Interesting (maybe?) instrument panel on my 85 Bertone

Fiataccompli

Fiataccompli

Chris Granju
Not sure if I had put photos of this somewhere here in the past, but below are photos of the instrument panel from my 85 Bertone....as modified by a PO. Clearly, this person was committed to changing the layout. It appears to all work correctly (except....temp gauge is not connected in Lou of an external gauge...not sure if that is because of accuracy issues or what...and the reason it's out of the car is the tach is reading low). PO also installed LED lighting which is frightshow looking, but it does work & you can read the gauges.

So, I didnt know if this is a discussion or workshop topic because I removed it to look for obvious signs of something that would cause the tach to read low...obviously there are many...how about the needles? Are those stock & painted red/orange? When I first got the car I didn't notice the layout (had been a while since I'd had an X19), but I recall wondering why I felt like the tach was easier to see...ha!

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Undeniably interesting. :)

I actually really like it. Definitely gets the tachometer where it is most effective and one isn't missing much with the gas gauge over on the right

How did it look from drivers seat?
 
In this position the tach. will be much more visible.

I really like the layout

Yves
 
Years ago

I purchased an early 79 and sent in a complaint to Fiat about not being able to see the Tach. It was our hope at that time that the lay out would have been revamped to something like this project. Instead we got a Counter Clockwise tach as the solution.

There is a lot of head scratching that went on to produce this cluster. Sadly it is what should have been but never happened.

Well done and thanks for sharing.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
The visibility is excellent. After it dawned on me the difference, I appreciate it. The LED lighting not so much....great light but needs diffusers or something because it looks like a series of spots.

Back to why it's out...would weak ground ( or multiple) cause the tach to read low?


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It isn't unusual for them to read low. Plenty of wire between the coil and the tach as well as how many years between the factory and you?

They are adjustable. You need to remove the tach to get at the adjuster.

I would look into getting something which can read the actual rpm before fiddling with it however.

Checking for good grounds is a good thing to do given all that was done to that one...
 
that is also interesting. it's funny, I've spent several years trying to rid myself of all the 'spare' 124 gauges I've owned (actually, probably down to a more reasonable number now), but hadn't really thought of doing that. I like the X 1/9 dash...well, I might sub or add some gauges, but...perhaps mostly because I've spent the previous 20 years of Fiat enthusiast life looking at 124 gauges. But there's much to be said for the 124 gauges. I assume the electrical connections were NOT rocket science to figure out?

If I can get my tach to read relatively close to correct, I'll be more than content. For extra points, if I can open mine up & either add diffusers or filament bulbs that would be nice.

There's something unsettling to me about an under-reading tach...I keep thinking there's something terribly wrong with the engine even when intellectually I know the deal. same phenomenon I get now riding a bike now that I'm used to having a power meter...if there's a calibration problem, it keeps screwing with my head....ah, brains...
 
Yeah...it's been a side-burner little by little project with this car. Overall it has much going for it, but also a lot of what-the-hell modifications along with crazy metal flake paint and Kermit the frog painted intake,valve cover,timing belt cover ...now that basic running is a "check", grounds and gauging is up. (Already done working dash lighting/heater valve, headlights & motors, rear release cables, O2 re-install, and more....




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I have seen this before

It was a long time ago but the first one made was by a member here that we've not heard of for a long time, "Tore"
The initial idea came about when Matt Brannon asked me to make a custom dash that had the two gauges swapped. I used Marshall Gauges for that project, not the original X1/9 gauges. Matt wanted me to put the Tacho in the center. (swap with the Speedometer) Tore wanted to make up one of his own, so he did. The photos I have on file do not match the wire colors used in the illustrations in the previous post, so I can't say this one was made by him. But the concept and PCB cuts look nearly identical.
 
I like that. Much more sensible - there is no reason to have the fuel gauge in the middle, or for the info bulbs on the side either (lights on, etc).

The spagetti wiring, not so much - but that could be cleaned up.
 
yeah, I could imagine doing another one, perhaps incorporating more data. The spagetti wiring does work, I think...unless it's the source of low reading RPM....
 
lookforjoe said:
I like that. Much more sensible - there is no reason to have the fuel gauge in the middle, or for the info bulbs on the side either (lights on, etc).

The spagetti wiring, not so much - but that could be cleaned up.
Click to expand...

Agreed...Not like these cars suck so much gas you need to watch the fuel gauge constantly...Especially the FI version...
 
Exactly! My take was always that the gauge layout was some last minute, not-much-thought thing...which is truly bizarre as it is the primary human interface for an otherwise brilliant design.


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Actually if you look at the state of the show car art of the time it was pretty progressive. Especially the mainly covered gauges.

Note that essentially the same board was used from the early to the late cars. Bertone didn't want to develop a new board for the new instrument panel design.

The new design moved the relationship of the instruments to the steering wheel and the driver. Thus why the early cars (pre 79) don't suffer from the issue of the tach being blocked by the steering wheel.

Personally I much prefer the early instrument panel as the car seems more open.
 
Just looked online for pics of the old style dash - it looks much better - running straight across without the boxy divisions used on my Bertone :(

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yeah...I see beauty in both of them. What I was saying about putting less thought in was only on the location of the actual gauges in relation to the driver/wheel/level of importance....a tach obscured partially by the steering wheel and a fuel gauge (vs. tach, vs. speedo vs. oil pressure vs. temperature vs. almost ANYTHING) is just sort of weird I think.
 
Tach issue

I had this problem with a low reading tach on my 87
Bought an aftermarket and wired it in, rpm seemed correct.
Remove the X tach and found a potentiometer where I could adjust with a screwdriver to match the aftermarket tach. All well now.
BY the way the tach you show in the picks from a 87/88 version, rare , but I have a complete spare instrument set from England off a 88, with oil pressure gauge built in for sale
Alan,
 
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