Factory Tachometer Installation

After looking at the service manual concerning the installation of the factory tachometer (page 11-151 of '64 manual), without removing the dash, it looks to me that a different harness needs to be interconnected to the existing one in order to electrically connect the tachometer. Is this true?

After looking at the service manual concerning the installation of the factory tachometer (page 11-151 of '64 manual), without removing the dash, it looks to me that a different harness needs to be interconnected to the existing one in order to electrically connect the tachometer. Is this true?

Nothing special needed . One wire to the neg. side of the coil - tach needs to be grounded and power to the light - get it off of the existing dash light circuit . The book shows installation on top of the dash - here is a better place in my opinion .

Thanks Dick for the information. Your mounting looks really cool. I have also seen them hung in an unused slot in the accessories panel under the dashpad. How accurate are these factory tachs by the way?

Here is a pict of my tach in the factory location.

Larry

Thanks Larry that looks real nice. Did you buy the car with the tach or did you add it later?

Here is a pic from the internet showing the tach mounted under the dash:

Mounting on top of the dash is an option . You can use one of the Guidematic holes if you dont have that option . If your dash pad is nice now - you run the risk of cracking it however . Under the dash and in front of the radio is an afterbirth / afterthought . Ok for Customs I guess but weird for original cars . The Tach option for the most part is a nice option - accurate is another mater . Its ok but I think modern tachs woud be much more accurate with faster response ? The factory tach will add value while aftermarket stuff is frowned upon . Bottom line is - the above is my opinion but its your car , make it the way you want .

If you decide on factory - I see them on Ebay - be sure that when you buy one that it is guarenteed to work . On Ebay if the seller says untested - that means it does not work for the most part . Some can be repaired and some not depending on who furnished GM with it back in the day . All can also retro=fitted with modern circuitry keeping the original look - for a price . Good luck and if you have any questions please pm me .

Mounting on top of the dash is an option . You can use one of the Guidematic holes if you dont have that option . If your dash pad is nice now - you run the risk of cracking it however . Under the dash and in front of the radio is an afterbirth / afterthought . Ok for Customs I guess but weird for original cars . The Tach option for the most part is a nice option - accurate is another mater . Its ok but I think modern tachs woud be much more accurate with faster response ? The factory tach will add value while aftermarket stuff is frowned upon . Bottom line is - the above is my opinion but its your car , make it the way you want .

If you decide on factory - I see them on Ebay - be sure that when you buy one that it is guarenteed to work . On Ebay if the seller says untested - that means it does not work for the most part . Some can be repaired and some not depending on who furnished GM with it back in the day . All can also retro=fitted with modern circuitry keeping the original look - for a price . Good luck and if you have any questions please pm me .

Thanks Dick for the help. I did buy an original Buick "knee knocker" style tach on Ebay recently. It has been reconditioned and has a 90 day warranty with it. There is also a 14 day return included. All the others that I seen for sale did not have this set of guarantees. I asked one seller about his tach's accuracy and quality and he basically said "it's better than nothing at all" lol. I think I will mount it in the slot for the power antenna, as my car doesn't have one, That way it is out of the way of the radio. I have a special bracket that will allow it to be mounted without drilling holes. I really don't want to start drilling holes in the dash or console, just in case the next owner either doesn't want a tach, or desires to move it to another location. I read somewhere that originally the customer could ultimately decide where they wanted it mounted (Buick of course suggested above the center dash), so it could be placed in many weird and wonderful locations!

I will definitely contact you if I have any further questions.

I just did a tach install this week. I chose to use one of the under dash slots as my car has three slots, but only two were being used....courtacy light and power antena. My middle slot was unused so I moved the courtacy switch over to the middle and mounted the tach in the first slot closest to the driver. I tried to find a factory tach, but everyone I found on eBay went for stupid money! I ended up getting a reproduction kneeknocker tach. When I did the instillation I did have to dill a hole into the slot area to fit properly and used the front screw hole to make the attachment. The hole I drilled would be covered up by the courtacy light switch trim if I wanted to remove it. Picture bellow, sorry it's crapy. I'll post a better one when its not pouring rain.

I just did a tach install this week. I chose to use one of the under dash slots as my car has three slots, but only two were being used....courtacy light and power antena. My middle slot was unused so I moved the courtacy switch over to the middle and mounted the tach in the first slot closest to the driver. I tried to find a factory tach, but everyone I found on eBay went for stupid money! I ended up getting a reproduction kneeknocker tach. When I did the instillation I did have to dill a hole into the slot area to fit properly and used the front screw hole to make the attachment. The hole I drilled would be covered up by the courtacy light switch trim if I wanted to remove it. Picture bellow, sorry it's crapy. I'll post a better one when its not pouring rain.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]278698[/ATTACH]

I also looked at the reproduction tachs. They look really nice and are just like the one one found in the '66 Chevelle which happen to be very similar to the Buick version. I assume the reproduction is more responsive and accurate than the originals so it is a good choice if you're on a budget but still want the vintage look. I do like the placement you chose and plan to put mine there as well. I have an unused slot on the far right which should work out nicely for me.

