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Era Vulgaris
Samba Member
Joined: August 22, 2012
Posts: 1678
Location: Raleigh, NC
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 Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2019 4:43 pm Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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Well I finally finished my tach, and I refreshed my speedo while I was at it. I put new gels in the speedo indicator lights (I kept the gen light red and oil light green, but made the blinkers pink because why not!), and cleaned up the "chrome". I still need to spend an hour or so with an electric drill walking the odometer back to zero.
The tach was an adventure! To do it, I used my original clock, a spare Ghia/beetle speedo, and a 914 tach (the same one I pictured above in a previous post).
I finally got the tach decal from GeoffP after a couple months of trying to reach him. The problem I immediately had was that the decal is flat, and the face of the clock is not. So I had to cut the decal into sections, separating the ring of numbers from the ring of hash marks, and applying them separately. It was pretty tedious, fiddly work. The only real mistake I made is that the RPM x100 label is not centered at the bottom. I can live with that considering I got those skinny lines to match up perfectly!
For the body of the tach, I had to cut both the body of the Ghia clock and the body of the 914 tach in half. I needed the rear half of the tach body to mount the tach electronics, but I needed the front half of the clock body for the mounting tabs and the Ghia's chrome trim ring. They almost fit into each other! But I had to cut 4 vertical cuts into the tach body to spread it out and fit the clock body into it. Then I welded them together. I'm a novice welder, so don't judge! It's good enough to hold them together, and once it's mounted no one will see it  Then I used JB Weld to fill in the vertical separation cuts.
And the spare Ghia/Beetle speedo was needed solely for the needle. At least now I have a parts speedo in case my odometer gears brake.
_________________
Currently own:
66 Karmann Ghia, L390 Gulf Blue, under construction, here: www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=760505&highlight=
99 Mazda MX-5 10AE, Sapphire Blue Mica, 6 speed, LSD
Previously owned:
98 Porsche Boxster, silver, 2.5L -- 67 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1500sp -- 98 BMW Z3, Atlanta Blue Metallic, 2.8L I6 -- 75 Porsche 914, Laguna Blue, 2270cc -- 72 Porsche 914, Signal Orange, 1.7 FI -- 74 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1600dp -- 74 Triumph TR6 with O.D., sapphire blue |
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Braukuche
Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2004
Posts: 11005
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| Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:24 am Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| Era Vulgaris wrote: |
Well I finally finished my tach, and I refreshed my speedo while I was at it. I put new gels in the speedo indicator lights (I kept the gen light red and oil light green, but made the blinkers pink because why not!), and cleaned up the "chrome". I still need to spend an hour or so with an electric drill walking the odometer back to zero.
The tach was an adventure! To do it, I used my original clock, a spare Ghia/beetle speedo, and a 914 tach (the same one I pictured above in a previous post).
I finally got the tach decal from GeoffP after a couple months of trying to reach him. The problem I immediately had was that the decal is flat, and the face of the clock is not. So I had to cut the decal into sections, separating the ring of numbers from the ring of hash marks, and applying them separately. It was pretty tedious, fiddly work. The only real mistake I made is that the RPM x100 label is not centered at the bottom. I can live with that considering I got those skinny lines to match up perfectly!
For the body of the tach, I had to cut both the body of the Ghia clock and the body of the 914 tach in half. I needed the rear half of the tach body to mount the tach electronics, but I needed the front half of the clock body for the mounting tabs and the Ghia's chrome trim ring. They almost fit into each other! But I had to cut 4 vertical cuts into the tach body to spread it out and fit the clock body into it. Then I welded them together. I'm a novice welder, so don't judge! It's good enough to hold them together, and once it's mounted no one will see it Then I used JB Weld to fill in the vertical separation cuts.
And the spare Ghia/Beetle speedo was needed solely for the needle. At least now I have a parts speedo in case my odometer gears brake.
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That looks fantastic! Far better than the ISP one I bought.
_________________
Go Reds! Smash state!
Retirement is here!
