[Peter Serio]

The 2nd Gen trans am had a special meter (which is the part that moves the white pointer).

Those early 2nd Gen Firebirds use old school analog meters with a forced zero position as prior year tachometers on all Pontiac cars including cars with a hood tach had a zero position that was assisted by the weight of the pointer (to return to zero). The 1970 Trans Am was the first attempt at a tachometer with an forced zero in that the springs inside of the meter provide zero as the weight of the pointer does not assist in zero return, it actually opposes it. Over time (and use) or lack of use the springs inside of the meter movement wear out and the tachometer loses calibration. This affects not only the return to zero (after you turn the engine off) but also the arc across the rest of the dial. There is no way to repair a 48 year old tachometer meter where the springs have gone weak. The only cure would be to replace the meter. Modern aftermarket tachometers are not made with meters that are balanced using weights & springs, they are made completely different, so it takes a totally different type of circuit board with a computer chip on it to drive that meter. The old school tachometers had a small ivory colored circle shaped circuit board that drives the analog meter. Sometimes those boards go bad over time. They actually disintegrate in the air; and the aluminum pathways (used to made from copper) corrode.

You can buy an improved ( made with all copper pathways) 2nd Gen Trans Am replacement circuit board for the older GM car tachometers. They make new boards for a car with the points distributor tachometer and they also make new circuit boards for cars with Delco electronic ignition.

Unfortunately the wire plug-ins on the new circuit boards sometimes will not fit the trans am wire plug-ins. The guy who designed the new boards used as his sample part a circuit board from a 1971 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. Same electrical circuit, however the Chevrolet board had different shape & length plug-ins. (To fit the Camaro Meter assembly.) So you have to un-solder the new pins and solder on the trans am wires. For 2nd Gen cars the points tach board has 3 wire plug-ins, GM-HEI has 4.