Which firewall grommet did you run the wire for the coil connection; the one for the antenna cable or the A/C vacuum lines?

I ran through the big grommet on the left, next to the brake cylinder (when looking into the engine bay). Not really sure how responsive it is yet as I have only tested that it works.

I ran through the big grommet on the left, next to the brake cylinder (when looking into the engine bay). Not really sure how responsive it is yet as I have only tested that it works.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]278731[/ATTACH]

Awesome! I hope the tach works as expected. :cool:

A tachometer on a stick or maybe a Skylark Gran Sport but a Rivi............................no.

A tachometer on a stick or maybe a Skylark Gran Sport but a Rivi............................no.

Why? Thunderbirds had them so the Riviera deserves them too hahahaha!!!

For me it's an important part of knowing what's going on with the engine.....over kill for a Riviera, maybe.

I added it and used the guidematic spot on the dash. If I had to do it over again, I might put it in the console in place if the ash tray instead of on top of the dash. To change now I would need a guidmatic eye to install on the dash to cover the hole.

Thanks Larry that looks real nice. Did you buy the car with the tach or did you add it later?

I think it's fine where it's at as it matches the service manual location. I would do it myself but I decided to leave the dash alone and take the easier route by mounting it to the switch plate.

Well finally got my tachometer installed and it was a lot easier than expected. It is pretty responsive to throttle changes and doesn't jump at all. Thanks to everyone who gave me some pointers to look for when buying as well as the installation hints.

Looks good, glad to hear yous seems responsive. Mine seems a little sluggish, I'm going to see if a larger gauge wire helps or grounding the housing better will.

Thanks. Connections may be the issue with yours or maybe our definitions of responsive are different. How sluggish are we talking? Mine pretty much operated like the one in this video:

Mine seems to move like the video, i was hopping for a little better response, but it will do .

Mine seems to move like the video, i was hopping for a little better response, but it will do .

My thinking is that many factory tachometers are slow to respond due to heavy dampening (by internal circuitry) used for smoothing pointer operation during accel/decel situations. This was the case with coil driven tachs. Later transistorized driven units allowed for less dampening of the meters and were probably a bit more responsive in return.

Nice Work Darren! Ours is on the column but my son likes the clock so we are thinking of moving it to the console. I need to find an extra console top to modify!

If you're a real racer, the tach on the column is where you want it. Don't want to take your eyes off the track under WOT with a guy right next to you doing the same thing. I'd rather have access to the radio than see the clock. But I'm one of those old fogies who still wears a wrist watch and doesn't depend on my iPhone to tell me what time it is.* When I bought my '63, the previous owner had a tach, an amp meter, an oil pressure gauge, a temperature gauge, and a vacuum gauge mounted. All five were in the opening where the ash tray goes. )If anyone is interested, I still have everything and can reassmble it and take a picture of it.) He made a bracket to hold them that had the same finish as the rest of the console, and there was even a separate toggle switch to control the lighting of the gauges. Plus the lid for the ash tray would close and cover them all. It was a pretty neat set up but not OE so I pulled them all. A pristine ash tray was wrapped in paper and in a box in the trunk. I've often thought about taking that small tach and putting it where the clock is.

Ed

* Sad state of affairs these days. Kids cannot tell time on an analog clock. Classrooms still have analog clocks in them but if you ask a student "what time is this class over?" you'll get a reply like "on the seven" That's all they know. They cannot tell you that class is over at 10:35. If you ask them to write the time on a pass and there's a policy about no cell phones in class, they're lost if they have to look at the clock on the wall. So we get to practice multiplying by 5's and figuring out which two numbers the small hand is between. Sad but true. Sorry for the rant. DON"T let this comment hijack the thread.

When I got my Formula Firebird when I was 17 I went straight to the auto parts store and bought a Sun Super Tach II and clamped it on the column. It's still there today. One of the best aftermarket items I ever bought. I also have a Autometer Bowtie tach in my Chevelle on the column, but they just came out with a tach to replace the clock in a Chevelle Dash and I am mighty tempted. I started the boy out the same way in the Riv.

Tim

If you're a real racer, the tach on the column is where you want it. Don't want to take your eyes off the track under WOT with a guy right next to you doing the same thing. I'd rather have access to the radio than see the clock. But I'm one of those old fogies who still wears a wrist watch and doesn't depend on my iPhone to tell me what time it is.* When I bought my '63, the previous owner had a tach, an amp meter, an oil pressure gauge, a temperature gauge, and a vacuum gauge mounted. All five were in the opening where the ash tray goes. )If anyone is interested, I still have everything and can reassmble it and take a picture of it.) He made a bracket to hold them that had the same finish as the rest of the console, and there was even a separate toggle switch to control the lighting of the gauges. Plus the lid for the ash tray would close and cover them all. It was a pretty neat set up but not OE so I pulled them all. A pristine ash tray was wrapped in paper and in a box in the trunk. I've often thought about taking that small tach and putting it where the clock is.