1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now |
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Era Vulgaris
Samba Member
Joined: August 22, 2012
Posts: 1678
Location: Raleigh, NC
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| Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 9:23 am Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| Braukuche wrote: |
That looks fantastic! Far better than the ISP one I bought. |
Thanks! I will admit it was a very fiddly job that I'd rather not do again. I can totally understand why people are charging $500 and up to make these.
Also I did feel a slight tinge of guilt sacrificing such a nice condition silver dot tach, as they're coveted in the world of 914's, but you gotta do what you gotta do 
_________________
Currently own:
66 Karmann Ghia, L390 Gulf Blue, under construction, here: www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=760505&highlight=
99 Mazda MX-5 10AE, Sapphire Blue Mica, 6 speed, LSD
Previously owned:
98 Porsche Boxster, silver, 2.5L -- 67 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1500sp -- 98 BMW Z3, Atlanta Blue Metallic, 2.8L I6 -- 75 Porsche 914, Laguna Blue, 2270cc -- 72 Porsche 914, Signal Orange, 1.7 FI -- 74 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1600dp -- 74 Triumph TR6 with O.D., sapphire blue |
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karhok
Samba Member
Joined: January 12, 2006
Posts: 22
Location: Finland/Helsinki
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| Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 2:57 am Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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I understand you are a first-timer tachometer maker but rather complicated made tachometer... And the end result is nothing special...the sticker looks poor.  |
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bnam
Samba Member
Joined: July 02, 2006
Posts: 2936
Location: El Dorado Hills CA/ Bangalore, India
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| Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 6:48 pm Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| karhok wrote: |
| I understand you are a first-timer tachometer maker but rather complicated made tachometer... And the end result is nothing special...the sticker looks poor. |
@karhok, can you give some specific points of what is wrong with sticker? I’m also a first-timer considering doing something similar. This sticker looks fine to my untrained eye. Would love to know what details I am missing.
_________________
1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL |
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karhok
Samba Member
Joined: January 12, 2006
Posts: 22
Location: Finland/Helsinki
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| Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2019 5:00 am Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| bnam wrote: |
| karhok wrote: |
| I understand you are a first-timer tachometer maker but rather complicated made tachometer... And the end result is nothing special...the sticker looks poor. |
@karhok, can you give some specific points of what is wrong with sticker? I’m also a first-timer considering doing something similar. This sticker looks fine to my untrained eye. Would love to know what details I am missing.
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Look diffrence....My sticker vs another...
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bnam
Samba Member
Joined: July 02, 2006
Posts: 2936
Location: El Dorado Hills CA/ Bangalore, India
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| Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2019 10:10 am Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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Thanks! That helped. I now see the font and font color difference and missing VDO marking.
_________________
1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL |
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Inchpincher61
Samba Member
Joined: February 05, 2016
Posts: 141
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2019 1:30 pm Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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Kari,
do you have any 7000rpm Stickers available? |
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karhok
Samba Member
Joined: January 12, 2006
Posts: 22
Location: Finland/Helsinki
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| Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2019 3:38 am Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| Inchpincher61 wrote: |
Kari,
do you have any 7000rpm Stickers available? |
Currently not because that have no sales 7000rpm stickers.
5000rpm and 6000rpm and 8000rpm stickers there is still little.
then I'll probably stop doing the whole tachometers... 
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Era Vulgaris
Samba Member
Joined: August 22, 2012
Posts: 1678
Location: Raleigh, NC
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| Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 1:47 pm Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| karhok wrote: |
| I understand you are a first-timer tachometer maker but rather complicated made tachometer... And the end result is nothing special...the sticker looks poor. |
Wow, don't hold back on what you think. 
I'll definitely never buy a decal from you now.
