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I know this subject has been touched upon but wondering how many actually have added a second opinion mechanical gauge as a backup to the electrical.

I am going to be concealing a set in the 47 somewhere -- seen but not seen. Oil pressure & ammeter for sure. Oil pressure takeoff will be as JW did his -- off the main galley on engine passenger side. Ammeter will also find a place to connect. That leaves a temp gauge.

Am curious if anyone has tried a second temp gauge. Not a lot of sender options on that one. Even though the 47 temp is mechanical, a second opinion probably wouldn't hurt -- particularly since temp was part of the gauge set and I hate to miss the chance for another project. Might also be something adaptable for the later cars that do have electrical gauges.

Has anyone placed the temp sensor anywhere other than the conventional spot in the head and if so, where and was the accuracy satisfactory? I am kind of thinking something could be done at the heater out port or the thermostat housing. Then again, if the valve or thermostat is shut then the limited to no circulation over the sensor would make the reading false.

Technicaly the ammeter is no t a mechanival gauge.
It is critical to use a STEEL line for the oul pressure. A flex hose thru the firewall.
My personal opinion is.to mount the.gauges for ez and conspicuous monitoring at a quik glance. Note that temp gauge can move very fast when problems occur. I'm not sure that location of sending units is critical. However i dont like water outlet location unless that is only available.

I run a direct reading oil pressure gauge under the hood.
I don't understand why a steel line is imperative.

I also run a vacuum gauge which I use for tune-ups.

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Howard, I suppose you could mount a gauge set in the glove compartment. The gauges would be easy to read with the door open, and would be out of sight when the door is closed. If you mounted them on the upper lip, there would still be room for stuff in the compartment. There is also wiring for the clock light there which could be tapped into for instrument lights.

Then again, it might be worth rebuilding the original gauges and using them.

(o{}o)

The original gauges are functional and will be used. Just thinking back to all the threads here with reports of various problems and the responses of "is it a gauge issue or do you have an actual mechanical issue". With every thing open and accessible, just thought I'd do the second opinion thing now rather than later.

I've been interested in using one of the mechanical temperature gauges and have had the same concern about the best location to read the temp. I'm very interested in any findings you make.

concern about the best location to read the temp.

If you want temperature readings that should very closely correspond to those that the cylinder head sensor is reading, the upper radiator hose (or upper radiator tank) are the obvious choices. Doing a tidy installation in the upper hose is not really practical, but I suppose you could have a radiator shop install a threaded bung in the top tank for an electrical sensor.

My '38 Eight had a temp gauge sensor in the upper radiator hose, put there by the previous owner, not pretty but it worked. See it in the pic, taken when the waterpump was replaced in 2008. The copper pipe plumbed into the thermostat housing runs from the back of the head. It's supposed to aid cooling but whether it helped or not, I don't know.

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Mal, thanks for that photo. Along with O_D's suggestion of a sensor being in the upper tank, I'm leaning toward doing something in that thermostat neighborhood.

Can think of two approaches. One is a thick plate shaped like the housing base and drilled and tapped for the sensor to locate between the head the thermostat housing. Advantage there is no mod and easily removed.

An easier approach if there are repro outlets available for the senior engine might be forget the plate but use a modern thermostat which should fit farther up inside the housing than the old bellows type. Not sure about the retainer though. If the wire could be used or solid retainer slotted enough, perhaps the hole and threads could be cut in the side of housing somewhere fairly low. Anyone running a modern thermostat have any idea how much open space is clear just below the thermostat?

Downside with either is still accuracy when the thermostat is closed -- but that would be a condition that likely would not be the case anytime the temperature was suspect and needed confirmation.

Anyone see an issue with either approach? If not, I may try something.

For a number of years the Model A community has had the aftermarket temp gauge with a kit to mount it in the upper water hose. Here is a link to one available from Mac's/

http://macsautoparts.com/model-a-ford-heater-hook-up-kit-powder-coated-black-a8247/camid/MDA/cp/JS0R3CHL1106060/

This kit allows you to install a hot water heater as well as a gauge. They also make one that just has the nipple for the temp sensor.