engine temperature gauge

[bhclark]

My '59 Invicta has a '62 motor in it. If that's not depressing enough, apparently in '59 the engine temperature gauge was a thermocouple that screwed into the rear of the engine where it could measure the water temp. The '62 is much more like a '65 where the temp gauge appears electronic and mounts into the front of the engine.

Question:

Is it possible to modify this system to make the analog gauge on my dash work with this '62 engine? Or am I missing something completly?

The thermocouple currently just sits on top of the engine and the gauge never moves from cold.

Thanks!

[BamaWildcat]

It sounds possible. Provided the 62 engine you speak of is a Nailhead, it can have a temp gauge at the front passenger side of the heads or the back driver side of the heads. The Nailhead head is the same from left to right, so on the driver side head the temp gauge hole gets a plug in it which can be removed with a 3/8 drive ratchet.

Anyway, I would need to see a picture, but if the 59's thermocouple was originally made to go down into a water passage, and has a nut around it, it would be a simple as getting a brass adapter that fit the nailhead head, and then screwing the thermocouple nut into it. This would only work if the thermocouple could extend far enough into the water jacket after the adapter to be submerged.

Let's see some pics.