HELP!! Tach no workie!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 308
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From: Greenfield OH
HELP!! Tach no workie!
I recently bought an LS5 71 Automatic.The tach didn't work when I bought it. Is my tach signal recieved, electrically or otherwise? It has a new Mallory distributor...actually the whole engine is new. I have other issues but we'll resolve this one first. Thanks in advance!
Weasle
Weasle
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 1,185
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From: New Wilmington PA
Re: HELP!! Tach no workie! (WeasleVette454)
Welcome to the forum! :cheers:
I'm not sure about the Mallory but 1971 'vettes had a cable driven tach. If there is no place to connect a cable drive on the distributer I'd suspect the previous owner just took the cable out and decided to live without a tach.
I'm not sure about the Mallory but 1971 'vettes had a cable driven tach. If there is no place to connect a cable drive on the distributer I'd suspect the previous owner just took the cable out and decided to live without a tach.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
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From: Semper ubi, sub ubi
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Cruise-In VII Veteran
Re: HELP!! Tach no workie! (WeasleVette454)
71's have mechanical tach's. Mallory makes a tach drive distributor, I have no idea if your distributor is a tach drive unit or not. Since your tach doesn't work, I assume that it isn't. You have several choices, you can get an electric tach from a 75 or 76 and replace your mechanical tach in the dash. The second thing you can do is buy a MSD billet mechanical tach drive distributor. Another choice is to get a tachdrive mechanical stock distributor (points and condensor type) and replace the Mallory.
The electric tach from a 75 or 76 can cost you anywhere from $50 to $150, if you can find one, they are sort of rare.
The mechanical tach drive MSD is a little pricey, at about $300.00
A used stock tachdrive distributor are available on Ebay from $50 to $100, then you can depend on spending anywhere from $50 to $150 to rebuild it to like new condition, if you do the work yourself. Then you have a point distributor instead of an electronic distributor. Spend another $100 and convert it to electronic with a Pertronix Ignitor II or Mallory Unilite system.
Finally it could be that your tach cable is broken and needs to be replaced.
I hope this isn't too confusing or overwhelming, but there are a lot of options to fix your tach.
Heck, you could even buy and aftermarket electronic tach and clamp it to your steering column.
Good Luck!
The electric tach from a 75 or 76 can cost you anywhere from $50 to $150, if you can find one, they are sort of rare.
The mechanical tach drive MSD is a little pricey, at about $300.00
A used stock tachdrive distributor are available on Ebay from $50 to $100, then you can depend on spending anywhere from $50 to $150 to rebuild it to like new condition, if you do the work yourself. Then you have a point distributor instead of an electronic distributor. Spend another $100 and convert it to electronic with a Pertronix Ignitor II or Mallory Unilite system.
Finally it could be that your tach cable is broken and needs to be replaced.
I hope this isn't too confusing or overwhelming, but there are a lot of options to fix your tach.
Heck, you could even buy and aftermarket electronic tach and clamp it to your steering column.
Good Luck!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 308
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From: Greenfield OH
Re: HELP!! Tach no workie! (Smokehouse69)
Thanks for all the info. Since I do the work, labor costs are pretty cheap at my house. Luckily, I have all the paperwork that came with the new Mallory distributor. I haven't stuck my head under the dash yet to check further. To be painfully honest, it still has temp tags on it. Regardless, I have s few directions to go no, and I feel they are in the right one. I'll let you all know what happened and how I ended up fixing it. Thanks again!
Weasle
Weasle