_________________
Currently own:
66 Karmann Ghia, L390 Gulf Blue, under construction, here: www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=760505&highlight=
99 Mazda MX-5 10AE, Sapphire Blue Mica, 6 speed, LSD
Previously owned:
98 Porsche Boxster, silver, 2.5L -- 67 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1500sp -- 98 BMW Z3, Atlanta Blue Metallic, 2.8L I6 -- 75 Porsche 914, Laguna Blue, 2270cc -- 72 Porsche 914, Signal Orange, 1.7 FI -- 74 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1600dp -- 74 Triumph TR6 with O.D., sapphire blue |
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Braukuche
Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2004
Posts: 11005
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| Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 3:39 pm Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| Era Vulgaris wrote: |
| karhok wrote: |
| I understand you are a first-timer tachometer maker but rather complicated made tachometer... And the end result is nothing special...the sticker looks poor. |
Wow, don't hold back on what you think.
I'll definitely never buy a decal from you now. |
I thought that too, way to shit in a guys corn flakes.
_________________
Go Reds! Smash state!
Retirement is here!
1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now |
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karhok
Samba Member
Joined: January 12, 2006
Posts: 22
Location: Finland/Helsinki
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| Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 2:40 am Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| Era Vulgaris wrote: |
| karhok wrote: |
| I understand you are a first-timer tachometer maker but rather complicated made tachometer... And the end result is nothing special...the sticker looks poor. |
Wow, don't hold back on what you think.
I'll definitely never buy a decal from you now. |
Sorry if you don't like being criticized for your work... |
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Era Vulgaris
Samba Member
Joined: August 22, 2012
Posts: 1678
Location: Raleigh, NC
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| Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2019 3:23 pm Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| karhok wrote: |
| Era Vulgaris wrote: |
| karhok wrote: |
| I understand you are a first-timer tachometer maker but rather complicated made tachometer... And the end result is nothing special...the sticker looks poor. |
Wow, don't hold back on what you think.
I'll definitely never buy a decal from you now. |
Sorry if you don't like being criticized for your work... |
This forum isn't about criticizing each other, it's about being supportive of one other since we're taking on this absurd task of keeping these old cars alive in whatever manner we see fit.
And I didn't make the sticker, so I don't know why you're criticizing me for it. You're just upset I didn't buy yours.
But hey since this is the road you want to go down, at least my needles are correctly matched. That's a way bigger deal to me than if the color of the numbers is slightly off. And it's honestly the main reason why I didn't buy a finished tach from someone else, and built one myself. No one sells a tach with the correctly matched needle. None of your pictures have the correct needle. Mismatched gauge needles are an instant turn off for me.
_________________
Currently own:
66 Karmann Ghia, L390 Gulf Blue, under construction, here: www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=760505&highlight=
99 Mazda MX-5 10AE, Sapphire Blue Mica, 6 speed, LSD
Previously owned:
98 Porsche Boxster, silver, 2.5L -- 67 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1500sp -- 98 BMW Z3, Atlanta Blue Metallic, 2.8L I6 -- 75 Porsche 914, Laguna Blue, 2270cc -- 72 Porsche 914, Signal Orange, 1.7 FI -- 74 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1600dp -- 74 Triumph TR6 with O.D., sapphire blue |
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Vladiiiii
Samba Member
Joined: February 24, 2019
Posts: 518
Location: Munich, Germany
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| Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2019 1:30 pm Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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Hi guys! I also made my own Tach, but just please don't laugh at my attempt.
As my Ghia will not be historically correct (but still presentable I hope), I had to make a tach for my Ghia. Somehow, even if it's not a fast car, a sporty looking Coupe with a huge clock instead of a tach is a big no-no 
I started with a normal 72 clock, then filled and sanded the warning light holes. Some search here and there provided a face, which I colored slightly to my taste. (Remember, don't laugh   )
Because I could only order a minimum of about 20 or 25 decals, I have quite a few left.
I installed some LEDs for the high beam, turn signals and oil pressure. (Charging light is let to a normal bulb, because I use an alternator instead of a generator), and I cut the lower part for the fuel gauge opening.
The needle may look a bit wonky when it's turned off, but I tried it at various RPMs (with a 1N006 diode) and it shows the proper value.
My speedo is done in a similar matter so both look nearly identical.
