Ok, I gots a '71 Lark with the Idiot Lights. It's got some valvetrain noise and the idiot lights seem to be failing me lately. The Hot light came on while blowing down the open road last week, and the Oil Light stays on for a few secs after startup. Like it does when you change the oil. I was down a quart and a half last week and that stupid light still didn't come on. Does it have to be empty first? So I'm ready to fork over some denero on a gauge cluster, I'd like Oil Press, Temp, Volts and a Tach. I think I'd rather have Electronic because nothing enters the passenger compartment. Can anyone recomemnd a decent cluster for me? I'd like to keep it under $150 if possible. Thanks!! Scott
the oil light is oil pressure... not oil level... as long as there is enough oil to feed the pump and make it's way to the sensor, the light will be off.
Scott, Get yourself a set of Autometer gauges. You'll probably get the best prices in Summitt Racing or Jegs catalogs. I just looked in the Jegs catalog, 2 5/8" gauges, all electrical- Oil Pressure 105-3522, 44.99, Water Temp 105-3531, 39.99, Voltmeter 105-3592, 31.99. The 3 3/8" Tachometer 105-2499, 75.99 fits in the clock space in the dash. (I have this one on my car- picture below)
I would seriously stay away from the electric oil pressure gauges...I've had the oil pressure sending unit spring a leak on my 85 GN...Talk about a mess...I ended up putting an AutoMeter 2" mechanical with 270* needle sweep and bought a braided line to run into the interior...It does not leak at all and you don't have to worry about the tiny plastic line leaking or the compression fittings popping apart(hehe, had that happen too on my 66 Skylark, POW, line popped out and lost 3 quarts of oil out of an 1/8" line faster than I could realize what happened and shut the motor off)...IMO, the mechanical oil pressure guage with braided line is the way to go...It's faster reacting to pressure changes as well...Also, go with mechanical water temp guage with 270* needle sweep as well, reacts faster and more accurate, easier to read, and can see temp with car off...
i put autometer electrics in last summer. i'm happy with them, but now i'm wondering how accurrate they really are. does anyone know compared to mechanical? especially oil pressure.
If you go to autometer's web site, they say (FAQ's) there is no difference in accuracy between electric and mechanical gauges, however due to the 270* sweep of a mechanical gauge it is easier to read more accurately. I personally use a mechanical oil pressure and an electrical water temp. I agree you don't want to use the nylon tubing in those kits, they're an accident waiting to happen. Either use copper tubing or braided line.
FJM568, Do you still have a 300/340 in your '66? I added Autometer electrical guages to my 340, which required some extended plumbing to get the oil pressure fitting in place. I'm only showing 12 psi oil pressure at idle and maybe 25 at high speed. Is this what you see? Engine has always run strong. Think this is a meter problem.
Nope...Blew the itty-bitty 300 up about a year and a half ago ou: ...Now it has a 455 in it... :beer I had to do some kind of extension as well with the electric oil sender as well...Just at the moment, I'm having a brain-fart as to how I did it...o No: I just recently went to a mechanical on the 455 after the aftermarket electric oil pressure sender on my 85 GN decided it wanted to spring a leak...Didn't want to worry about the one on the 455 so I went to a mechanical with the braided line...With the 455 in gear, I see anywhere between 10-15# at idle and running down the highway it is at about 55-60#...Stoplight to stoplight medium speed driving it is anywhere from 30-50#...I really like the mechanical guages because they react faster than the electrical and with the mechanical, you can get the guage with the 270* needle sweep which is easier to read, where with the electrical, you can only get the 90* needle sweep guage(only talking about the 2" guages here) It was roughly about the same with my 300...But with the electrical guage, the needle seemed to move kind of jerky up and down, which the mechanical it is a smoother movement(at least in my experience)...I would be a little worried with the 25# at high speed oil pressure...I would get that checked out soon, because you may definately be starving the rear main and rod journals if the pressure is that low...remember the 10#/1000rpm rule of thumb with these Buicks... Hope this helps some...
