Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Hi Folks,

As re-assembly of my 327 gets closer, I was thinking I should probably spring for an oil pressure gauge to check how the rebuilt engine is doing (since all the car has itself is a red warning light), and at the same time might as well install a water temperature gauge to supplement the one that already comes with the car.

I was thinking of this one:

Autometer Auto-Gage Aftermarket Combo Oil Pressure/Water Temperature Gage

Any other suggestions?

Where would be a good places to hook these up on the engine? The water temperature gauge uses a 1/2 or (optional 3/8 NPT fitting), the oil pressure uses a 1/8 NPT. I imagine I would have to find a 6-volt bulb for the gauge lighting.

I didn't see where the aftermarket gauge set says if it has bulbs or LEDs for illumination. If LEDs it will be polarity sensitive and most likely 12v.

The Oil port for the extra gauge is not too big a deal. You can add another tee in the sender area on the left side of the block or you can open up one of the 1/8" ports along the main gallery running the length of the engine on the passenger side. There is a port in that sort of rounded bump just below the rocker covers at each main bearing location. A couple in the front may be hidden though.

The extra temperature gauge is more problematic. The only place on the engine that gets a true and constant flow of water surrounding the sender all the time is the existing sender port on the side of the head. If you try to add a tee in that location one or both of the senders will not get a continuous flow of water and will likely give false readings. Another built in port is the heater outlet in the center of the head. You could add a tee there but the same issue would be a problem because the only time water would flow over the bulb is if the heater temp valve is open. You could possibly put a sensor bulb in the radiator hose if you can find one of the inline adapters made for fan switches or pollution sensors that is large enough for the hose. The sender would not read properly until the thermostat opened but after that it would give fairly accurate readings. When I added a temp gauge on my 47 I made an adapter along those same lines using a 1" block of aluminum. Rather than cut the hose I made something that fits under the water outlet housing. It still has to wait for the thermostat to open but sensor bulb is more hidden out of sight.

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Off topic a bit but not all LEDs are polarity specific. Some have diodes in their base which direct the voltage as needed by the LED itself.

I installed my oil pressure gauge by using a tee off the outlet that the sender attaches to. It works great, and I still have normal function on the dummy light. I would love to get a water temp gauge, but need to find someone who can mill an adapter similar to what Howard has. I think that may be the best solution.

-Kevin

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Thank you folks!

For those looking to add a temperature gauge Vintage Air lists a thermostat raiser. This looks to be like the one HH56 has posted in his photo. He fabricated his, but the Vintage Air riser may solve the problem for you.

Excellent find and is an addition to their offerings! When I made mine nothing like that seemed to be available - just the inline hose things.

Vintage offers no info on the dimensions of the risers other than they fit small block Chevy. They may fit the Packard necks and may not. If anyone calls Vintage to inquire or has a SBC that could measure the bolt spacing and overall size of the neck fitting and post their findings it would be of help for others to know if these would work.

For what it’s worth, the thermostat housing’s bolt spacing is 3-9/16”.

Howard and Don, good points. The bolt spacing for SBC thermostat housing is 3.2". The Vintage Air thermostat raiser will not fit the Packard 3 9/16" bolt spacing. The search continues...