And here is the result.... (sorry for the bad phone picture, somehow the camera exagerates the small imperfections, which you don't really see in reality)
This is a sollution for those seeking a.... let's say economical approach while still offering a pleasant look.I don't want to lie to myself here, spending 400-600USD on a simple tach is way out of my league. Having 356-style dash instruments for a total investment of about 25-30 makes me happier.
A handwave for those interested in another solution, and an apology to the better heeled original fanatics
Vlad
_________________
Vlad's 72 Ghia (Once in a Lifetime Restoration topic)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9237746#9237746 |
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Ghias4ever
Samba Member
Joined: January 31, 2010
Posts: 28
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2019 10:46 pm Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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Thanks to the correct longer needle reproduced by karhok, I could replicate an authentic-looking early 5000 rpm tach.
My NHS tach reworked by Garage Vintage, Osaka, Japan.
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chris fryer
Samba Member
Joined: November 12, 2017
Posts: 82
Location: Australia
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Braukuche
Samba Member
Joined: September 03, 2004
Posts: 11005
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| Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2020 9:30 am Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| chris fryer wrote: |
| I think your tach looks excellent, I would buy one of those. |
How do you make that? Is there a step by step posted? That looks so much nicer than the ISP one I bought.
_________________
Go Reds! Smash state!
Retirement is here!
1956 Ghia
1959 SO-23 Westfalia
1960 double cab
1960 Baja Bug
1963 stretched double cab
1962 Golde sunroof Ghia
1963 356 B coupe
1963 Notchback
1967 21 window less rusty now |
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| Back to top |
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karhok
Samba Member
Joined: January 12, 2006
Posts: 22
Location: Finland/Helsinki
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| Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:12 pm Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| Ghias4ever wrote: |
Thanks to the correct longer needle reproduced by karhok, I could replicate an authentic-looking early 5000 rpm tach.
My NHS tach reworked by Garage Vintage, Osaka, Japan.
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Last edited by karhok on Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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karhok
Samba Member
Joined: January 12, 2006
Posts: 22
Location: Finland/Helsinki
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| Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:28 pm Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| Vladiiiii wrote: |
Hi guys! I also made my own Tach, but just please don't laugh at my attempt.
As my Ghia will not be historically correct (but still presentable I hope), I had to make a tach for my Ghia. Somehow, even if it's not a fast car, a sporty looking Coupe with a huge clock instead of a tach is a big no-no
I started with a normal 72 clock, then filled and sanded the warning light holes. Some search here and there provided a face, which I colored slightly to my taste. (Remember, don't laugh )
Because I could only order a minimum of about 20 or 25 decals, I have quite a few left.
I installed some LEDs for the high beam, turn signals and oil pressure. (Charging light is let to a normal bulb, because I use an alternator instead of a generator), and I cut the lower part for the fuel gauge opening.
The needle may look a bit wonky when it's turned off, but I tried it at various RPMs (with a 1N006 diode) and it shows the proper value.
My speedo is done in a similar matter so both look nearly identical.
And here is the result.... (sorry for the bad phone picture, somehow the camera exagerates the small imperfections, which you don't really see in reality)
This is a sollution for those seeking a.... let's say economical approach while still offering a pleasant look.I don't want to lie to myself here, spending 400-600USD on a simple tach is way out of my league. Having 356-style dash instruments for a total investment of about 25-30 makes me happier.
A handwave for those interested in another solution, and an apology to the better heeled original fanatics
Vlad |
Sorry,,,,I prefer the original style
Best regards, Kari Hokkanen |
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karhok
Samba Member
Joined: January 12, 2006
Posts: 22
Location: Finland/Helsinki
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| Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:47 pm Post subject: Re: Repro Ghia Tachometer |
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| karhok wrote: |
| Ghias4ever wrote: |
Thanks to the correct longer needle reproduced by karhok, I could replicate an authentic-looking early 5000 rpm tach.
My NHS tach reworked by Garage Vintage, Osaka, Japan.
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Little tip, put small drop glue that middle of the needle hole and modification that hole that it will look smaller "because the original hole is smaller" look at the picture. This cannot be done better in 3D process.
I hope this helps. This is my opinion.
Best Regards, Kari Hokkanen |
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