Temp gauges on brit race cars?

[karls59tr]

My TR3 daily driver blew a bypass hose and lost a gallon of coolant and the gauge still read 185F! What kind of gauge do racers use to monitor engine temperature? I'd like to be forewarned of overheating and the stock gauge isnt telling me anything.

 

[Michael Oritt]

Karl--

The temperature sender on your TR3 is normally immersed in coolant but when the coolant is lost whether through a blown hose or boiling over the sender is then sitting in steam and will not give you a reading of the situation. Since what happened is unlikely to occur again (maybe it is time to check all your hoses) and the stock guage should be fine for you.

Most racers use Auto-Meter mechanical guage but if used in the same sending port the result would be the same. There are adaptors that allow you to place the sender into one of the coolant lines but still if there is no water the indication will not be accurate. Perhaps you might want to consider a temerature sender that attaches to the block or head and sends a signal at a predetermined temperature that activates an idiot light--if placed near your line of sight it might catch your eye as the temperature was on the rise, allowing you to shut down and save the engine.

 

[Monkeywrench]

We run a coolant pressure warning light on the dash. It's a blue light (so it's different than high temp and low oil psi), but it goes on when the coolant system pressure drops.

 

[karls59tr]

Where can you obtain a coolant pressure warning light and where do you install it? Thx Karl

 

[BoyRacer]

I use the original stock Smith's "safety gauge" for both my oil pressure and water temperature in my 1959 Austin Healey 3000. It is still very accurate for both water temp and oil pressure.