The Rovering Member
Well-Known Member
....for my Oxford.
I've long had the idea of adding a tachometer to my Oxford by extending the existing dashboard trim using another, like this:
The chap who has modified his Traveller beat me to it though he hasn't got the tachometer working yet. He did give me the pointer to a matching dial face though (l was just going to fit an MGB one l have as is) by using a Riley 1.5 instrument, though these are cable driven & though he had a dynamo that has a drive fitted for this purpose he found the drive directions were opposite. As they're all the same size I thought l could fit the Riley face & pointer to the MGB mechanism, which you can but not surprisingly the rev' measurements are differently spaced & though you can re-calibrate it, l'm not sure if there is enough calibration available in the works. Anyway this is where l've got to so far:
The MGB one came apart quite easily:
The glass in the Riley one was so firmly stuck in & such a close fit that l had to break it to get it out:
The teaspoon method to pop the pointers off:
The fixing screws are in opposite planes so removing the MGB's ignition light lens & enlarging the hole just a little to centralise them together l used the existing holes in one to drill new holes in the other:
I have it in mind to use the Riley ignition light for an oil light which the Oxford doesn't have so l cunningly melded the two light 'tunnels' together:
The Riley screws can fill the original holes & this is where we stand:
The pointer isn't pressed home yet as adjustment to the centre hole may be needed.
Any advice as to recalibration welcome but to be honest it's not essential to have it entirely accurate but it would be nice. I suppose Speedy Cables could take care of it which l may resort to depending on outcome & price (l haven't tested the MGB one recently anyway) but it would be a coup to sort it myself.
I've long had the idea of adding a tachometer to my Oxford by extending the existing dashboard trim using another, like this:
The chap who has modified his Traveller beat me to it though he hasn't got the tachometer working yet. He did give me the pointer to a matching dial face though (l was just going to fit an MGB one l have as is) by using a Riley 1.5 instrument, though these are cable driven & though he had a dynamo that has a drive fitted for this purpose he found the drive directions were opposite. As they're all the same size I thought l could fit the Riley face & pointer to the MGB mechanism, which you can but not surprisingly the rev' measurements are differently spaced & though you can re-calibrate it, l'm not sure if there is enough calibration available in the works. Anyway this is where l've got to so far:
The MGB one came apart quite easily:
The glass in the Riley one was so firmly stuck in & such a close fit that l had to break it to get it out:
The teaspoon method to pop the pointers off:
The fixing screws are in opposite planes so removing the MGB's ignition light lens & enlarging the hole just a little to centralise them together l used the existing holes in one to drill new holes in the other:
I have it in mind to use the Riley ignition light for an oil light which the Oxford doesn't have so l cunningly melded the two light 'tunnels' together:
The Riley screws can fill the original holes & this is where we stand:
The pointer isn't pressed home yet as adjustment to the centre hole may be needed.
Any advice as to recalibration welcome but to be honest it's not essential to have it entirely accurate but it would be nice. I suppose Speedy Cables could take care of it which l may resort to depending on outcome & price (l haven't tested the MGB one recently anyway) but it would be a coup to sort it myself.
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