I have a 55 Chevy project I am working on, the car was a street machine back in the day. Blue vinyl interior and all... The one thing I really want to keep is this old Sun Tach. Can anyone ID its time period? I would assume it is late 60's early 70's but I am not really sure. I have tested it and it doesn't seem to be working, was this one that should have a box with it to make it work? I have thought about buying one of those Bosch retro tachs and fitting the internals to this tach to make it work. Any thoughts or ideas? The rest of the car will have an early to mid 60's vibe, early Impala buckets, 4 speed, '60 Vette steering wheel. Thanks Guys!
Hi, nice start. LOVE that 'Vette steering wheel! I have an OLD Sun tach in my F100, the Sun with the red 'football' on the face. (1958-'62, I believe; that one required the separate transmitter box) Yours, I think, had the 'Dixco design' internals, just wired to the primary side of coil, and fed from ignition switch, and a ground wire. The new Bosch is a close copy to that '58-'62 era, if it was me? I'd simply disassemble the Bosch, and either opt for a restored Sun face (with red 'football') or have a graphics place do you a Sun face, period. That tach you have is more 'current', ("Sun Tach" on face dates it to mid-'70s, or later) The old Sun tach had a nice-size chrome cup it fit into, the later ones had a longish cup for more 'internals', as the transmitter had been deleted.
Mike, Thanks for the reply, that helps a lot - bummer about it being later than I thought, but it makes sense. As I have found a few other 70's era bits and pieces in the car that would jive with that. It's interesting what you find in these old hot rods. I like the idea of the older Sun football tach, that could be fixed up pretty well with the Bosch tach, though I may try to find an original one first... The Corvette wheel I am pretty darn proud of. It really changed the look for what I was going for. It flows well with the original column and turn signal housing as the C1 Vette stuff is pretty interchangeable with it. I am wanting to source a vette turn signal housing as I think it should fit the 55 column well and get rid of the shifter nub too. No silly looking billet columns here! Check out these blue seats and rear panels!!!
It looks to me like a Sun Super tach and does not require a sender box. But without looking at the back and getting a number thats only a guess. But these guys are the best I've had them do 4 of my tachs or sending units so far they even replaced the face/dial. I would restore that one rather than putting something inside it. http://www.williamsons.com/Tachometers.php Good Luck, Pat
Without the model number of the Sun Super tach theres no definitive way to determine whether a sender is required. Some do some don't. Google the Sun model # to determine if a sender is required. I use vintage Sun Super Tach ll's model CP7901 which do not require senders. eBay is the place to get them. Gary
Ok, some misinformation above and some close. Your tach is a Sun Tach, but not a Sun Super Tach. It is a model ST-602, which is a fully electronic tach that does not need a transmitter. It is definitely a '70s era tach, but I believe it was also produced in the late '60s. If you take the cup off, you'll likely find a date stamped in red on the back of the tach head, usually, but not always. Sometimes there is no date stamp at all, as indicated on the example below. The "554" in black is not a date stamp.
I agree with 1934coupe on the Williamsons recommendation. They do great work on these old instruments, and they specialize in working with Sun tachs. I expect they could put any face you want on it.
I think it dates earlier, mid to late 60's, maybe into the 70's is my guess. I recall a '66 Chevelle with that tach, and the car was fairly new at the time. The SUPER TACH's are a completely different animal and were the next generation from Sun. ST model stands for Sun Tach SST model stands for Sun Super Tach. Pretty sure the ST 602 doesn't require the transmitter box. (I'd typed this earlier & had to run, didn't hit post reply. ) Bowtie Coupe has it covered above^^^^^^^.
As far as the turn signal switch I'm thinking the corvette used the same switch for several years maybe till 61-2. It will not work with your tri five column. An adapter and the proper adapter cover will make it look better.
Was there a Sun Super Tach? I recall the OP's tach on the shelves when I was buying Super Tach II's, never noticed a Super Tach, this was in the late 70's.
Thank you guys for all of the help, I wasn't even close to being thought of back then, so it is nice to have a wealth of information to go off of. It's funny that things like this when you search the internet, you don't get much information. I will contact Williamson's about their gauge restoration.
The Jalopy Journal
