Relocation of temp gauge

First, when you painted the surge tank, did you clean off the sender area and the tank mount area? The sender must be electrically grounded thru the 1/4" pipe threads to work. The tank is definitely NOT the place to put this sender. It belongs in the front of the block under the thermostat and the plug found there in unmodified Panteras can be used to plug the surge tank hole. The gauge will not read correctly if the water level drops much in the surge tank. Instead, it reads the air temp above the water, giving a false sense of security- right up to engine seizure. also, Ford dealers added a 1/2 watt resistor in the gauge wire to "adjust" the gauge reading to a lower number. Do not necessarily believe the gauge reading! Second, there were thermostats in the radiator right header tank that turned off & on the two fans, one at 180 degrees and one at 196. The first one tended to run all the time, so many wired it direct. Stock tank thermostats also fail regularly. Blocking the warmup channel under the thermostat with a 3/4" freeze plug is OK for summer use everywhere and winter in warmer areas. It allows one to use non-351C thermostats successfully but lengthens warm up times (& engine wear)in colder temps.

As far as the temp guage goes, when I took out the tank I stripped and painted it. I did not take out the temp unit. I put a band of rubber around the tank before I re-installed the clamp around the tank to keep it from scratching the tank. I did this on both tanks before I re-installed them. So do I need to take the rubber ring off the tank for the temp guage to work? I plan on moving it to the front of the motor at some point. Is the place in the front of the motor easy to get to?. Does the freeze plug work better than a thermostat? I don't drive the car in the winter at all. (Indiana) so I really don't care about the heat. I may drive it in the fall if it is perfect out at around 55-60 degrees far.Second.., the fans both work all the time now. Only one was working., but now when I turn on the ignition key they both turn on. I would rather have them working all the time I guess.

I just read your post again REAL carefully. So do you put a freeze plug in the hole and also intall a thermostat? What kind of thermostat would you put in besides a 351 Clev. one? and what is the advantage of putting the freeze plug in instead of putting in a stock 351C thermostat like what was there to start with?

The advantage of plugging the warmup passage is, real 351C thermostats with the brass 'hat' on their base to fit the bypass port, are getting hard to find and they only come in 192 degree. With a freeze plug in there, literally any thermostat including Chevy can be used. Without the plug and with a non-351C thermostat, overheating is guaranteed since some 25% of your water will bypass the radiator through the warmup port. Some factory units in the past were mislabelled 351W thermostats. Do not run without a thermostat; overheating will probably result. Racers sometimes use sized washers to replace the thermostat, but no one I know has done the study to find the right size hole for a street 351C. As power goes up, cooling requirements also go up. Unmodified Panteras usually do just fine with a few low-cost upgrades to the cooling system. Add in 450+ horses, and the fun starts....

I had no problem getting a 180 degree Clevland thermostat at Autozone.!!! Should I buy several just to have them on hand? If I put in the correct thermostat that's all I need...correct? Also on the other question about the temp guage...Does the tank need that metal strap to touch the tank to ground it? Also when the thermostat shuts to block the bypass hole is all that water trapped in that passage? Just curious.