Just an update. I got it in the mail real quick, and it looked nice coming out of the box IMO...

Hood template and wiring instructions oddly provided references for GTO's, Tempests and Buicks...and it doesn't even mention the Firebird. Not that it matters at all, as I had no intention of using their template anyway. I'm gonna put it wherever I feel it belongs on the hood based exclusively on my line of sight from drivers seat, hood brace locations, etc. Exact factory placement is meaningless to me.

At first glance I got to wondering if the white gelcoat would be a good color match to my Cameo White car? Not so lucky...the tach is too "white" and my car's Cameo looks yellower. So it'll need to be painted as I fully expected.

Hooked it up temporarily tonite and tested it. It lights up real nice and clear, works smooth, and reads within 50 rpm of my digital Acton tune-up tach. This confirms in my mind that the Pertronix kit is not causing any problems with the tach and I don't need an adaptor, which is obviously nice...

It looks bigger and badder from the drivers seat that I expected. It should be super-easy to read while running down the road, which I wasn't sure would be true.

So color me fully satisfied so far. I just left my positive feedback on Ebay and I'm confident I can paint this sucker and not worry about it being non-functional when I install it.

So next time I find a free moment I suppose I'll determine location and hole-saw a big 'ol hole in my hood!! I might as well do that prior to taking my car into the paint shop just in case I make some sort of terrifying mistake! Once the holes are drilled I'll pull all the necessary rear bumper and other trim off the rear body and rocker areas where I plan on having it painted, and drive it with the tach over to the body shop and let them have it for a week or so...

Stay tuned! My plan is to have this thing all painted and re-assembled before Christmas at the latest. Maybe Thanksgiving if the optimist in me holds true...