Since I've got the conversion running I've been wondering about the accuracy of the oil temp gauge. I'm running the sender that came in the '85 3.2 and a gauge dated 4/80 which is probably from an SC. So since today I hadn't any great plans I decided to do a quick check to see how the gauge was "calibrated."

Here's what the gauge looked like when I stuck the sender in boiling water and allowed it to cool. A twenty-five degree F difference in temp is a pretty subtle change on this gauge. The particular tc I was using was reading 213 deg F in boiling water.

The car has been running right in the range that I tested which makes sense considering the 180deg t-stat.

There's a little parallax between the position where I took the digipix and the driving position but it's hardly worth worring about considering the lack reference marks away from the end of the "box".

Later,
Kevin

I would try to find the sender that is supposed to be matched to the gauge (or better yet, buy a numbered gauge insert with a matching sending unit).

I recall that there were many temp gauges over the years and just as many senders to go with them. You could always "reference" yours since you have your own thermocouple to check/verify known temperatures.

Our 3.2 track car normally does not get the oil much over 180 deg. On a very hot summer day at the track, I have seen 210, but it cooled off to about 180 during the cooldown after the checker flag. The front cooler works well. Ours also has a 180 degree thermostat.