I'm am really tired of trying to get my original water temp gauge to work in my 47 with a 216. I've had the gauge rebuilt and new tubing put on it. I must have kinked the tube somewhere putting it in. I then got a collar from a GMC (no comments Wolf or Zig) and bought a sender at a swap meet to try a GMC electronic sender type gauge. The sender is bad and I cannot find new ones anywhere. It seems like I should be able to get a 12 volt sender to fit somewhere on my motor a just put the electronic unit in. I wonder if anyone has experience with other GM temp senders that would fit and I'll by a rebuilt GMC electronic gauge. My decals are already GMC colors. Do you think the 235, 265, 283, 327 GM's have temp senders that would fit? Flashlight (in the dark)
Plumbing a sender into the engine should be no problem. If you can't use the original hole by drilling and tapping to the correct pipe thread you can drill anywhere you can strike water and have room for the sender bulb. We drill in the back of V8 manifolds all the time so the original six cylinder sender tube will reach. One can also braze a bung in the thermostat housing and Ford used a fitting in top radiator hose in the early thirties. I have a friend with an auto electric shop that can check the operating range of a sensor and then one can sometimes be found as a subsitute or he can use a variable resister to find what range operates the dash gauge. A pot of water on a hot plate, a thermometer, some sensors, a hand full of resistors from Radio Shack, and your gauge will usually let him dial one in. I'm sure there are similar shops near you. Before anyone asks, I'm like Shultz on Hogans Heros where this subject is concerned---I know n-o-t-h-i-n-g.
Comments from us GMC guys never.... I don't know what to tell you on your temp gauge. I just got one from our host and it works great. I believe they also have a fitting that goes into the engine. Mine was a mechanical gauge with the magic gas in there.
Bourdon Tube Temperature Gauges I must be missing something here..... Unless you ' tested ' the gauge by heating the bulb with a flame , it should be good . Be a bit more specific than " I can't make it work " ~ what is it doing or not doing ? . Try heating it in a pot of water on the stove , you MUST NOT allow the bulb to touch the bottom of the pot however . The electric sender from a '59 235 should screw right into your 216 head . I don't have my vintage books handy but any NAPA store will know , just have them look up " temperature gauge sender " from a 1959 Chevy 3100 W/ 235 6 cylinder engine.... This will sort out but you must needs take a deliberate step by step approach to the problem solving aspect of it , we're right here to help , no worries . 'K ? .
