kalli

Hi all,

i was about to buy a used Rally PAC (64-65 model) on ebay.
But most sellers don't know if the tach or clock works.
Is there anyway to quickly test this with a 9V block battery or similar ? anyone ever tried ?

i mean as in:
hook up red cable of tach with 9V+ and the black one from tach to 9V-. should the tach needle iundicate a specific value then ?
do we have to connect the ground lead as well ? don't think so/

and the clock:
blue/black to 9V+ and black to -

I know it's only 9V, not 12. but I guess in both cases the clock should start turning and the tach should show _somehting_

any ideas ? anyone ever tested this ?

Kalli

rst08tierney

I took mine to Best Buy (you could go to almost any stereo shop)and asked the guys to use their setup in the shop for 5mins. (this way I would not fry my cluster) They have a complete setup for "SAFELY TESTING". I understand you can do it your self at home but when you invest a few hundred on an item, I want to do it right and not fry it on a wire cross or mistake.

If you try to do it the old fashion way make sure you have a fuse attached your ground, you will also need a power inverter to take it from 12v down to 9v (power inverters have all the hook ups with them. (I alsoused one to wire a car stereo into my spa at the house) They run about 20 bucks at harbor freight. You safe and cheap route though, find a stero shop and make sure you have a game plan before you go.

kalli

hiya,

thanks so much for your reply.
Problem is seller is in states, i'm in europe. I'm pretty sure I can figure this thing once I have it (have measuring equipment), but the seller has no idea and I cannot give him instructions to quickly test if the tach or clock works ...
And I don't want to spend so much money without knowing that at least the tach works.

I might just go for a reproduction unit with quarz clock for 370$ (ebay as well). at least I know it will work and that the clock won't stop working after half year (as they all do supposedly)

kalli

wsovonick

I sent my EBay purchased (original) Rally Pac tach to "Gary the Tach Man" for testing and modification. I converted my Rally Pac's clock to the quartz movement myself, using the kit that's available. That was actually a pretty easy job. I wanted to be careful with my tach, so I called Gary after learning about him andmaking a fewinquiries. I UPS'd it to him and he quickly called me backand gave me an assessment and estimate (I wanted to convert my tach from an 8-cyl to a 6-cyl).He got it back to me in just a few weeks.He provides you with a written analysis ofyour tach's operation at different rpm's if he does have to do any repairs. He will also respond to your e-mails or talk to you on the phone (he has a toll free) about your tach. His fees are also very reasonable. And no, I'm not related to him, I am simply impressed with his business and don't mind passing my experiencealong to other Mustangers. Here's his link

http://www.tachman.com/index.htm

Good luck, and all the best!

wsovonick

After reading your last post, I guess maybe you don't need a guy like Gary after all! Anyway, here's something else I found while I was restoring my Rally Pac. You will save around $30 on your quartz clock kit if you buy it from these folks, as they produce and supply it to the retail Mustang parts vendors:

http://clocksandgauges.com/index.html

rst08tierney

if its in europe dont buy it. 85% of the time it wont show up andIF, again IFthe seller takes a return its going to cost over 100 bucks to ship!

kalli

ahh sweet :-) thx so much for info
I saw the tachman's website as well somewhen during all my research.
If he's as good in repairing clocks as he's bad in making websites, he'll be just the man for me !

kalli

wsovonick

BTW,I did bench test my clock after I upgraded to the quartz movement. I simply wired it to a 12v car battery (per the instructions that came with the kit) and tested it for around 5 hours. Works like a charm!

gothand

Having previously restored a '65 Rally Pac (installed quartz clock, stripped and re-painted camera case finish and replaced lenses), I'd say skip the original and pick up a brand new repop. For my fastback, I picked up a repop off Ebay for $369 and put three or four coats of '65 interior blue paint on it and it looks and works great. I've seen some crappy parts reproduced, but Oval Industries really nailed the Rally Pac with both fit and finish and it wires exactly like the originals (current triggered tach wired inline with the positive lead to the coil).

Here it is right out of the box:


Here it is after disassembly, paint and then reassembly:


Here it is in the car:


Jeff

fastbackford351

There is a good, easy field test for a tach that I have never seen fail.

If the needle rests on '0' (zero), wiggle the tach around and if the needle moves freely odds are the tach is good.