Tarheel Blue Posted November 16, 2023 Share Posted November 16, 2023 One of my side projects has been to create a unique stock-ish Tach. After first acquiring a diesel tach (thanks David and others) and a gas tach of the 4500 rpm range. I’ve managed to swap the faceplates which was no easy task and I now have a 4500 gas tach with the colored “warning bars” that some of the diesels had from the factory. I’m interested in your opinions on the colors to refresh my Tachometer. Most of us have read from time to time Gary’s cautionary comments on color rendition given all of the variables of camera settings, differences in monitors, etc. And I completely agree. Given all of that, it is extremely hard to search the web for images of what a 4500 rpm diesel tach looked like when new. There are very few quality pictures and I’ve never seen one in person that isn’t faded after 40+ years. So, I’ve tried to come up with colors that I guess might be close to what was original. The first pic is of the faceplate currently. The second pic is an image of paints applied via photoshop. All thoughts/ opinions are appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted November 16, 2023 Share Posted November 16, 2023 I love it!!! Perfect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Blue Posted November 16, 2023 Author Share Posted November 16, 2023 I love it!!! Perfect! Thanks Gary! Have you ever seen one with your own eyes? Either NOS or faded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted November 16, 2023 Share Posted November 16, 2023 Thanks Gary! Have you ever seen one with your own eyes? Either NOS or faded? No, I haven’t. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBrother-84 Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 Result is very nice! I am wondering if your goal is to look exactly as a NOS diesel not faded tach would. If so, seems that there was just one grade of red after the white zone… But I largely prefer your proposal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ifitaintbroke Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 Very nice. What motor are you running? I've seen other guys on the forum who have after market tachs that go up to 12,000. Pretty sure none of us has a motor that can do that. 4500 is a lot more useful. It doesn't make sense to me to have a gauge that you only use a small part of the range of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Blue Posted November 17, 2023 Author Share Posted November 17, 2023 Result is very nice! I am wondering if your goal is to look exactly as a NOS diesel not faded tach would. If so, seems that there was just one grade of red after the white zone… But I largely prefer your proposal! Thanks Jeff! My goal is a delicate blend between how a NOS unit looks vs. what I want to see when I look at it. The image you posted is one I’ve seen before, It was/ is the avatar of Ford 834 on another forum. I’ve also seen one that is closer to what I’m proposing but can’t find the image right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Blue Posted November 17, 2023 Author Share Posted November 17, 2023 Very nice. What motor are you running? I've seen other guys on the forum who have after market tachs that go up to 12,000. Pretty sure none of us has a motor that can do that. 4500 is a lot more useful. It doesn't make sense to me to have a gauge that you only use a small part of the range of. I have the mighty 300 so I agree, having the factory tach that goes to 6k is about 50% useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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