going to ever use it. Started off by drilling out the rivets just like Rogue_Alphonse did. I also wiped off the oil symbol, 30 and 60.... it looks blah but Ive got a solution to that too.
The Fix:
Basically make an overlay out of a vinyl sticker, only the hash marks, and fuel symbol to mimic factory. I have taken measurements and caluclated the needle sweep marks and so on, will make a template that mimics a OE gauge and send the small template to a sign shop and have them make a lable/overlay. I will scuff and paint the gauge face shiny black so its solid black, lay the vinyl markings over it and add the gauge and needle.
Only worry is how ong will little, the size of the hash marks will stick to the gauge face. Wonder if i would need to put clear coat on the entire deal to seal it so it wont peel off. make sense?
Does anyone have a OE small fuel gauge from the 81-87 truck.. the gauge looks different in the other years - or alteast I think. I will do the same style lines and look of the OE tach but to match the aftermarket tach reading of 8000. No sence in makint it read incorrectly...
clint

[Rogue_Alphonse]

That sounds like a cool idea actually. Hell, if you wanted to, you could paint the gauges whatever color you wanted and get the little markings made, if you wanted to get that extensive with it

The tach I had made from a large fuel gauge, which I still have somewhere buried, I had set to 6 cylinder. it was close enough for my liking.

[kikkegek]

I did this. really love it!

[1985-GMC]

OK so requested by JRANGER, here is how I did the tach in my blazer.

I bought the tach at Harbor Freight but I didn't like the white face so I proceeded to change it.




I started with dissembling it.




Then I painted the areas that would be seen once assembled black, and painted the needle with orange marking paint.




Then I drew a new face in MS Paint, and once I got it right I printed it out on photo paper.




I also cut out a new "sticker" out of some regular ole electrical tape because I didn't like the nitrous logo on it.



Then I cut out the housing with a Dremel to fit the tach.




And made some aluminum brackets to hold it in place.




Also cut out the black piece to fit. I guess I didn't take a picture but I just glued the lens and plastic ring in the housing without using the aluminum trim so that it would sit flush against the gauge bezel.



In place



Finally in the truck.


I couldn't find a picture of it at night with the lights on but it was bright with multiple colors to chose from with a press of the button, it would have matched good with leds in the other gauges.

[S10Fan]

Good Job!

[JRANGER]

Love it...Im going to do the same...Just trying to decide on weather to use the same tach or a digital...AHH

Thanks man!

[1985-GMC]

Oh yeah is been so long since I did this but I think I also cut the stock lens so that it wasn't in the way.