Tachometer for 1950 flathead v8

[johndob1929]

hello....does anyone have any ideas how to hook up a tachometer to a 1950 flathead V8 ? i have read about changing the distributor to one with a tach drive or buying the original (if you can find one) mechanical drive for the crank bolt and have seen repro kits available. i don't think i want to mess with that. has anyone used a ford tractor generator that has a built in tach drive ? that seems simple if it will work. i also thought about trying to run a small pulley off of one of the belts to run a mechanical tach but am not sure how to figure out the pulley size or ratio. let me know what you guys have done. my flathead is in a 30' model A coupe and is still 6 volt, positive ground. thanks - john

also......where can i hook up a oil pressure sending unit ? i thought about putting a "T" fitting in the line from the block to the oil filter canister.

one more thing........are the temp. sending units in the heads on my 50' flathead V8 dummy light sending units ? i wanted to hook up a old electric temp. gage but am not sure if it will work.

 

[Steves46]

John, are you still running with a 6-volt? If so, the electronic 6-volt tach for my 46 coupe that I purchased through Westach is a simple 2 wire connection; 1 wire to each coil terminal. There is also an extra wire to connect for lighting. Other earlier tachs like Sun for example, had a transmitter box that the wires were fed into then routed to the coil or distributor. Steve

 

[Mike in AZ]

got pics??....is there a T where the oil line goes into top of filter??...assuming original filter....otherwise, should be 2 holes down on block.....or you could use a T where it comes out of block now...original water gauge electric and runs from those two sending units....Mike

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/FH_images/FH_engine-pics/Flathead_Engine_oilfilter1949to53.jpg

 

[Mike in AZ]

whooops....guess there was an indicator light...from looking at wiring diagram....so if you find an earlier year electrical gauge, should work with those senders...i think....good luck...Mike

 

[johndob1929]

sounds like what i am looking for. i will look them up. thanks !!

 

[Merc Cruzer]

jondob1929:

Take this for what it is worth...I have a 6 volt POS ground system in my 53' Merc...I installed (temporally) a no name tach to check shift points and speed at different rpm's...it does have a switch for 4,6 & 8 cyl...voltage didn’t matter.

4 wire tach:

Black = hot (-) when swich is on
Red = ground (-)
Green = (+) side of coil
White = head light switch


2 wire tach:

No switch for no. of cyl's - 8 cyl tach from an old Jeep
one lead to (-) side of coil
other lead to (+) batt (w/ switch - I did hook it up hot to the battery the first time and found that when you turn off the ign switch the motor just kept running)

 

[johndob1929]

thanks.........are you telling me that any 4 wire tach should work ? i have a box full and will give this a try. thanks - john

 

[Steves46]

jondob1929:

Take this for what it is worth...I have a 6 volt POS ground system in my 53' Merc...I installed (temporally) a no name tach to check shift points and speed at different rpm's...it does have a switch for 4,6 & 8 cyl...voltage didn’t matter.

4 wire tach:

Black = hot (-) when swich is on
Red = ground (-)
Green = (+) side of coil
White = head light switch


2 wire tach:

No switch for no. of cyl's - 8 cyl tach from an old Jeep
one lead to (-) side of coil
other lead to (+) batt (w/ switch - I did hook it up hot to the battery the first time and found that when you turn off the ign switch the motor just kept running)

Merc, so if I understand correctly, you are saying an of the shelf 12-volt tach from Auto Zone will work on a 6-volt system?

 

[Merc Cruzer]

Yes you are both correct the voltage desn't matter...try it.

 

[4dFord/SC]

Yes you are both correct the voltage desn't matter...try it.

Probably should change the light bulb, if it has one.

 

[sturgis39]

Probably should change the light bulb, if it has one.

This is good news. I wanted a mechanical drive but I think a electrical will be OK.

 

[Merc Cruzer]

By way of a follow up, if you could find a tach that has a switch for 4 cyl, you could have one in a "T" or "A". Same holds true for the 6 cyl trucks. If any one tries it let me know.

 

[johndob1929]

well i tried hooking up a old tack as merc suggested but i couldn't get it to work (tried different wirings as well). not sure if this works or not but i didn't have any luck. might try a different tach and give it one more try.

 

[Merc Cruzer]

Not sure if this will help but here are pictures of the two tach's I used. The name in the botton of the black one is TRISCO. The other one is from an old Jeep.

 

[johndob1929]

thanks for all the advice. after trying to get a regular tach to work and not having any luck i went and ordered a 6v. pos. ground tach from westach. should be arriving in about 6 weeks. i still may play with a regular 12 v. tach since they look much more old school than the westach. thanks again for taking the time to reply and to even post pics ! - john

 

[Old Redneck]

That picture of the oil filter and canster with the oil pressure switch is not 49 to 50. It is 51 ford. 49 and 50 the oil pressure switch was on the driver side of the block. The oil line was beside the pressure switch.