Reply to "How hot is HOT?"

Thanks for all the great questions and input.

The temps will often hover at (indicated) about 160 for a while. Generally with constant highway driving (i.e. - tach over 2000), the temps start to climb and stay there. This evening was cool and rainy (I was driving the car back from the shop where they were trying to sort out a stuck window and very dim/off instrument lights), and the car ran cooly for most of the 40 minute drive (lower speeds, secondary roads, not much traffic). I've never really hit 230 on the gauge but it's hovered very close at times. The bouncing is often momentary (downward), then settles back up.

The mechanic/restorer who worked on the car had noticed the high temps after running a while and used an IR gun on the engine and found it seemed to be "normal". It sounds as though the mistrust of the original gauge is pretty common. I even saw (maybe on Hall or PIM, saw replacement gauges and sending units for all the instruments. I was tempted to order the bunch, but part of me wants to keep as much of the original stock stuff that I can. The radiator is the stock unit. I'm trying to remember, but I believe it was flushed this winter as part of the work I had done. I really thought the 10-blad/high CFM fans would be the solution, but it sounds as though I may want to replace it at some point with a Fluidyne or some other. My wife is not hot on me owning the car (as with most women, a car is for transport from A to B, so I have to be judicious with how much and what I spend. Fortunately, it all comes from another account!

Do you guys think its' worth replacing the gauges and sending units? The guy who's been working on the car tries to save me money -- i.e. - not spend it if I don't have to. His feeling is, if the car isn't blowing steam or leaking after a drive, I'm probably OK. It seems so weird that this is such a consistent, notorious issue.