66 Shelby Tach mounting screws?

Sheetmetal screws were used. Just be careful not to "tighten" too much as this will compress the dash pad under the tach stand. Apparently some cars
recieved a little spacer (about 1/4 inch thick)on each screw that went between the dash pad and dash. This was to prevent over tightening of the
screws. My car did not have these.

If you have the original Faria tach ( Cobra emblem on top, RPM X 1000 on the
bottom ) from tach: Red wire goes to ignition, Black wire goes to pink wire with heavy shielding (resistor wire), Blue/red stripe wire (tach light) goes to 3 connector female socket with blue/red stripe wire.
shlby66

 

this is the tach in my car.......is it not original factory correct/installed? thanks.

 

The tach pictured here is the second generation tach used after the first
300+ '66 Shelbys were built. It was installed for the rest of the Shelby production run. It was also sourced from Faria.

It featured different electrical internals as well as the different facing with the larger Cobra emblem at the top and the RPM x 1000 script at the bottom.
Also the rpm scale on the face more closely resembles the Sun tachs that
were very popular at that time.

From this picture we can see that this tach's attach screws have been
tightened to a point where the dash pad is quite deformed. The angle of the tach's facing towards the driver was literally in the hands of the worker who
installed it at the factory. Some are angled more towards the drivers than
others. Just one of the charms of Shelbys.
shlbt66

 

Sorry about the mix up on this tach!! I can't multi task, thats for sure!! Yes, this is the 1st issue Faria tach pictured. As you can see; the Cobra emblem is on the bottom and the RPM x 1000 is on the top. And the rpm scale has hash marks unlike the second issued tach.

The internals on this tach included a d'arsonval movement which was rather sensitive to voltage. This was one of the reasons that led to the later issue
of the previously mentioned tach. Also, it was said the Cobra emblem on this first generation tach was too small. So, on the second batch, the Cobra emblem was made larger and placed at the top for more prominence.

What was written on the previous post was descriptive for the second generation '66 Shelby tachs. Sorry if I have confused anybody. If so. just post and we will try to make sense of it.
shlby66

 

By the way, the pictured tach being of the first generation Faria tach looks
to be in very nice condition. Don't be tempted to use a high voltage electronic ignition system while using this tach. As I mentioned, it uses a d'arsonval movement which is voltage sensitive and and can be fried quite
easily.

I am using a petronix unit and its user friendly with this early tach. If you have an inoperative one, its possible you could upgrade to the later style
electrics as long as they would fit in the body. Don't bother looking up Faria
as they no longer make these tachs. Haven't for about 20 years. They gave
all remaining parts and pieces and authorizations to a Chris Narus, one of their former employees, to service these tachs.
shlby66

 

thanks for that Mr Shlby66. I have also installed a Petronix II kit (just for reliability and im no good at setting points!!) The ol' needle fluctuates a little at low revs (must be good friends with the speedo needle )but other than that seems to work ok - im reluctant to take something apart that is working fine - you know what i mean. Ive never tried to loosen/tighten the screws but your right about the direction of the tach..... it's about 20deg too far round for me to look at it directly but again im reluctant to try and move it in case i break something. A friend who has another '66 GT350 has his tach almost pointing towards the passenger . His car also has a little leather flap which seems to sit over the positive terminal of the battery - ive never seen that before - how common was that? cheers Graeme.

 

Just to clear up my mixup of the previous posts I made ( this is embarrassing )
let's take it from the top and I promise not to get distracted again.

1. First series Faria tachs had the Cobra emblem at the top ( right above the
rpm counter ) and the RPM x 1000 script at the bottom. These tachs had
a d'arsonval movement for operation and were quite sensitive to voltage.
They had hash marks on the rpm scale. The first 300 or so cars recieved
these tachs.

2. Second series Faria tachs had the Cobra emblem at the bottom of the
face and RPM x 1000 at the top of the tach. The RPM scale was also
changed to appear more like the popular Sun tachs of that time. These
tachs had a electronic unit installed, quite different from the first tachs.
It is said the face was changed to use a Cobra emblem that was bigger
and more prominent. They appear like the one in the picture posted by
66shelbynz.

3. Faria has not been in the tachometer business for 20 years or more. When
they stopped making or repairing these tachs, they gave all remaining
parts and inventory to a former employee, a Chris Narus to service any
tachs that were returned. I have no idea if he still provides this service.

4. Faria was an electronics company in Connecticut and making tachs was
not profitable for them. Interestingly, all of the first series of tachs
provided to Shelby American were constructed of left over military
surplus parts. So maybe that figured in the updated, 2nd version.

I hope this clears up things regarding this subject. Any questions about any of this please give a call.
shlby66