[whlfan]

Need a buy a hood tach for a 72 GTO 455. 5100 OR 5500 RPM redline? Read online and different posts and seems to be conflicting info. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Don

[Ram4king]

Don,If you want the REAL truth you couldn't get a hood tach in 1972. 5100 would be correct if you still want to add it. I have a few Nos 1972 nos Dealer hood tachs if your so inclined.

[rexs73gto]

The hood tach was available for all A& F body cars both as a factory install & dealer install up until the 73 model year. I had a hood tach installed on my 73 GTO when I bought it new. It was added to my invoice & typed on to my window sticker too. I don't have the actual part number because I don't have my window sticker handy, but the price was around $ 75.00 plus the install which I made them pay for because of all the problems I had in getting my car. Also all factory installed hood tachs have the vent piece that is pop riveted to the heater box & has a one way black & white valve with two different sizes of vac hose to the heater box. The vent hose plugs into the bottom of the hood tach at a small tip next to the well where the tach electrics are. The tip come out on the right side of the bottom of the tach as your looking at it. If there is no fitting on the heater box the hood tach was not installed by the factory. The vac hoses are a 3/16's hose with a white stripe & the 1/4 hose has a yellow stripe on it. The larger hose goes closest to the heater box. Although I may have the colors of the stripes backwards, Mine has been worn off for a long time.

[Squidward]

Heater vent on hood tach? Not doubting you, as you are an original owner. Just wondering what the function/purpose of a heater vacuum line on an electrical device. Condensation drain line?

Didn't know about F body availability in the 70's. Wow. The more you learn...!

I might do a hood tach on my 72 Lee-mans. Nothing says Pontiac cool like hood tach.

[Ram4king]

Originally Posted by rexs73gto

The hood tach was available for all A& F body cars both as a factory install & dealer install up until the 73 model year. I had a hood tach installed on my 73 GTO when I bought it new. It was added to my invoice & typed on to my window sticker too. I don't have the actual part number because I don't have my window sticker handy, but the price was around $ 75.00 plus the install which I made them pay for because of all the problems I had in getting my car. Also all factory installed hood tachs have the vent piece that is pop riveted to the heater box & has a one way black & white valve with two different sizes of vac hose to the heater box. The vent hose plugs into the bottom of the hood tach at a small tip next to the well where the tach electrics are. The tip come out on the right side of the bottom of the tach as your looking at it. If there is no fitting on the heater box the hood tach was not installed by the factory. The vac hoses are a 3/16's hose with a white stripe & the 1/4 hose has a yellow stripe on it. The larger hose goes closest to the heater box. Although I may have the colors of the stripes backwards, Mine has been worn off for a long time.

I don't know where you get all your info but most of it is wrong! I'm tryin to help the guy. YOU WILL NEVER SEE A 72 with a hood tach listed as a FACTORY OPTION.......

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by rexs73gto

The hood tach was available for all A& F body cars both as a factory install & dealer install up until the 73 model year. I had a hood tach installed on my 73 GTO when I bought it new. It was added to my invoice & typed on to my window sticker too. I don't have the actual part number because I don't have my window sticker handy, but the price was around $ 75.00 plus the install which I made them pay for because of all the problems I had in getting my car...

For 1972, the last production Pontiac style 5100 rpm hood tach was an official dealer installed option on V8 Abodys and F bodys. the 5500 rpm version was only avail on some prev ohc 6 cyl hood tachs, of course after 30+ years of at least 6 different concerns reproducing hood tachs, along with many idiots hacking holes in their hoods, and you'll get someone that will argue a 5500 rpm hood tach came stock on their GTO...

For the record, when the 73 models came out there was no note in sales documents or master parts books of the hood tach being a dealer installed option on a LeMans, GTO, or GrandAm. Could a dealer install one on a '73 V8 Abody, yes, but they most likely, would be using the late '70 (June)- 72 hood tach (with the drain fitting & hose) and for such a '73, it would not be a true dealer installed option.

[rexs73gto]

We just went through this & Horst F found the sale lit. that had the listing for the hood tach on the 73. It was available fro the GTO & firebird in 73 as a dealer installed item. If you do the search for it Horst F. put it up about 2 weeks ago for me when we were discussing it. I had mine put on when I bought the car & it had a sales code to get it through the parts dept. Now as for the vent to the heater box , yes the line goes to the heater box . It was designed to help, ( what very little it did) to defrost the face of the tach. It really didn't work that well but it did add something extra to a hood tach mystic. Now I have a question of my own. You say no hood tachs in 72 but there was is a sale code for the hood tach to be ordered on the GTO firebird & LeMans in 72. I've been to several GTOAA meets & seen at least 3, that I know of that were told to be ordered on the 72 GTO new. So why do you state no hood tachs in 72 from the factory??? The sale lit. shows a hood tach so why do you say none??

[Ram4king]

I don't know what's wrong with you but you couldn't get it from the factory period! Just because you could get it dealer installed does not mean it came from the factory. Please show me 1 PHS With the hood tach on it as that's the only way it came from the factory. I don't care if the dealer typed it on your window sticker. That does not make it factory. I was only trying to help the guy if he truly wanted to be factory correct. He'll I put hood tachs on everything I own. I love them,I have over 30 of them in my collection. The ones that dealer were putting on after 72 had Ac on them. I'm not looking to argue but you are wrong.

[DOC]

Don, I have no idea what is correct for your car. However, I bought one from EBay for a couple hundred bucks, painted it, pulled the regular light bulbs and converted them to red LED's. It was a no name unit that works perfect and the rpms between a tach on the timing light and the hood tach are nearly identical when reving the engine. ZERO issues at all.
My only problem I had was finding a textbook place to put it. Found many different sources and none matched so I went with the convenient and popular place of installing in in the center of the bracing in the hood so I did not cut the bracing.

Hope this helps a little with your decision.

[devauxmidwest]

From the '72 and '73 accessories catalogs.

[Ram4king]

Originally Posted by devauxmidwest

From the '72 and '73 accessories catalogs.

Thanks for the "smokin gun" Did you notice that every other ACCESORY on those pages had an option number along with a UPC code? Only the hood tach option has no code showing you could not order it....dealer installed only.

[Held for Ransom]

That's what the (D) means, dealer installed. The (F) means factory installed.

[gtoric]

I don't see any verbiage on the '73 hood-mounted tach entry that suggests it was meant for anything but the Firebird line.

Dealer-installed means Dealer-installed accessory, not option. Only the factory installed options, dealers installed accessories. Accessories could be installed by the dealer onto any vehicle that they chose.

A correct accessory should be one that is listed in the appropriate year's catalog. So, even though the '73 accessories catalog does list the hood-mounted tachometer, it was only intended to be installed on the F-body line.