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BUSY BOLTERS Are you one?  The Shop Area
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Jul 21st, 2025 | | | | Joined: Apr 2011 Posts: 22 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Apr 2011 Posts: 22 | I bought a reproduction temperature gauge about 6 months ago. For my 50 chevy I don't drive much at all. I noticed yesterday morning the gauge was at 170 when it had been sitting over night. Do I buy another reproduction or find a nos one?
When setting goals in life. Always aim low to avoid disappointment
| | | | | Joined: Jan 2000 Posts: 2,074 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Jan 2000 Posts: 2,074 | I'd clean up an original gauge, most I've had were ok and you can test them in boiling water first.
Best of luck | | | | | Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 9,671 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 9,671 | Almost all of the reproduction items are below par set by the
factory.
I've also got a repro temp gauge in my '50 and it sticks.
Reads correctly when it decides not to stick.
Problem with the vast majority of the repro stuff is it's made
in tiny back alley shops somewhere in communist China where
there is no such thing as Quality Control. If it physically
looks like the original item then ship it, someone will sell
it and someone buy it since no one here in the states can
afford to make good reproductions. Mar-K, US Radiator and a
few others manage to be the exception and they seem to have
found a way to make good parts and still make a fair profit.
dg
dg
Denny G
Sandwich, IL
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 10,059 Renaissance Man | | Renaissance Man Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 10,059 | Besides the brake switch, the original temp gauges on an AD have been the most reliable item I have encountered on ANY vehicle I have owned. Every one I have dealt with read right on the zero of the 180 mark once warmed up (except once when the original brass accordion-style thermostat on my '52 216 stuck closed and sent the needle to the peg. It did function properly after that however). As long as you find one with the sensor bulb and tube intact, you should be good to go. The gauge decal set is inexpensive even if you only need the temp decal.
Carl
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
| | | | | Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 252 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 252 | I have quite a number or repop items on my truck and they are generally acceptable. With one exception - the temp gauge!!!
I have three which are all dead in the water.
I will do as suggested and look for an original. | | | | | Joined: Nov 2014 Posts: 623 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Nov 2014 Posts: 623 | I put on one from Classicparts on my 51 last spring, and it works ok, except for the few times it sits on the bottom for awhile, even after I know it's warmed up. Seems to fix itself either when I stop somewhere and restart the truck, or while I'm not looking. Better than the old one I had that didn't work at all, though.
"When I rest, I rust"
1951 3100 5 window w/ '56 235
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