The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Adding a tachometer

I have a 54’ Chevy 3100 that I’m working on restoring. Trying to keep the truck fairly true to how it left the factory in the interior. I’ll be reusing the factory gauges once I get them reconditioned. It would be nice though to add a tachometer in the truck. But I’d want it to look like it should be there and not some recent addition. I was thinking it’d be great to find one of the rare clock holders and find a gauge to put in there but I haven’t been able to locate a reasonable one of those. I’m looking for suggestions and maybe pictures if you guys have added a tach in your AD trucks. Thanks for any info or pictures you guys can provide.

Adam

I added one to my 54 but strapped it to my steering column. I thought of the clock but the one I found got away.I found this one.. But the other one conformed to the shape of the dash.

Adamg Would like to add a tach too,not seeing a way to look factory doing it ! Thought maybe the radio block-off plate would be a possibility. Not familiar with the clock mount idea.

WeBOld Saw your reply on tachometer install,but couldn't see the mount-up. They offer tachs starting at about 2 inch diameter,could only see one choice that didn't seem to be troublesome. Think a 4000 rpm would be enough for daily driver. It's the mount cup that is the problem,bigger tach is 84 mm I think .

Adamg Did you see that one that fits in a main gage hole ?? Wouldn't want to give up the speedometer for that. Need a pod that fits over and covers up the radio knockout hole. Guess I can make one out of a green bean can,that would really look jakey. Well will keep looking till we see the right thing.

I put mine on the steering column. It's just a Summit Brand tach, nothing fancy, 2 5/8" or 3" diameter. I pulled it apart to get the face plate off, scanned it, altered the look, then printed it out on colored card stock that matched the OEM gauges. Did the same for the vacuum gauge. '37s used a fancy font for the numbers, I looked all the web for something that match, finally gave up and used what I had.
I really don't use the tach , just thought I should have one, same for the vacuum gauge. I watch the wideband A/F gauge all the time.

Autometer makes a nice 5,000 rpm gauge, I got mine from JEGS

The original clock housing requires 3 small holes for the studs and 1 larger hole for the lamp socket to be cut or drilled into the dash. Once you make those holes, there's no turning back. The picture is not my truck but the clock housing (tachometer installed) looks good when viewed from the front, through the steering wheel. When viewed from the sides, I can't help thinking about a cyclops with one eye sticking out. Obviously I'm old school and I prefer a plain dash. My point is, be sure that this is what you want before making the dash holes.

What is the purpose of having a tachometer in an old stock truck with stock gauges? Your ears can tell you when a Stovebolt engine is being overrevved. Instead, it would be a visual indication on when to shift gears (shift points). If I remember correctly, the old VWs had small marks on the speedometer dial to tell you when to shift or a shift before this point.

Installed this one on my steering column, years ago.

Thanks everyone for the thoughts so far. As far as my truck I’m trying to keep the interior stock however I made the decision to go with a 350 and automatic transmission since when I bought the truck the top end of the engine was home exposing the cylinders to the elements and it was trashed and the tranny was junk. So I’d like to see the shift points using the tach.

Joe I like what you did making the face resemble the original gauges. I was thinking of doing something similar if I added the tach. The place I’m sending the gauges to I believe can match them also.

Definitely don’t want to give up my speedometer. Nor would I want to mount a gauge on the pillar. Just trying to make it look clean and not an afterthought.

I do like the cleaner look of the dash without the center pod but if I could find an original housing that would be the only way I’d put something in that position. I may explore the column position since I guess that’s about the only other spot. It was there or under the dash. We’ll see. I still have work to do on the truck before I’m at that point. Just trying to plan ahead. Thanks again for all of the comments.

I saw this and thought it was nice. Mine is on a 1957 dash, I cut a section of exhaust pipe to size, welded it to the dash and inserted the tach.
don

Adamg, like you, I really like the stock look and felt a tach on these trucks seems out of place almost anywhere you put it. My answer was to just mount one to the lower left of the dash…..nicely visible thru the spokes of the steering wheel. It’s not in your direct field of vision but it’s there when you need it. I’m also running a SBC but with a 700R4. The tach I used is a 2 5/8” Sunpro Super Tach2. I fabricated a bracket to hang it from the bottom lip of the dash. Good luck.

What is that weird texture on the steering wheel?

Here is what I did to my '57 GMC V8. It is a Sun Supertach II that I refaced using an Xacto knife and a GMC instrument face decal kit. Then I flipped the switch on the back of the tach to 4 cylinder mode to make 4,000 RPM on my V8 = full scale. The Hydra-Matic upshifted at 3850 RPM and there was no way I was going to take it past that engine speed with a 3.08 rear gear in 4th.

buoymaker Now on your mount houseing what did it fit before ?? Is it unobtanium ?? Think it could be put in the center at the radio hole??

buoy maker I just happened to think I have a big ole cowl mount headlight with a dent in it's tale right where the tach would go. Might make a good mount would just have to in let it to fit the dash. you could at least throw that away if it didn't look right.

What the heck is a “A/F WB” gauge measuring? I’ve never seen nor heard of one.

Thanks

I added a tach and a vacuum gauge to the "frankenspeedometer" but it was a lot of work. I felt like a microsurgeon when I finished and then I decided it was too busy and distracting...

Air/Fuel ratio. WB is wide band. The gauge connects to an oxygen sensor in the exhaust pipe near the exhaust manifold. Fuel injection equipped cars use the sensor as feedback to their computer to keep the fuel mixture right.

Thanks Bill. That A/F WB gauge was one I’d never even heard of on newer autos, much less on an old truck!

I put one on my '52 GMC 228 temporarily after installing a PCV system to help with re-jetting the non stock Carter YF. Removed it when I got the jet right.

Adamg Posted earlier about a mount made out of a dented cowl mount headlight can,it disappeared but will resurface when I post this one. Anyway thought it might work to cover the radio block-off plate,awful big,also hard to find a tach that is dependable.Haven't bought a Sun Super Tach in years,surely that would work. fix

buoymaker My 51 6400 came to me with a power take-off control knob right above the light switch,ugly booger that even cracked the dash. I soldered a patch on that sore and epoxied it back smooth,so you can save a lot with some tricks. On my 48 2-ton PTO some sneaky installer reversed the action of the control using a circular saw blade on a bolt,worked good !!