Clock / Tach Rebuild Kit

[Grundy]

Has anyone actually done the tach or clock rebuild from the kits at RTE ENG? That's coming up next after the column rebuild and I want to know if there are any potential problems, concerns, comments.

[72hemi]

I just received their clock kit. I have not gotten around to installing it yet, but I'll let you know what I find.

[bandit67]

    Can't say I have  installed a clock kit from the folks you mentioned, but , I just installed a clock kit in a 65 Riviera that I got from some folks out of a Hemmings book.  I would imagine the kits are pretty much the same. The kit I received came with a vhs tape and was for sure useful. I work as an electrician in a nuclear power plant and this was fairly complex at some points. I do understand for some folks the 30 bucks they charge would be worth it. But, if you get your pause remote, your stuff laid out just right and follow the instructions, you can do it. Mine runs great....J

[Grundy]

Thanks for the input. I feel comfortable with taking things apart and throwing them back together, and being an engineer, I don't even mind when there are parts left over. 

Seriously tho, I think i'm going to give it a shot.

Thanks

[LAA66]

 The tach board replacement is pretty easy. 4 colored wires from the original board are cut then soldered to the designated locations on the RT eng. board. Try to leave as much wire as possible. This allows more room to do the connections.

[loco440]

I have done both for a chally,the tacho is very easy,I wrote an article on that one some where in here and as for the clock it is fiddly BUT when you handle the clock face IE replace the rivets and such wear cloth gloves,the moisture on your hands can smear the white numbers on the face.

[Grundy]

OK, I bought the clock and the tach kits. I put the clock in this weekend. My question is, how loose / tight should the slip clutch on the minute hand feel? I know it says, loose enough to slip, but tight enough so it keeps time.. but i dunno.

[Grundy]

Update for all those waiting to hear. I checked the movement on the clock, and I can see that the hands are moving. I haven't put it all back together yet, I just painted the faces, but that's another thread.

Also, I threw in the new tach board. It's an easy install. It turns out the old one had what looked like some resistors on the back, that got too hot and burned out. The new board is neat and clean.

[70_challenger]

Grundy:
Thank you for the updates on your project. 

I am looking to do my gauges with this kit, too.  (I am also an engineer, so I don't have the wisdom to realize when I'm in over my head).   I am actually more worried about how to refinish the gauge faces than wiring up this kit.

If you have pictures of your progress, that would be awesome.

Thanks!
Tom

[JayBee]

Just FYI, I was on rt-eng's website today and read that they'll be doing free upgrades to clocks and tachs (possibly other gauges too) at the shows they're attending. I think I read it correctly.

Oops, I should clarify this...free labour when you buy the kit

[cudabuyer]

the resto shop just did the rebuild on my tach, said it was very easy, i forgot the price on the kit   

[Grundy]

Grundy:
Thank you for the updates on your project. 

I am looking to do my gauges with this kit, too.  (I am also an engineer, so I don't have the wisdom to realize when I'm in over my head).   I am actually more worried about how to refinish the gauge faces than wiring up this kit.

If you have pictures of your progress, that would be awesome.

Thanks!
Tom

check out the link to the other thread...

http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=33059.0

[500Stroker]

I tried the RTE tach kit on mine.  It did not work properly.  The tach was very sluggish.  I guess it was beyond a circuit board upgrade.  Called RTE and they cheerfully took it back and gave me credit towards a new complete repro tach they sell.

[Grundy]

I haven't tried mine yet, I'm almost ready to put the gauges back in. We shall see.

[GregGarner]

This is Greg Garner, owner of Real Time Engineering.

The clock kits we sell come with color pictures showing each step for the Ebody specific clock, whereas the other companies all
show a generic installation as far as I know. You can see our manual for the clock here:
http://rt-eng.com/mediawiki/index.php/RTE_E_Body_Clock_kit

The clock clutch just has to be somewhat easy to turn, but have a little drag. The clutch allows the clock to be set. If the clutch is too loose, then
the minute and hour hand won't run. If the clutch is too tight, then you can't set the clock, and the gears will cog as you try to set the clock.

We have found that there are usually one of two reasons why original tach movements are sluggish:

1) Sometimes the tach shaft is rusty, because it is made out of steel. Running the tach up and down for several hours will
polish the shaft to remove the rust. We have a special circuit board that can be used when our tach board is installed to exercise the tach
and polish the shaft.

2) There is sometimes a small amount of viscous oil on the shaft. This oil seems to dry out over the 30 years since it was mode. I have found that
adding 1 drop of slick 50 to the shaft pivot will make the tach stop being sluggish.

Finally, we do offer free installations to the first 3 people to bring their clock or tach and purchase a kit at the show.
We go to the Carlisle mopar show in July, the mopar nationals in August, and the Monster mopar weekend in St. Louis in September.

Greg Garner
www.rt-eng.com
1-479-756-2757