Tach Mounting and Placement help needed

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rod7515

rod7515

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Im sure this has been ask before. I am trying to find the best place to mount my tach at the best possible spot for it to be visually functional but yet not be a pain when driving on the street. Its a 66 Dart automatic. I plan on drag racing at least 3 - 4 times a year. I have a 5" Auto Meter. I doesnt fit behind the steering wheel without blocking either the headlight wiper switch or the ignition key. On the top of the dash it stands out so high that Im afraid it might block some vision while driving but would probably be the best place for racing. If so for those that race is it better on the right side or left side of steering wheel. And lastly I have thought about mounting it on the windshield post but it makes mounting so hard without customizing a bracket around the post trim which is all but a 50 year old brittle plastic! If the top of dash is the best place has anyone made a bracket so you didnt have to drill or cut part of the dash?
I checked for a smaller tach and I couldnt believe pricing plus it wouldnt be as easy to see the needle.
How about you post pics of your placement and mounting.
Thanks for helping.
Rod
 
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I run a sunpro 2 5/8 tach
30 bucks at autozone
And it goes from 0 to 8000 instead of 10000 so the scale is better (imho)

Fits right on the column of my 71
 
Back in the very early 70s I mounted my tach (no 5" tachs back then) to the sunvisor bracket at the top of the a-pillar. It was easy to see and didn't block my vision.
Unfortunately, the local police didn't care for the location and claimed it blocked vision and gave me a "fix-it" ticket.
I took it down, wired in a plug-in connection, got the "fix-it" ticket cleared and then put it right back on the bracket. Never got stopped again for some reason.
 
There was a member that was making brackets that slid under the back of the dash pad pretty cool!
 
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Mounted on column on '72 demon at approximately 10 o'clock position. As long as I can see the instrument panel I'm happy.
Yote
 
I've put them under the dash, basically under the radio before. Seems way "out of the way" but it works for me and is totally out of the way.
 
Get a Shift Lite instead of a Tach. They are much smaller, and You can set it at whatever RPMs You want to shift at - OR -- The Max RPMs that You want to run.
Shift lite.JPG
 
Not sure how you're dash is or how that tach mounts or if you care about covering a factory gauge or two. Pictured is what I have done on my 66 Cuda with limited space. I'm doing wire harness change so ignore the mess.

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a 5" tach is for racing.
A 7000rpm 3.5 to 4" with a 270 sweep is nice in a streeter; but I haven't seen a 7000 for a long time. Next best is an 8000 or a 6000 with a stand-alone shift-lite. Autogage makes a nice item with a built in shift light, which I set at 65 mph. When it comes on I know to slow down!lol.
I mounted mine on a little strap that I formed to conform to the dashpad on my 68. Now, I slide it off to the right when I'm just tooling around, but when I think I might need it, I slide it back a little closer.
But really I don't need it except at the track, cuz the tires boil to 65 mph easy enough, and the speedo is HUGE so I just shift at 62 mph, straight into overdrive,lol. The tach is more or less just taking up space
 
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AJ/FormS said:
-- Autogage makes a nice item with a built in shift light, which I set at 65 mph. _ _ _ _ _ the tires boil to 65 mph _ _ _ I just shift at 62 mph, _ _ _
Click to expand...
-- I assume that You Mean RPM - not MPH
 
Thanks for all the replies. Ive decided to make a mount and it will sit on the dash just right of the steering wheel. Its not where I wanted it to sit but its probably the best most functional place for it. As long as it doesnt cause problems to the law enforcement I guess I can live with it. As I said earlier it is a 5" auto meter gauge and it does have a shift light. The reason I want to have good visual of it and not just the shift light is for being consistent once I figure the rpm to launch it when racing and also so I dont have to take my eyes off the road when I am out driving on the street. Here is a pic of the dash and you will see the reason I dont want to put it under the dash is I dont want the gauges to be out of sight.
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Once I have the bracket fabricated I will post the pics here. The idea for this bracket was one I found when I searched this forum and I cant think which member made his but I liked how his was done so I will try something very similar with the limited supplies I have on hand.
Thanks Rod
 
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RPMagoo said:
-- I assume that You Mean RPM - not MPH
Click to expand...
Nope You read it right I shift into second at about 65 mph.
For me Second gear actually comes after First-over with the Gearvendor. On the street I got not much use for the tach, as the speedo is bigger, and right where it needs to be. If you translate your shift rpms to mphs, who needs a tach?
My shift rpm of say 6500, with 3.55s,translates to shifts at 48mph,77mph,and 105mph,lol.Again I set the the shift indicator to the rpm that is the equivalent of whatever mph I want to maintain, so that, because I don't have a cruise-control, the man can't get me.I will not waste points or money on a speeding ticket; I need them for imprudents,lol.
In Manitoba, they give us points/merits for being good and demerits for being bad. Having demerits means they get to charge you more money to purchase your annual driver's license. Having points or merits, these can be used to offset demerits ,currently in a one-to-one relationship. The maximum one can accumulate is 5 merits over 5 years of being good. An accident can cost 2 merits. A speeding ticket also 2 if under a certain amount, I forget the splits. A dangerous driving,offense can wipe out all your hard earned merits in a heartbeat.Couple that with speeding, which they call it racing, and your license, if they let you keep it, is going to cost you a lot of money!
So, I'm working under the assumption that one day my luck will run out, and I will get an imprudent. I mean this is a blanket offense that covers a multitude of sins, including the most mundane things like failing to come to a complete stop at a stopsign, or pulling a U-turn where you shouldn't, or fishtailing, or excessive spinning of tires. In any case, I'm saving my merits for when my time is up. No speeding for me!
 
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Just food for thought , the 5 inch autometer tac is large and tall In your pic's you have the windshield out . You need to check the clearance of the tac after the windshield is back in place to be sure it will fit . I have a 65 coronet and a 66 barracuda . I have the big 5 inch tac in the coronet and it is a tight fit unless you move it over toward the center of the dash . Before I purchased the larger one for the 66 car I took it out of the 65 car and did a trial fit on the 66 car , with the dash pad in place it hit the front glass . I purchased a 3 3/8 tac with 8000 rpm scale , still had to move it over to the right of the defroster vent to clear the windshield . If you drill holes before checking the fit it would be hard to fill them back in with everything painted . If a tac with a shift light is used please be sure to use the light cover on it . Put one in my brothers full time drag car , he was running at night the first time came on and was so bright he lost vision for a few seconds , running a 120 mph plus is not fun , came back and put the cover back on it asap . Enclosed a few pic's of my tac on dash of 66 car ..
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Funnykarman, I understand your concerns with the windshield. I had a friend make me a nice mounting bracket that would mount near the defroster vent on drivers side and the tach would sit just in front of dash pad which would leave plenty of room. My issue is that it still may block to much vision so I didnt drill mounting holes yet. Ive decided to wait until one of the last things I do. That will allow me to rethink mounting it or maybe going to a smaller tach. Thanks for your thougts and I will post pics once i make a final decision. Until then Im hoping someone shows me a great option!
Thanks Rod
 
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