John does nice work
Electronic tach conversion
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
From: UT
Electronic tach conversion
I'd like to swap out the guts of my mechanical tach with an electrical one for the time being (keeping the original face & enclosure). Is anyone aware of a suitable electronic donor tach that has roughly the same scale as my original face, or one that can be calibrated to match the original scale?
Or is there a better way to do this? I know there are places that will do the swap for me but I'm trying to keep the cost down.
This is a '65 with a 6500 redline (though I don't think the redline matters since they all used the same 7000 rpm scale).
Thanks!
Or is there a better way to do this? I know there are places that will do the swap for me but I'm trying to keep the cost down.
This is a '65 with a 6500 redline (though I don't think the redline matters since they all used the same 7000 rpm scale).
Thanks!
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 4,397
Likes: 1,190
From: Lexington,NC,USA
C1 of Year Finalist (track prepared) 2019
I can't help with a specific electronic tach that would work in a midyear, but when I did the tach in my '62 I measured the amount of needle "swing" for 6000 rpm on the original and then looked on ebay for a tach with the same swing. I found an appropriate Autometer model for about $25. One of the things that you may look out for (if it makes a difference to you) is the fact that some tachs do not point to "0" until they are powered up. In other words, with the key off, the tach might register 1000 rpm.
Charles
Charles
Advanced
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio TX
Electronic tach
I replaced the "guts" of the tach on my 62 with a kind of generic tach from NAPA. Slight modification of the original tach housing to mount the electric tach. I used my original tach face and needle. Looks original, works great.
Bud
Bud
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,660
Likes: 7
From: DFW
Problem is that the Corvette tachs go from 0 to 7000, while most aftermarket ones go 0 to 8000. Turns out around 1975 that Corvettes went electronic. I have heard that swapping the internals is not too hard, but I have no direct experience.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 219
Likes: 0
From: Jupiter FL
most of the aftermarkets that go to 8000 have an adjustable (variable resister) that you can play with just a bit if you have access to the bench equipment to monitor it. It's hard to get them exact, but you can come pretty close.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 800
Likes: 3
From: Idaho
I just did mine in my 67. I used a Auto meter 270* sweep with 8,000 rpm's. The face was 3 3/8". I had to make up several brackets to adapt it to the orignal mount without any modifications to the stock housing. It works fine but the rpms are off a little because of the 8,000 rpm tach on a 7,000 face, but I can live with it for now. I found a 3 3/8 270* sweep with 7,000 rpm thru Summit for $69.95. This tach is made by VDO and carries PN. 333355. I'm sure this will work and will purchase one in the near future.
Good luck
Russ
Good luck
Russ
Pro
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 628
Likes: 1
From: Charlotte area NC
I sent my 65 cluster to John at Red Line - http://www.redlineg.com/ . He converted the tach to electric for my LS2 engine and converted the ampmeter to a volt meter for me. Came back line new, great work and good prices.
Last edited by mredi1; Apr 17, 2007 at 08:31 PM. Reason: x
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,660
Likes: 7
From: DFW
