I've been looking for one since I got my '89 245, which, like most of them, came with a big clock where the tach should be. Finally, I lucked out and found one in the wreck yard. Got the whole cluster and the small clock that goes in one of the extra gauge holes to the right of the instrument panel for less than $25! Even better; it's pretty much plug and play (I'd been wondering what that red/white wire behind the cluster was for). Everything works, even the clock. Only thing is, it reads a lot lower at any given speed than the one in my 745T, although it does show normal idle speed. I would think that the car with more power -the turbo- would have the lower (numerically) ratio rear end. Both cars are automatics, with stock wheels/tires. So I'm wondering if anyone out there that has a tach in his 240 can tell me what RPM it's showing at, say, 60 and 75 MPH? I know from reading my collection of owners manuals that Volvo offered different ratios as options, but I have no reason to believe that mine is other than whatever came standard.

 

Did the cluster come from a wagon? I ask because the spin ratio on the wagons are typically different to compensate for different tire sizes. In 89, the typical rear end ratio was 3.73 for the wagons all though it is possible yours is different. Most turbos got the 3.73 for more low end grunt until the turbo spools up. Perhaps compare the spin ratio printed on the speedo below the odo. r something...

 

fwiw, our 87 240GL sedan, that came with a tach (part of the GL upscale package, I suppose), runs about 2700rpm at 65MPH when its in overdrive.

 

My Tach is my ears ...
I though that was easy to install. Just saw one on eBay go for a low price. Oh well, I don't even think our junkyards had any, the clusters were ripped clean.

 

Well, the cluster came from a sedan, a GL, as I recall, so maybe it's only the GLs that got the tach as standard equipment. Now that I think of it, I don't recall ever seeing one in a wagon, at least not in the wreck yards.
Being lazy by nature, I did just stick in the whole cluster without transplanting my old speedo into the new one, so it may well be that the speedo is off and not the tach. I guess the easiest way to check it will be to use my GPS.

I haven't been driving the 240 much lately because I haven't had time to get the A/C working ( Here in TX that's the life support system), but I did try running a steady 65 in my Turbo today and the tach read almost exactly 2700 RPM (Thanks, Pierce) which tends to indicate that some 240s and 740s were geared the same. According to the GPS, the speedo in the Turbo is dead on. I'll take the 240 out tomorrow (at night) and see what I discover.

I'll certainly be delighted if I only need to put my old speedo back in the 240; that beats the hell out of trying to locate another cheap tach.

Funny about your wreck yards in Toledo, Burn Stains. In the Houston area, the wreck yards are loaded with 240s, 740s, and 940s, hardly any have the clusters removed or much of anything else. This has been great for me; I've been stocking up on spare tail light lenses and everything else I think I might need in the future, but the downside is that these cars are all getting crushed after 3-4 weeks and will thus be gone forever. It's kind of like going to the animal shelter - you wanna bring 'em all home!

 

afaik, "GL" meant different things in different years on 240's. in my wife's 1987 240GL sedan (bought new, still own), it meant leather seats, cruise control, sunroof, and alloy wheels ('corona', I think?). and the tach + seperate clock. several of these things were available optionally on DLs. Not quite sure why, but our 240GL did NOT come with any factory installed stereo or speakers although the dealer tried to sell us one, we opted to install our own.