Electronic conversion for Mechanical Tach
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 193
Likes: 33
From: White Bear Lake, MN
Electronic conversion for Mechanical Tach
1971 LT1 Convertible.
I know many of you have installed the electronic conversion kit so can you tell me your experience with it?
1. Ease of installation.
2. Space considerations for behind the dashboard.
3. How well it works - compared to mechanical tach.
4. Anything else of importance.
Thank you.
I know many of you have installed the electronic conversion kit so can you tell me your experience with it?
1. Ease of installation.
2. Space considerations for behind the dashboard.
3. How well it works - compared to mechanical tach.
4. Anything else of importance.
Thank you.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 13,091
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From: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
2025 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist- Modified
2022 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
I've not converted one. But I have a 77 that came with one. I have had to remove mine to replace a bad board once. And had it out while restoring the dash assembly and wiring.
pulling that drivers side dash and reinstalling is going to be your biggest challenge. It's a pain in the butt kinda job.
I found that extending all those light socket wires by about 6 inches each, and yes there sure are a lot of them. Makes it so much easier to get it in and out.
Space behind the dash? No difference.
As per how the electronic tach works. They work great. No more cables and drives to break. But electronics can fail. Nothing's perfect.
pulling that drivers side dash and reinstalling is going to be your biggest challenge. It's a pain in the butt kinda job.
I found that extending all those light socket wires by about 6 inches each, and yes there sure are a lot of them. Makes it so much easier to get it in and out.
Space behind the dash? No difference.
As per how the electronic tach works. They work great. No more cables and drives to break. But electronics can fail. Nothing's perfect.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 193
Likes: 33
From: White Bear Lake, MN
Thanks. The reason I’m asking is because I’m in the middle of a complete restoration and the car is completely disassembled and the body is off. The engine is stroked to 383 with AFR heads and port matched intake and I want to install an MSD Pro Billet distributor which doesn’t have a tach drive. I want to hear from people who have converted.
i appreciate your comments very much.
i appreciate your comments very much.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2021
Posts: 240
Likes: 110
From: Augusta Mo
I have converted mine
1.Installation was not all that difficult once you have the dash pulled.
2.Takes up less space because of the elimination of the drive cable.
3. Works better than mechanical tach, you don't get the swings that the mechanical tach gives.
4. There is a calibration procedure that you have to perform prior to permanently installing
1.Installation was not all that difficult once you have the dash pulled.
2.Takes up less space because of the elimination of the drive cable.
3. Works better than mechanical tach, you don't get the swings that the mechanical tach gives.
4. There is a calibration procedure that you have to perform prior to permanently installing
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,221
Likes: 1,004
From: Watkinsville, GA and Glen Cove, NY
I have the unit all the vendors sell. It works great but does need to be calibrated. I have the tool to calibrate it and would be glad to send it to you to use if you need it.
Bill
Bill
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 6,663
Likes: 1,360
I bought a 76 Tach and installed it in my 68. It has been wonderful. I did buy the tach and then had to buy a circuit board. It's been 22.5 years and it hasn't failed yet. I did have remove the Tach Filter because it was NOT needed since my tach signal comes from my MSD-6 box. One of my favorite mods.
