Gauge upgrade

[paintdudeluke]

Without going through the schematics, anyone offhand have the short sweet on gauge replacement?

Question:

Sender locations.
Will usual aftermarket gauges fit the locations for oil pressure/temp as far as threads etc. and;
where are the best locations head? block?

There are 2 senders on top of the head. Are they needed for computer reading or just gauges?

[RRoller123]

The 2 senders on the top of the head are for the temp gauge. One is a varistor that actually runs the gauge, the other pegs it in an overheat situation.

[paintdudeluke]

So if I'm going to yank the dash gauge and put in a new one I can pull both senders and use one of the holes for a mechanical gauge I'm assuming.

Is is some weird exotic thread or a simple metric fit?

Also, is there an oil plug somewhere to tap into for a mechanical pressure gauge or do I have to use the one on the driver side of the block where the idiot light sender is?

[vandor]

>Will usual aftermarket gauges fit the locations for oil pressure/temp as far as threads

I would think it's unlikely that you will easily find aftermarket gauges with threads that work.
The temp sensors in the head use a tapered thread, the oil light/gauge senders use straight threads, I think 10mm.

I have made adapters from old temp senders by drilling them out and tapping the hole. Of course the new sender's threads would need to be pretty small in diameter.

[bradartigue]

The oil pressure gauge sender can be installed in the oil filter assembly; the FIAT sender from earlier years fits in the threaded hole which has a bolt in it.

I don't think you'll be pleased with aftermarket gauges, they are typically ill-fitting and hard to get to work correctly. I've never seen a homemade dashboard that looks good, and putting in non-stock gauges just makes it worse.

[paintdudeluke]

I chatted with the guys at API and they said that pretty much any of the aftermarket sets that come with the metric adapters fit fine, oil & temp. The Equus gauges at oreileys are all mechanical and the exact same size as the dash gauges. Direct dash fit set of volt/temp/oil for ~45. My sender wiring is really tired and brittle. I trust mechanical gauges a little more too.

[vandor]

Mechanical oil pressure gauge = pressurized hot oil in the passenger compartment = hot oil drip on your pants leg = trying to fix a car in the dark on the side of the road hundreds of miles form home. It happened to a friend of mine.

But really, I do not understand why you'd want to put cheap Chinese gauges in any car. How good could they be for $45??

[paintdudeluke]

Mine are fogged up pretty bad. I've priced the factory gauges.Those chinese gauges are pretty accurate, they look good too. Its an art to build a low buck car. I'm not restoring a diamond, its a bit rusty, needs a little of everything, and is lucky to have found a loving owner to start with. A lot can be tastefully done for less if a person is prudent and skilled. A cell phone used to be expensive, but now a smart phone is free with a contract. More technology in my pocket than what they had to land on the moon for free. Cheap or chinese isn't always bad. The only thing they don't make in china now is federal reserve notes, but I'm sure they are taking bids.

[vandor]

You have some good points. I'd try to get the factory ones reliable by cleaning all the electrical connections. Every now and then a gauge goes bad, but it's not that common. Senders sometimes fail, but with the exception of the oil pressure one, they are inexpensive.

[paintdudeluke]

I installed the oil & temp gauges. They were about $20 each and are both mechanical so I eliminated the sending units. Very accurate, look nearly factory, and fit in the stock location perfectly.

[For some reason you might need to right click and open the image in a new tab to see the entire thing..not sure why.]

[SoFlaFiat]

I can't disagree with either side of the story but have to say, visually, I would do a double take to notice that those are not veglia gauges. They look pretty good!

[burgandy81]

yep, that is a great match. The yellow makes it.

Would you mind posting a link to the gauges you used?

Also, have you seen this? http://www.v6spider.com/ Rob is around here occasionally and will be a wealth of information if you proceed with the V6 swap.

I like your style, the spider for me is a low budget toy as well but I wager that i like my car more than most of my friends with much more expensive cars!!

[bradartigue]

I don't see the point, the Veglias are plentiful and work fine. Is the desire simply to change something? Change a tire, that will usually fix the urge to just change stuff around.

[fiat218]

I don't see the point, the Veglias are plentiful and work fine. Is the desire simply to change something? Change a tire, that will usually fix the urge to just change stuff around.

It is not all about you .

[bradartigue]

I don't see the point, the Veglias are plentiful and work fine. Is the desire simply to change something? Change a tire, that will usually fix the urge to just change stuff around.

It is not all about you .

If it were all about me I would never post here.

For all the bitching done on this forum about electrical system issues none of you guys should be talking about gauge swaps to someone who is a new owner. It's irresponsible. This is the kind of thing that leads to the radio only working when the blinkers are on, or the hazard switch turning on the wipers.