The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Are the reproduction temp gauges junk

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?

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

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

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

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.

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.