[242177P]

For an earlier car, I lean slightly towards NO. Not only is the 67's tach much taller, but there's also the body lines. But the 68-70s are curvy, and the tach is "short". It really is an iconic look. I'd be hard pressed to fault anyone for adding it.

Exception: truly historic cars. As documented, or it's wrong.

[Greg Reid]

On the earlier models...I don't hate the hood tach on them but I agree on both points that you made. They look better on the 68 and later A bodies and also look good on the first gen Firebirds.

[Verdoro 68]

One of my favorite additions to my car. No regrets at all. Do it!

[Greg Reid]

Fortunately I saved the quart of single stage paint from 2011 back when I was thinking of trying to paint my own car. All I can say is that now I understand why experienced painters don't want to use single stage for metallics. This was my second try after having to quickly wipe down the first try with lacquer thinner and respray. Had some serious tiger stripes and a couple of big sags.
I'm really happy with the amount of gloss for a single stage paint. I have very little experience with spraying paint. I mostly limit myself to primer and body work.


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[Greg Reid]

I think that the color is going to be close enough for me although I think, and again I'm not experienced at this but I think that one mistake I made was not agitating the paint enough before I poured it in my sprayer. The bottle that I poured it from had a lot of silver in the bottom of it at the end of the job.
It's really, really close to my paint but I think the lack of silver gives it a slightly darker hue.
Easy enough to repaint later if I can't live with it but I think it's going to be okay.

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[Scarebird]

Even though stock goes thru the brace, I would slide it forward a 1/2" and miss it altogether.

A pair of tin snips and a Unibit will do this. Drill the holes in the center and spiral out so you don't crack the paint. This type of snip will cut holes MUCH easier than the straight type. These are made to turn left, red's go right.

[Greg Reid]

I actually did fudge it forward 3/4". I'm just going to cut through the sheet metal and then determine what I'll do about the cross brace. It's going to be a pretty small half moon. If it feels like the sheet metal is holding the hole saw straight enough without bucking or anything I'll just continue through it.
Nice suggestion about the tin snips but I'm already committed to the hole saw at this point having already purchased. By the way kk68, I got the holesaw you posted. it.

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[gtohurstjudge]

I don't understand why you claim the brace is in the way......I've done a couple of them and used the supplied
template and the brace was not in the way at all, no brace cutting required.

[Greg Reid]

I just cut mine today. If you look at the photo in post #17, mine wound up exactly where that one is. It took a half moon piece of the brace about 3/8" deep at the apex. I could have moved it forward and avoided it altogether but I decided to go with the template that came with the tach.
I have no explanation for the discrepancy between your template and mine.

[Greg Reid]

One thing I do not understand is why the Ames version only has two studs at the rear/center and nothing on the front. As soon as I tighten those two nuts down, the front edge kicks up. That's not going to work for me. Looks like a J. C. Whitney add-on. The factory added a rivet, they say for theft protection but I wonder if it wasn't because of complaints about the appearance.
Has anyone needed to add a rivet or stud near the front edge to make it conform to the hood better? I'm doing one or the other today.

[Goatracer1]

The hood is not irreplaceable. You can always buy a new one if you later change your mind. Or, buy a new one now and put your hole in that one.

[Greg Reid]

Oh, it's a done deal now Goatracer. Already mounted. I took it back off to epoxy prime the bare metal around the holes. I also added a threaded stud to the front. Now it fits close to the hood as it should with no big gap at the front.
Pics later.

[kk68]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

One thing I do not understand is why the Ames version only has two studs at the rear/center and nothing on the front. As soon as I tighten those two nuts down, the front edge kicks up. That's not going to work for me. Looks like a J. C. Whitney add-on. The factory added a rivet, they say for theft protection but I wonder if it wasn't because of complaints about the appearance.
Has anyone needed to add a rivet or stud near the front edge to make it conform to the hood better? I'm doing one or the other today.

Greg:

Paint job on the tach looks great. Mine sits flush and I did not need to add the front rivet. Did you use a rubber gasket between hood and tach? I think they are sold separately by Ames.

KK

[Greg Reid]

My problem turned out to be a combination of thick silicone sealant and needing a front attachment point. I 'shaved' the silicone flat with the edge of the base using a fresh razor and tapped a 10-32 hole in the plastic at the front...then drilled one more hole in the hood.
Here are the pics. Oh well, nothing a good tig man can't fix!
I gotta tell you, I wasn't happy about it with those gaps. I almost went into regret mode...but I'm happy with it now. Also, it works great!


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[HO LEMANS]

Greg that looks great, a nice addition to an already beautiful car!

[Greg Reid]

Thanks HO LEMANS!

[Verdoro 68]

Looks good, super clean cut on the hood. Looks like a good match on the paint. Nicely done!

[Greg Reid]

Thanks Ken...I think we need to find a market for lightly used 4" hole saws. $35 and I'll probably never use it again.

[Verdoro 68]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

Thanks Ken...I think we need to find a market for lightly used 4" hole saws. $35 and I'll probably never use it again.

LOL - I've got one lightly used 4" hole saw as well. Need to find some more stuff to cut some 4" holes in or maybe start a 4" hole saw rental business.

[Scarebird]

This is one of the reasons I suggested using a pair of offset snips:
they are useful for many other things unlike a 4" hole saw.