MM tachometers. Anyone interested?

[RobThomas]

I'm having a new facia made so that I can have a tacho in my MM that matches the speedo. I got the idea from the one that Carlo has got but mine is mechanically driven off the rear of the dynamo. I was looking to make a simpler version by utilising the slightly larger Triumph/MG dial and having a custom-made face printed for the dial that uses the same fonts and general style of the MM speedo.
No idea on cost, but it is being done for me by an 'enthusiast' who will send the file in a format that can be taken to a litho printers (or whatever they are called) and printed. He can also do special dials for cars with different diff ratios.

Any interest?



(similar-ish to the one in this photo)[frame][/frame]

[RobThomas]

Carlo. Any chance of some more shots of yours? Also, would it be possible to crack the case open and see what they did for the internals? I was wondering if that one was electric or driven mechanically.

[mike.perry]

Decisions, decisions. Do I have a replica clock or a replica tacho in the badge hole in the glove box lid? I am interested as long as the price stays reasonable.

[RobThomas]

Ready for printing and final assembly.[frame][/frame]

[RobThomas]

The dial will bolt into the space where the clock or plaque sits in the glove box lid, thus still making the glovebox useable. Total cost so far looks to be about £40. The new dial face (done by Gryf Ketcherside in the USA) can be printed and then stuck onto the face of the dial. If the owner wants to keep the clock then a later MG Midget dial can be used and the image stretched to suit. A modern dial can be susbtituted but they are usually 8000rpm at full scale which seems a little optimistic.[frame][/frame]

[mike.perry]

I don't think I would need more than 6000 rpm even with my extra strong valve springs.
Is it electronic or mechanical drive?
Will it fit in the standard speedo case?

[RobThomas]

I made this one to fit the glovebox case which, of course, has a different sized/shaped hole from the normal speedo hole. I also have a special bracket to mount it off the top of the steering column if it falls too far out of sight on the glovebox. This one is electronic since I simply couldn't be bothered bu66ering about with the reduction ratios in the little dynamo gearbox.
I now have the facility to print any dial I want and with any digit spacing, so, it will be possible to print things off to match any tacho dial you can find.

[RobThomas]

Final version.[frame][/frame]

[mike.perry]

I don't think it will fit my 52mm Yazaki rev counter, will have to find something a bit bigger. I could use the needle from a spare speedo to match.
At that scale the rev counter and speedo needles should be parallel.

[RobThomas]

This file is scaleable for bigger/smaller dials but changing the digit spacing is more difficult.

[RobThomas]

I've mocked up the new glass with a red dot to cover the hole in the face of the dial. I may decide to print a cream disc with a red cenre instead of painting it on.
Do you think the front of the dial should have a silver or a gold rim? Half and half?

PS I have 4 spare printed dial faces left.

[frame][/frame]

[mike.perry]

I think that the silver rim would look better. Can the hole in the centre be made smaller then a speedo needle would cover it
Ideally I would need a rev counter witha 3 3/8in dia. dial with 6000rpm max to match the speedo.

[RobThomas]

I'm now of the opinion that maybe an 8000rpm dial would look better. TIM make a decent-ish 80mm tacho that is dirt cheap at about £35 and the numerals are almost the same spacing as the speedo.
I should add that both dial faces are the same size but the camera makes the tacho look bigger. This tacho can't have a Morris needle since it uses a fine piece of wire through a large central hole to act as a needle, rather than the heavy Morris style. Has anyone a picture of a clock that they could put up on here to compare?
Maybe the Mk2 version....[frame][/frame]

[mike.perry]

[frame][/frame]
One repro clock

[oliver-morrisminor]

Hi Rob that is awsome!
I was thinking of doing a smaller 2" RPM gauge,
but all the ones I have seen rev out to 8,000rpm.

If you do a 8,000 rpm one and could do the face
in about 2" ( I will confirm size for sure ) I would be interested.

JUST A THOUGHT...
If someone was good at photoshop or similar,
could you use the outside of the speedo numerals
and insert the centre of the RPM gauge face.

So as the speedo goes to 80 (mph) this could be 8,000 rpm,
the spacings look about right to me?

[kotemaori]

8000RPM would be needed for some of the really worked engines I've seen, it wouldn't be enough for one old guy racing in the GEAR competition in NSW, hes revving to 8000 in a crank driven supercharged engine

[oliver-morrisminor]

I can't remember were I got this photo, maybe ebay,
but here is one solution for putting the RPM Gauge in front of you.

I have seen a couple of variations on this theme over the years
mainly using modified Oxford Dashboards that have been cut and shut intop a Series MM one.