There was another thread on options for replacing the tach, and I posted a picture of a tach from a Ford F-150 1980-86. I went to junkyard today, and saw one of that style, also shown below, but I also found one from a 1987 Ford truck. Someone had already pulled the instrument cluster from the truck too, so it was no work to get it out. Cost of the tach = $5.99 plus tax.
Anyway, it looks like that may be a great option for replacing all those non-functioning tachs. The second picture shows it side by side with the Eagle tach, and the 3rd photo shows it at the back of the instrument cluster. Needs to be trimmed to fit inside but that should be easy.
1986 Ford instrument cluster with tach (somewhat rectangular)
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/f150instrumentcluster.jpg)
1987 Ford tach (left) and Eagle tach (right)
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/IMG-20120304-00363.jpg)
It will need some trimming to fit in but it looks like a good fit
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/IMG-20120304-00362.jpg)
By golly you may be right.Looks like a great fit and solution to the tach problem!
That's a great looking tach, and to the untrained eye it would look completely stock.
One problem, though... if it came from a truck, wouldn't it be calibrated for a V8? I'm assuming this came from a full size like an F-150.
Not if it came from a ford with the I6 300 engine.
Now, it's too bad the faceplace screw holes don't sit in the same place for both tachs, then you might be able to change the faceplates, and then nobody would ever know.
I've tried to take the needle off (in the hopes of doing that someday) but that little sucker just wouldn't pop off... I don't know what the trick is...
That is a great solution though... Thanks for sharing that. Eggs to Van!
Quote from: El Matador on March 04, 2012, 08:20:34 PM
One problem, though... if it came from a truck, wouldn't it be calibrated for a V8? I'm assuming this came from a full size like an F-150.
The donor truck had the I6, but the tach works for either. It has a jumper if you want to use it with an 8 cyl.
First I'm going to check to see that it works - could be from the same manufacturer as the AMC tachs and dead as a doornail :rotfl:
Just did some research. Looks like the 300 six cylinder was more common in these trucks than I thought. Not all of the F-150s had a tach, but this same tach was used for five years ('87 to '91) so it should be a relatively easy find. Ford only sold about half a bazillion F-150s.
For '87 to '91 Ford F-150, my local Pick-n-Pull currently shows 11 in stock. ;D
I'm somewhat of a purist, but only to the extent that parts used should look original. They don't necessarily have to be original. If this turns out to be a viable solution, I just might have to start stocking up on these.
Quote from: El Matador on March 04, 2012, 10:07:58 PM
For '87 to '91 Ford F-150, my local Pick-n-Pull currently shows 11 in stock. ;D
I saw at least 3 or 4 more of these tachs. Now that I know they fit, I might go grab a few more since they are pretty cheap.
These tachs are designed to be backlit. I suppose they'll work fine with the standard Eagle instrument panel lighting, but I think it would be pretty cool if I can figure out how to do the backlighting. Some small LED's might do the trick.
Awesome thread.
You could also paint the needle a white/cream color, and then it would be hardly noticeable that it wasn't original.
But if you want to use the backlit lighting, then that might not be an option, as usually the needles glow too.
Quote from: Mernsy on March 04, 2012, 08:49:42 PM
Quote from: Whuntmore on March 04, 2012, 08:22:46 PM
Now, it's too bad the faceplace screw holes don't sit in the same place for both tachs, then you might be able to change the faceplates, and then nobody would ever know.
The "0" is in different positions so a faceplate change wouldn't work. Nice try though.
Ahhh, yes, I see that now... too bad huh? Well, it's only a thought.
So why are al the Eagle tachs no good? I just bought a full IP of the auction site which includes a tach.
If it is something electrical, I may be able to take a look at one and figure out what is wrong unless someone already knows.
Rohnk, here's one non-electrical reason why eagle tachs go bad:
http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=38141.0
I've had those tachs apart, and there's something in the needle's mechanism that is weak (or faulty).
They have a shortened lifespan. AMC could have gotten a bad batch of tach's, or the tach's were poor to begin with.
Quote from: Prafeston on March 10, 2012, 12:37:57 PM
I was looking at that instrument cluster on Ebay too, Rohn.
Hope I didn't steal it from you!
No, I decided not to bid on it...i'm spending too much money.
I temporarily wired up the Ford tach to test it out today, while it was sitting on my fender. You can see that it works very well, and it tracks the LED tach I currently have in my Eagle. I've realized the tach would not be centered in the tach opening in the Eagle - I don't think it will look bad, but not perfect. I'll probably go to the junkyard this weekend and grab an 80-86 Ford tach just to compare and see how that would look.
Oh, by the way, the soundtrack in the first part of the video is provided by AWOL Nation, then I turn the radio off, and the sound is pure AMC 258.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/th_Fordtach312.jpg) (http://s62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/?action=view¤t=Fordtach312.mp4)
I've got my Ford tach all taped up and ready to cut (hopefully today) to test fit it into the instrument cluster. In doing so, I realized the cluster in my car is different than the two that I pulled out of junkyard cars that came with the factory tachs. There is a picture of the tach cluster in the first post in this thread. Here is a picture of my existing cluster. Notice the white lines around each of the gauge openings on mine. The white line is missing on the tach clusters. Anybody else have the white lines? Was it tach/non-tach that decided whether the lines were there? Sport vs. non-sport? Chime in and let me know what yours looks like!
