This is from back in my racing days. To read engine temperature directly, go the a department store, to the housewares department, and buy a meat thermometer, the type you stick right into the meat. Make sure the stem is either 1/8" or 3/16". Get a compression adapter from 1/8" or 3/16", which ever you have, to 3/8" pipe thread. Drill through the adapter, the same size as the tube. Install the adapter in the head, slip the compression nut and ferrule on the meat thermometer stem. Insert the thermometer stem into the head untill it bottoms out, and pull it back about 1/4" or so, then tighten the compression nut, gently, until it is tight enough to hold the thermometer stem in place. You're done. The fitting is about $2, the thermometer runs from a dollar to seven dollars depending on the quality. we used to run one on our TAD.
Cool tip! most meat thermometers seem to be 6" or so. Can you cut them, or do you have to install them somewhere that you can push most of it into the motor?
Laura and I along with Scot Cave have returned from our cross country round trip to the LA Roadster show in California. Scot drove his 671 supercharged flathead Deuce sedan and of course we drove our supercharged ARDUN roadster. The round trip complete mileage was 6106 miles. Both cars performed perfectly we experienced NO problems what's so ever. Two great back yard Hot Rods gave us excellent transportation across our great land. Our roadster received a very warm welcome from the host club of the event. Seeing 800 roadster in one place at the same time is a thing of beauty. While we were in California we never saw a cloud in the sky temps were in the high 80, s and 90, s perfect top less roadster weather. We took advantage of the great weather cruising in the California sun and the great evening air. Going west we stopped for the day in Wendover Utah but not before we took both cars onto the salt flats. I must say wet salt is really messy to clean off but we had a great time experiencing such a historic part of our Hot Rodding heritage. We left California last Monday morning drove threw the desert in 110 degree weather let me tell you that's hot in a roadster. The roadster body was so hot I could not rest my arm on the top of the door as I drove. We experienced these temps threw Nevada, Arizona and a portion of Utah. We arrived home Friday at 6:30 PM. Thursday we drove 760 miles so we could arrive home on Friday most days we drove over 550 miles. The roadster at highway speeds of 70 to 75 is really cumfterable even with bias ply tires. Laura and I were not sure if our body's could handle the hours and miles on the road but we always felt good at the end of each day which was usually 12 or more hours of driving. The ARDUN never missed a beat even at elevations of well over 8000 feet I never even touched the carburetor settings. We even got decent gas mileage. The lowest mileage we got was when we were pulling the long grades to the highest elevations. So for mileage we had 17.4 to high of 22.5 most of the time we averaged 19 MPG this turned out to be even better than I had hoped for. As far as I can tell this is the first time a Supercharged ARDUN has been driven across the country and back. Just wanted to let you know a little about our trip. One picture is Laura and I on the the windy and wet Salt flats the second picture is the entrance road to the Roadster show in Pomona I just love trains so I had to get a picture in front of the Union Pacific 2-12-2 Steam Locomotive the largest of its type in the world.
Ronnie, we love your car, and glad to have you here! You'll get the hang of posting in the right spots Back on topic, I guess it depends on what motor you have. It would probably fit in a flathead head.
You seem to always come through... You just save me $37 each for Mooneyes and around $24 each for Jegs...and I certainly didn't want any parts on my rod to say Jegs..... I'll get right on it.......when the wife isn't looking!
Can't have that... Kichenaid, that's where it's at LOL! I actually used one of those liquid filled jegs ones on an OT car, works good. I put it on the back of the manifold, you have to look to see it, but it's easy to read.
works great....... -i probably could have done it with a single adapter if i would have went to a plumbing store but napa had these and i was in a hurry.... -i had to drill out the hole in the 1/8" pipe to 1/8" compression fitting...the stem of the thermometer wouldn't slip down through -it still has a little leak around the thermometer and I'm a little afraid to tighten it any more... -seems to work real well..... -if you're not careful when you're tightening the nut, it can spin the thermometer out of calibration...i put my digital thermometer in to get a temp and then calibrate it back where it is supposed to be.... thanks, enjenjo!
:"and of course we drove our supercharged ARDUN roadster" Of corse you did , Most of us don't drive ours all that much. Sorry , it was a great story about a fun trip, but dam, you threw that out like EVERYBODY must have an Ardun or two.
Cool idea. The cheapy digital oven thermometers make a handy diagnostic tool too, if you make an extention cord for the thermocouple.
Hey, I remember this thread from the first time around! Thought it was cleaver then, and still do now.
Thank you very much. I bought this on Ebay about 10 years ago just because of the logo. I have used it in the the radiator fill to check temps but it will be cool to have it on the engine. I have no idea what it came on.
If memory searves me right, since it has the prefix T68L, I believe it would have been a special service tool from 1968. Am I correct?
did the same thing while breaking in our 383(next to t-stat housing). Kept a surface temp gun on hand to monitor temp, but this temp(orary) temp(erature) gauge worked like a champ. Just a few adaptors needed(LOL). The old man had it hidden in his toolbox and I swear he got anxious to start the motor just to see if his little temp gauge set up worked.
Thanks for bringing this back up. I will have to do one. Just have to remember that the temp is good to go at lamb and poultry. Running alittle cool below medium beef. Neal
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