You can still buy the old style SW mechanical gauges. I had to replace
one in my car due to a busted capillary, and the only visible difference
was in the paint on the tail end of the pointer. I also found that for
the oil pressure gauge, -3 SS braided brake line hose was cheaper than
the Aeroquip gauge hose! I pitted next to a guy who had the oil pressure
gauge hose on his Lotus blowing off every other session. Wotta mess. The
AN and -3 solution worked for me.
Brian Evans wrote:
>
> I've been using the Autometer old style gauges lately - they kind of look
> like Stewart Warner gauges from the sixties. Fully mechanical oil pressure
> and water temp. I've found them so much more reliable than the rebuilt or
> new Smiths that I used to try and use (once put three rebuilt water temp
> gauges in over one weekend - and none of them worked for more than five
> minutes!). I tapped the cylinder head hole to 3/8 NPT to get the water
> gauge sender adaptor in. I used a 1/8 NPT to -3 AN adaptor in the oil
> pressure port on the engine, and ran -3 steel braided brake line to the
> gauge. Aside from the line costing more than the gauge, it's been great - a
> very fast reading gauge, and the line won't break, melt, have a hose clamp
> slip, etc. I'm using, for all the very vintage reasons, the original Smiths
> (non-chronometric) mechanical tach that came with the car. It's so far cost
> me as much as a Stack, but I'm sticking with it - each incremental
> investment seems to be small enough that I can't justify the switch to a
> more modern tach on either economic or performance grounds, and it *does*
> look right!
>
> Any hint's/tips form the boys?
>
> Brian (who's GOT all the original gauges, just can't afford to keep them
> working)
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