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/IMG-20120317-00376.jpg)
Both of mine has the white lines around them.I then went and looked at the cluster I have that has the tach in it and it has no white lines. I purchased this cluster to install my wagon but because the tach needle is wobbly I decitied to hold off for awhile in fear of the tach not working.So I am watching this thread intently.
Mine has white lines around the gauges. No tach, non-sport.
Aren't the white lines not on the actually gauge faces? They are are on the faceplate surrounding the gauges, right? If thats the case, if you put your new tach in, you will just have the white lines around it still.
Quote from: ammachine390 on March 18, 2012, 03:05:38 PM
Aren't the white lines not on the actually gauge faces? They are are on the faceplate surrounding the gauges, right? If thats the case, if you put your new tach in, you will just have the white lines around it still.
Yes, they are on the faceplate, not the gauges. I just had never noticed that some Eagles had the white lines, and others didn't. For this application I kind of prefer it without the lines, as the ford tach isn't quite centered, which I think would be more noticeable with the white lines.
Sunday afternoon update - Time to finally try to fit the Ford tach into the slot.
Here is the tach with a cardboard template, based on the original tach face:
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/IMG-20120318-00378.jpg)
After trimming the excess, the tach fits!!! Still needs some fine tuning, but looking good so far
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/IMG-20120318-00379.jpg)
Back view. Still need to decide how to attach it to the housing, maybe some of those speed nuts or whatever they are called that just push on the posts to keep it in place.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/IMG-20120318-00380.jpg)
Top view.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/IMG-20120318-00381.jpg)
well, so far from the front, it looks really good. Almost factory looking.
And really, that's all that matters. it works and it looks pretty damm good.
Quote from: Whuntmore on March 18, 2012, 07:01:43 PM
well, so far from the front, it looks really good. Almost factory looking.
That's what I was thinking - if you didn't tell anyone it wasn't factory I don't think anyone would know.
How did you/will you mount the tach to the gauge cluster?
Looks factory enough to me. I don't think ninty nine out of a hundred will know the difference and for the one that does shoot him. Just kiddin of course.I like it!
Quote from: Draekon on March 18, 2012, 08:11:35 PM
How did you/will you mount the tach to the gauge cluster?
There are four posts that stick through the old tach, and I've made holes in the new tach to accomodate them. I am going to try some speed nuts and push them on to hold it in place. I've highlighted the posts in the picture, and you can see the holes marked on the template in an earlier photo.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/IMG-20120318-00380-1.jpg)
Quote from: casper on March 18, 2012, 08:55:06 PM
from that picture, the numbers look the same, and i noticed the inner marks on the tach also look the same (or REAL close) blue that the km/h on the spedo is. looks great!!!
I noticed the same blue colors today too. I think it really will take somebody that's looking VERY close to notice that its not factory. The only real giveaway is that the numbers are inside the hashmarks, as opposed to outside on the speedometer.
Under the lights. The first picture is standard lighting
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/IMG-20120318-00383.jpg)
The second one has an amber LED attached to one of the light guides that goes to the tach. I think that particular one is only intended to light up the needle, not the face of the dial.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/IMG-20120318-00385.jpg)
I love the orange needle.
Quote from: Whuntmore on March 19, 2012, 12:12:04 AM
Quote from: Prafeston on March 19, 2012, 12:00:49 AM
I love the orange needle.
x2
x3. So much that I just did a quick look at the speedometer from the F150....looks like its too big, but maybe I'll pick one up and see if I can make it work.
I finally found an 80-86 Ford F150 tach to try out. It doesn't look bad, but the style isn't as close a match as the 87-91 pictured earlier. It will also be more work to make it fit, as there will be a gap on the top or bottom, and the lip on the tach will have to be cut off.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/IMG-20120324-00390.jpg)
I don't like that style at all. It looks totally out of place next to the round speedometer.
It may be more acceptable if used beside the square face speedometer, but even then it's iffy.
Quote from: El Matador on March 24, 2012, 08:02:39 PM
I don't like that style at all. It looks totally out of place next to the round speedometer.
It may be more acceptable if used beside the square face speedometer, but even then it's iffy.
I agree. The other style is such a close match and an easy install that there is no reason to go with this version.
Quote from: El Matador on March 24, 2012, 08:02:39 PM
It may be more acceptable if used beside the square face speedometer, but even then it's iffy.
Here is what that might look like. The round tach, round speedometer are definitely the way to go.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/sqinstcluster.jpg)
There are at least two ford trucks at the calgary PnP that have the first tach shown in this topic.
I might snag them both. I like the looks of the first one, but I'm not crazy about the second one. Only my opinion though... :-[
Looks like I'm ready to move forward with the install of the Ford tach. I've got it attached to the instrument cluster, using #8 speed nuts. I had to do a little adjusting but I think they will hold fine. I could only install them on 3 out of the 4 posts, you can see them in the first picture. The second picture is the ready to install product. Hopefully I'll have some time to put it in tomorrow!
