am i crazy in thinking i can do this?? i have a couple honda del sol clusters and they all have tachs in them and i want a tach in the truck for timing and tuning purposes, and so i can tell how fast the idle really is.. is it possible? has anyone tried or should i try it?

btw im sorry if this is the most stupid question ever asked lol

 

Actually, there was a factory tach option. However, adding it is dependand on a couple things. Do you have oil/alt lights or gauges? If lights, it's way complex, with gauges, it's not much complex, but 1980 was a one year only deal.
Trying to use a honda tach is likely not going to work right, as the tach has to be able to adjust to the different firing pattern for the 6 cyl. or it will read higher RPM than it should.
Fitting an aftermarket tach is simple, as ford actually included an extra hookup at the coil, and marked it as a test/tach lead. You just need to make sure the tach is calibrated for a 6 cyl. Most aftermarket units have a "4/6/8" setting and instructions to set the right one.


And no, this ain't the stupidest question ever asked.

 

ok, yeah i just have dummy lights which sux, i might be picking up a parts truck today with a tach cluster in it that has all the aother gauges too, oh and a complete drop setup thats brand new, i read i need to re-pin some spots, im not worried about doing that as ill have the whole truck to check both setups side by side..

not that it matters now but for the honda tach, i read if i put in a "calibrator" of sorts and set it to resist more it should work but thats way above my head lol so im gunna try and sell my honda clusters and buy a cheapo tach at autozone or schucks. i wanted one for my festiva too lol just got it yesterday for free and it only needs minor work with about $1400 with receipts in new parts(clutch set, cv axles, all new gaskets, all new tires and brakes, new exhaust, new k&n filter etc.) only problem i have is it smells bad inside and its carbed not efi owell at least it gets 40mpg oh yeah. i guess people buy the hell out of honda tach guages lol



oh man i forgot yesterday i found one of my dads old diagnostic tools that has a tachometer on it among other things, i was gunna hook it up but it was rainy and i didnt wanna ruin the old thing, still brand new in box.. i was like OMG THATS AWESOME!! ill snap some pics today when i head out there!

looks like this old thing with a few more wires and a thing another gauge on it.. pretty neat im only 23 and never knew anything like this existed them ol' guys are genius! always wondered how old mechanics diagnosed engines before ecu's lol sorry im just ignorant with old cars lol think it might be old school but i just googles it someone said they bought one at pep boys lol i was thinkin 60's or 70's





looked it up on autozone, $40 actron dwell tach meter, good to know lol thats a good price for the convenience too!

 

The wiring is very different between "Idiot" light trucks, and guage trucks. The aftermarket tach is gonna be the quickest/easiest route.
These old 300's will live for a long time if you keep them under 3K RPM. They will wind higher, but they can't breathe well enough to do much good at that RPM.

 

i bought a sunpro dashmount tach from autozone. its 1 1/2 inches and lights up when u turn on your headlights. cost me $23 and took me 30 min to install by myself in my driveway. works great

 

forgot i had this, you can just see the tach on the dash...

 

sweet thats what i was looking for too the small one i could mount in the delete spot in my cluster and would look sharp with a black face gauge too!

 

yup, shouldnt be too hard. post pics when you get it done.