Ed

* Sad state of affairs these days. Kids cannot tell time on an analog clock. Classrooms still have analog clocks in them but if you ask a student "what time is this class over?" you'll get a reply like "on the seven" That's all they know. They cannot tell you that class is over at 10:35. If you ask them to write the time on a pass and there's a policy about no cell phones in class, they're lost if they have to look at the clock on the wall. So we get to practice multiplying by 5's and figuring out which two numbers the small hand is between. Sad but true. Sorry for the rant. DON"T let this comment hijack the thread.

I would love to see some pics of the old gauge set up as I may be interested.

Side note: awful to hear about the students not being able to tell time with an analogue clock..... Personally hate digital readout clocks and I am a huge watch guy, my guilt pleasure with over 30 sitting on my dresser and not a single one digital!

Thanks Kaber for the compliment. I like being able to see the clock, so I mounted the tach in an unused slot on my accessories panel (seeing that it was an actual accessory). I like the OE tach because it's nostalgic, and the chrome cup really adds to the beauty of the interior IMHO. Best part - where I mounted it doesn't stop me from tuning in some old staticy AM stations!

Thanks Kaber for the compliment. I like being able to see the clock, so I mounted the tach in an unused slot on my accessories panel (seeing that it was an actual accessory). I like the OE tach because it's nostalgic, and the chrome cup really adds to the beauty of the interior IMHO. Best part - where I mounted it doesn't stop me from tuning in some old staticy AM stations!

My son added a Ready Rad converter to his Riv. Now he can listen to crystal clear MP-3's thru his staticy AM Radio. It won't thump you out of there but it is kind of cool. No mods to the car so its easily reversible.

Tim

My son added a Ready Rad converter to his Riv. Now he can listen to crystal clear MP-3's thru his staticy AM Radio. It won't thump you out of there but it is kind of cool. No mods to the car so its easily reversible.

Tim

Great idea! I'll check into this for sure...

I talked to Matt at Brew City Engineering last year and am doing the same thing to my radio. I'm now trying to figure out where to hide a satellite radio. I had an AM/FM that a pro went through and he also reconed a couple of OE 10 ohm speaker for me with modern materials. I also have a reverb to connect to the system. All this sounds cool (figuratively) but it's all still boxed up awaiting its turn for installation to see how cool it sounds (literally.) After spending the $$$, I've yet to hear one decibel of sound come out of it. Before the internet, I learned to be patient for parts and answers to questions; it's finally paying off.

Ed

I would love to see some pics of the old gauge set up as I may be interested.

Okay, I reassembled everything. I'm pretty sure that this is the arrangement of the gauges is how it was originally. I can't actually remember but the tach only fits in that one place and the other three "look" uniform where they are. It might be hard to see in the pictures, but behind each of the three lamp holders the metal plate has been tapered down to allow light to enter the light slots on the gauges. The tach was self lit, but the other four required external light that entered around the inside of the bezel. The red pointers indicate where two holes are that match up to existing holes in the console. They are threaded and the panel was screwed on from the back. The green pointer indicates a hole where the toggle switch was located that would turn the lamps on and off to the gauges. The blue tape across the gauges indicates how big the section for the ash tray is on a '63 Riviera. What's between the blue tape is what was visible when the gauges were mounted. The oil pressure gauge used a oil line that ran to a sender mounted on the engine. I know the idiot lights worked too but I can't remember how an oil line and a wire were both used.

Okay, I reassembled everything. I'm pretty sure that this is the arrangement of the gauges is how it was originally. I can't actually remember but the tach only fits in that one place and the other three "look" uniform where they are. It might be hard to see in the pictures, but behind each of the three lamp holders the metal plate has been tapered down to allow light to enter the light slots on the gauges. The tach was self lit, but the other four required external light that entered around the inside of the bezel. The red pointers indicate where two holes are that match up to existing holes in the console. They are threaded and the panel was screwed on from the back. The green pointer indicates a hole where the toggle switch was located that would turn the lamps on and off to the gauges. The blue tape across the gauges indicates how big the section for the ash tray is on a '63 Riviera. What's between the blue tape is what was visible when the gauges were mounted. The oil pressure gauge used a oil line that ran to a sender mounted on the engine. I know the idiot lights worked too but I can't remember how an oil line and a wire were both used.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]280542[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]280543[/ATTACH]

Very cool, but after seeing and realizing that the 63 is very different than the 65 it won't work for me. It did however give me some ideas and I appreciate you taking the time to post.