BYBIS Posted August 17, 2020 Posted August 17, 2020 Hey all, been looking at a 70 MC SS that does not have a factory tach to the left of the speedo. If I remember correctly, there's a fuel gauge there instead. Since I'm new to these, I have a couple of questions: 1. Was the factory tach considered an option in 1970? 2. If the vehicle did not have a tach, is the wiring still in place for the tach so if someone wanted to change the gauge cluster, they could without changing the entire harness? Thank you in advance for the help. Quote
1970mcss Posted August 17, 2020 Posted August 17, 2020 I believe the wire is brown from the distributor to the tach. I also believe the printed circuit in different with a tach 1 Quote
Mike Brichta Posted August 17, 2020 Posted August 17, 2020 Hey Tom, If I remember correctly, - the printed circuits are definitely different between idiot lights and gauges. - the wiring harness is different, however based on your wiring skills it can be converted to work. Some wires in the plug that goes into the printed circuit have to be moved around and some new wires have to be made to make the conversion work. There is lots of documentation on what I am referring to. If you have more questions, just ask. Many of us have done this sort of thing before. Thanks!! Mike 2 Quote
Rob Peters Posted August 17, 2020 Posted August 17, 2020 These Monte's came standard with idiot lights. The gauge dashes an option and the circuit boards and wiring were different. rob 1 Quote
stangeba Posted August 17, 2020 Posted August 17, 2020 Picture of my 71 factory gauge package that I swapped with another 71 350 Monte. I also swapped ALL the wiring because it was different. 1 Quote
Dtret Posted August 17, 2020 Posted August 17, 2020 (edited) It’s all posted here. I just went through all this and everybody was great. I just purchased a cluster(sonny) repinned the harness and added the tach wire. Pretty painless for somebody with skills,that just happens to not be me. Electrical is my devil Edited August 17, 2020 by Dtret Add photos 1 Quote
RealRed70 Posted August 17, 2020 Posted August 17, 2020 Factory tach was an option for 70-72. The brown tach wire goes to the negative post on the coil. Not the distributor. If no tach was ordered the no tach wiring will be present. The full gauge dash used a different harness from what was used with idiot light dash. 1 Quote
MCfan Posted August 17, 2020 Posted August 17, 2020 17 hours ago, BYBIS said: Hey all, been looking at a 70 MC SS that does not have a factory tach to the left of the speedo. If I remember correctly, there's a fuel gauge there instead. Since I'm new to these, I have a couple of questions: 1. Was the factory tach considered an option in 1970? 2. If the vehicle did not have a tach, is the wiring still in place for the tach so if someone wanted to change the gauge cluster, they could without changing the entire harness? Thank you in advance for the help. Hey, Tom, You can easily convert your idiot light dash to a full gauge dash that is identical to the factory option using a kit and you DO NOT have to replace your current wiring harness, just add a couple of new wires and make some necessary modifications to various specified plug/connector locations. There is a seller on eBay named sonnie24 who offers the complete conversion kit to do this (be sure to specify the '70 kit to get the green shaded numerals on your gauges). The kit includes the tach, analog gauges, wires and a new printed circuit board. It is reasonably priced and uses quality components, however, the 2-page instructions that come with it assume a lot of knowledge that many of us don't have. When I did this conversion on my '70, I sought the help and advice of Darren Bull (LS5), fellow club member who knows first gen Monte dash wiring cold. Together we developed a detailed set of instructions with diagrams that make the conversion almost fool-proof. If you want, send me your email address in a Private Message, and I will forward a copy of that documentation to you in a Word file. It also contains links to a couple of photo journals on Photo Bucket showing the installation process (including upgrading your dash illumination from the original incandescent bulbs to LEDs and repairing your dash clock while you have the dash apart). This is not a plug and play conversion so it takes some time and work but the results are very satisfying. Good luck. Here are the Before and After shots on my '70: 4 Quote
1970mcss Posted August 17, 2020 Posted August 17, 2020 1 hour ago, RealRed70 said: Factory tach was an option for 70-72. The brown tach wire goes to the negative post on the coil. Not the distributor. If no tach was ordered the no tach wiring will be present. The full gauge dash used a different harness from what was used with idiot light dash. Sorry, you are correct. I don't know what I was thinking but the wire is from the coil to the tach. Might have been the couple beers I had before I typed the post. 3 Quote
Dtret Posted August 17, 2020 Posted August 17, 2020 Alcohol makes us do and say the damdest things. Now we have to add drunk typing to the list 1 2 Quote
BYBIS Posted August 18, 2020 Author Posted August 18, 2020 Team- THIS is why I joined this group. The amount of knowledge y'all just vomited on top of me was outstanding. I can't thank you enough. I'm in the middle of trying to decide on one of two to purchase and this type of detail helps me tremendously. I still can't decide, but I'll figure it out. Maybe that'll be my next post. Quote
Tim vacha Posted February 16 Posted February 16 Hi i have a 1972 monte and i just purchased an SS cluster. I would like the tach to be functional. How do i do this? Quote
Dtret Posted February 16 Posted February 16 A lot depends on what cluster you purchased and what other changes were made to the car. Ex distributor. 1 Quote
Rob Peters Posted February 16 Posted February 16 2 hours ago, Tim vacha said: Hi i have a 1972 monte and i just purchased an SS cluster. I would like the tach to be functional. How do i do this? Tim, If you are new to First Gen Monte's you will soon find out that there is no such thing as an SS Dash in first gen Monte's. The gauge cluster was with gauges rather than idiot lights was an option on all three years. The major difference on the gauge setup's was in the Tach because the red line was different between big block and small blocks. Many Chevelle people will refer to it as an SS Dash because the SS Chevelle had the dash setup similar to the Monte with the round gauges rather than a sweep style speedometer. As far as what else would need to make the conversion, I have never done one so I will let someone else answer. As you can see, Dennis already let you know that more information is needed. rob 1 Quote
stangeba Posted February 16 Posted February 16 Years ago (about 35) I purchased a used 71 Monte Carlo with 350 4BBL all stock, like my 71, because it had a stock gauge package instrument cluster that I wanted. To swap it, I removed every wire harness from under the dash, out to the radiator, over to the battery and all the wires on the firewall, and all the way to the starter. From my car, then from the car I bought then put it into my car, got it running and working well. Then I took my old everything and set it up into the car I bought and sold it. When the buyer came, the engine wouldn't start because of a bad starter. I lowered the price and it was sold. I don't remember the costs involved but around $700.00 sounds familiar. I can't find any pictures, perhaps they are still only slides... 1 Quote
Dtret Posted February 16 Posted February 16 When I put the tach in mine, one light brown wire from the tach to the coil. 2 Quote
cny first gen 71 Posted February 16 Posted February 16 18 minutes ago, Dtret said: When I put the tach in mine, one light brown wire from the tach to the coil. Yup mine to but mine is an aftermarket tach but hooks up same way. 1 Quote
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