Electrical: Avanti tach and electronic ignition

[mbstude]

My ‘67 Avanti has the stock ‘64 Avanti gauges, and I have no desire to change them. The Chevy 327 has a billet MSD distributor which works fine, so no desire to change it either. Is there any way to make the tach operable? One idea is to put modern tachometer “guts” in the Avanti gauge housing. Has anyone done that?

New territory for me. Thanks in advance.

[JoeHall]

Pretty sure this is what I used for my GT, once converted to HFI, with electronic ignition and computer controlled spark timing. It worked, but the tach was never the same, after being inop for a few years. I got tired of fooling with it, and went with a modern tach. Anyway, this will probably make your tach work again. I believe it amplifies the signal, which is needed when using electronic ignition, with an older tach: https://www.ebay.com/itm/MSD-8920-Ta...YAAOSwUlxaBy~a

[studegary]

My ‘67 Avanti has the stock ‘64 Avanti gauges, and I have no desire to change them. The Chevy 327 has a billet MSD distributor which works fine, so no desire to change it either. Is there any way to make the tach operable? One idea is to put modern tachometer “guts” in the Avanti gauge housing. Has anyone done that?

New territory for me. Thanks in advance.

I suggest posting this query on the AOAI Forum (you do not have to be a member of AOAI, like you do not have to be a member of SDC to post here). On that Forum, there are a lot more Avanti owners, people with Avanti experience (including modifications). It is not as active as this Forum, so you may have to be patient for a response.

[JoeHall]

It is not an Avanti thing as much as it is an electronics thing. If you read the, "most relevant reviews" at bottom of the link I provided above, it says it is for older cars with MSD distributor conversions, to make the MSD compatible with the older tach. Can't get much plainer than that.

[mbstude]

Thanks Joe, I’ll start doing some research on that. Looks promising.

Do you know if that adapter still requires the original sending unit?

[jclary]

Thanks Joe, I’ll start doing some research on that. Looks promising.

Do you know if that adapter still requires the original sending unit?

Well...I read this conversation as I was ingesting my morning coffee. Amazingly, my caffeine intake is already causing brain wandering. An example is that the caffeine kicked up some memory dust of knowledge regarding tachometers from my long forgotten curiosity inspired research. Somewhere, I read that electronic tachometers used a principle called the "Hall Effect." It is not lost on me that the first response to Matt's question was from Joe Hall...so I conclude that our forum has its own version of the HALL EFFECT!

Without stressing my aging brain with true research (or knowledge), my tendency would be to search for a simple solid state tachometer that would fit within the original tach housing, bypass all original hardware and follow installation instructions. Most casual observers will never know.

[mapman]

I did the conversion to modern guts a couple years ago on an Avanti tach and did a write up on it. It is on Bob's Studebaker site if you interested.
Rob

[rkapteyn]

Some newer members do not know about Bob Johnstone's pages.
Here is a link.
http://www.studebaker-info.org/Tech/tach/tachpert.html.

[mapman]

Some newer members do not know about Bob Johnstone's pages.
Here is a link.
http://www.studebaker-info.org/Tech/tach/tachpert.html.

http://www.studebaker-info.org/Tech/mapman/sdc67463.html

Thanks for the reminder. I think this will get you there.
Rob

[tim333]

The stock tach in my 63 R2 Hawk worked fine with a Pertronix ignition, stock coil.

[Colgate Studebaker]

Matt, I think you have a real troublesome issue with this car and the best thing you can do is get rid of it. I know a place a short hour away that you can dump it off at. I'd even offer to come and help you dispose of this big mess, so let me know when it'll be ready to be taken care of. Bill

[mbstude]

I did the conversion to modern guts a couple years ago on an Avanti tach and did a write up on it. It is on Bob's Studebaker site if you interested.
Rob

Thanks! Interesting read.. The masochist in me likes that approach more than fitting in an adapter. The guts of the stock tach may not be functional anyway.

Matt, I think you have a real troublesome issue with this car and the best thing you can do is get rid of it. I know a place a short hour away that you can dump it off at. I'd even offer to come and help you dispose of this big mess, so let me know when it'll be ready to be taken care of. Bill

Bill, that's awfully generous of you. But your offer is just too much. I'd feel bad about it.