F600 tach question

[Zukinut]

Just got a f600 dash for my 68. It came with the sw tach but it is cable driven. I've only dealt with electric tachs in the past. How do I hook this up or will it not work on my 68 F350?

If this is not the correct section for this please let me know.

Thanks in advance.
Will

[mrsnicks]

In order to use a cable driven tach you will need a distributor that has the provision to run the cable tach. You would usually pull it from whatever the intrument cluster came out of. Those F500/F600's generally had a 360 or 390 engine. Or you send the tach off to have it converted to electronic.

Patrick

[Zukinut]

Patrick

Do you just send it to SW or ? Have you had one converted by chance?

Thanks again
Will

[mrsnicks]

I have not had one converted. Someone on the forum here has though. You'll have to do a forum search. You wouldn't be able to send it to SW, you'll have to find a specialty company that rebuilds/converts tachometers and other gauges.

Patrick

[Calfdemon]

I have had a couple of tachs converted and restored. Every time I have used Redline who are very well known in the restroration community. They are not the cheapest around, but they do EXCELLENT work.

If you are just having the innards replaced with all eletronic, then it is normally $200.00. But if you are having the gauge restored completely with the artwork redone, etc... then it is a bit more... But if you are interested, here is the link to their website:

http://www.redlinegaugeworks.com/

They do a lot of high profile cars and are fairly well known. But again, might not be your cheapest option and you might be able to find someone else if you hunt hard enough, but I can stand by their work. They re-did my hood tach for my 67 Firebird (both restored the art, and did the electronics) and it came out amazing. They also converted a friends Diesel tach to electronic for his gas engine and calibrated it to read correctly since it was a low revving tach. They did a great job there too... They are worth calling and talking to. Shannon is the one that does all the work and he will get on the phone with you and be straight up about what needs to be done and what your options are.

Good luck!

[71PA_Highboy]

Or check this out:

http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Ta ... rly_bronco#

Not sure how easily it would fit...

[mrsnicks]

That does look like a nice cost-effective alternative. Good find 71PA_Highboy. I've seen quite a few of the F600 instrument panels that didn't have a tach so that it wouldn't be a problem to cut your own hole..

Patrick

[71PA_Highboy]

Uhhh... if you are converting to a Cummins, leave it alone.

Most of the diesels have a cable tach drive, and that will work perfectly. IIRC, there are drives available for the Cummins, so it seems you would just be hurting yourself by converting.

JMHO

[Hawkrod]

In order to use a cable driven tach you will need a distributor that has the provision to run the cable tach. You would usually pull it from whatever the intrument cluster came out of. Those F500/F600's generally had a 360 or 390 engine. Or you send the tach off to have it converted to electronic.

Patrick

Those F500/F600's never came with a 360 or a 390. They had 330/361 or 391 (rarely 391's on the smaller large trucks) and the distributor from those will not fit a 360 or 390. The lower shaft is larger in diameter as is teh oil pump drive shaft. It would not be worth teh effort to modify your engine to accept one and it is not worth the effort to convert one to fit your engine (A new custom lower shaft can be made but it isn't cheap) because they are a non performance distributor designed for 4000 RPM or less. Buy and aftermarket distributor or find a later electronic tach from a 78 or 79. Hawkrod