Oh yea, since I currently have the square style speedometer, I'm swapping out the entire instrument cluster. I tried "rolling" back the replacement speedometer but it would take forever to reverse 20,000 miles, even using a drill. So it looks like I'll be adding a bunch of miles in no time!
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/IMG-20120331-00405.jpg)
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/IMG-20120331-00406.jpg)
So are you going with the orange needle too?
Bummer about the miles...with my Eagle sitting at 39k it would take FOREVER to roll back on just about any cluster I could find! :)
Finished the swap of the Ford tach. Its looks really good, and I like the round speedometer a whole lot better than the square one that was in the Eagle before. I'll do a How To write up in the next couple of days. It really isn't that hard to do.
Quote from: Prafeston on March 31, 2012, 11:08:55 PM
So are you going with the orange needle too?
Bummer about the miles...with my Eagle sitting at 39k it would take FOREVER to roll back on just about any cluster I could find! :)
Yes, I taped an orange LED to the light guide on the new tach so the needle is orange when the lights are on. I may change it so its wired to the ignition so its orange whenever the car is running.
And I found a way to change the odometer in the TSM, but it requires taking the speedometer apart, and I didn't want to mess with it. So I missed seeing my car roll over 100,000 miles!
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h109/brilliantd/kammback/Ford%20Tach/IMG-20120401-00419.jpg)
Looks great. It's a shame you can't get your speedo needle to light up orange too!
Quote from: Prafeston on April 01, 2012, 10:58:57 PM
Looks great. It's a shame you can't get your speedo needle to light up orange too!
I agree! That's why I picked up a whole instrument cluster from a truck with that tach. I think it would fit nicely, but I would have to figure out the electronics for some of the gauges plus how to mate the Ford speedo with the AMC speedo cable. I could probably have one custom built, or maybe find an adaptor. The instrument cluster face is pretty much an exact match for the Eagle.
The biggest pain with rolling back the miles would be to take the whole thing out again.
I have done several of the " roll backs", I used to put 50-60,000 miles a year on my Nissan work pick-ups,anything to keep them under warrenty for a couple years.
I would put a piece of scotch tape across all the numbers before removeing the roller from it's cradle , then roll the ones back you want. It's tedious and small work.
I remember thinking that drill trick would work, lol, what a joke.
The tach looks great.I thought, why not just get a new replacement Ford one - till I looked up the prices - yikes !!!
Quote from: 68AMXGOPAC on April 02, 2012, 08:19:16 AM
It's tedious and small work.
The tach looks great.I thought, why not just get a new replacement Ford one - till I looked up the prices - yikes !!!
Yea, when I realized the amount of effort it would take to roll it back, I quickly decided that it wasn't worth it.
They are pretty cheap in the junkyard. Let me know if you're interested, I'll pick one up for you the next time I go.
Quote from: vangremlin on April 01, 2012, 10:30:30 PM
And I found a way to change the odometer in the TSM, but it requires taking the speedometer apart, and I didn't want to mess with it. So I missed seeing my car roll over 100,000 miles!
As my car has had a major restoration including a new motor I wanted to do this too but I couldn't really understand what the TSM was saying and after examining the speedometer it appeared the odometer couldn't be removed without breaking it.
Hmm, I have a brand new NOS instrument cluster.I will look it over.I know on other cars it involved opening up the pinch tab on each end of the center roller pin and just lifting the whole set out as one......
Here is how I rolled back the miles, have to remove the trip mils cluster and play with it to get the right numbers up. It's a pita to get them to line up, but it can be done. Have to make a long stiff wire to get the clips back in place. Have fun!!!
Quote from: casper on April 03, 2012, 12:45:09 AM
does anyone know if the wiring is there to install a tach into a car that has the clock?? hoping the wiring is there to do this tach swap. my new station wagon just has the clock. both my sx4's have tachs. im going to be hunting for 3 frod tachs now. be nice to know if it has the wiring for it.
I don't think the wiring is there if you have a clock. However, the only wire you really have to run is the tach signal wire, which just gets hooked up to the negative post on the ignition coil. Other than that, the tach just needs a 12 volt power source and needs to be grounded, which you can tap into near the fuse box.
Quote from: ammachine390 on April 03, 2012, 12:54:23 AM
I don't think the wiring is there if you have a clock. However, the only wire you really have to run is the tach signal wire, which just gets hooked up to the negative post on the ignition coil. Other than that, the tach just needs a 12 volt power source and needs to be grounded, which you can tap into near the fuse box.
I looked and did not find a tach wire. ammachine390 is correct, in that the only wire that has to be run a long way is the tach signal from the ignition coil. I grounded the new tach to a screw on the instrument panel, which is how the original tach is grounded. I ran power for the tach from the 12V wire going to the instrument panel. Give me a couple more days and I'll get a How To posted.
Very very nice! eggs!
Hey everybody! Just wanted to let you know I finished my detailed, as in too long, how-to on this installation. Check it out.
http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=38475.0