Ron, Thanks for the response. It figures that anything that I would like to do will not be "easy". I have seen some VDO stuff out on the web and thought they were still in business.
I guess I'll have to wait to get some other responses to see if there is a consensus of agreement. Do you know how difficult it is to replace the sending unit? I probably would have been ok with a 160 MPH unit even if it was not reversing. It is not the end of the world but still worth thinking about.