Adding speed hut oil temp gauge

[Fman]

Has anyone here added the oil temp gauge to speed hut vintage gauges? I am considering for a winter project ditching the clock and replacing with oil temp gauge. The clock is pretty much useless IMO. Not sure how difficult this would be with the car finished.

[JIMOCO]

I added the oil temp gauge separate from the clock. I also added a vacuum gauge. I don't see why you could not replace the clock with an oil temp gauge. My clock placement is on the lower portion of the dash and I can get to it easily without removing the dash. The challenge is routing the wires to the sender and keep it neat. if your clock is higher on the dash it will make it more difficult but it can be done. After my dash was installed I removed my water temp gauge and returned it to speed hut because I wanted fahrenheit rather than celsius. No issues. I think the power and light connections for the clock are the same as the oil temp gauge. You will need to run additional wires to the sender. Where do you plan to put the sender. I tried the oil pan and was not getting a good reading as it was above the oil level. I added a spacer (Glow Shift Sandwich Adapter) between the engine and oil filter that had a threaded hole for installing the sender. Better result but if you have a location for the sender that reads the temp of oil exiting the engine rather than entering you will get a more accurate reading.
154998

[Fman]

I added the oil temp gauge separate from the clock. I also added a vacuum gauge. I don't see why you could not replace the clock with an oil temp gauge. My clock placement is on the lower portion of the dash and I can get to it easily without removing the dash. The challenge is routing the wires to the sender and keep it neat. if your clock is higher on the dash it will make it more difficult but it can be done. After my dash was installed I removed my water temp gauge and returned it to speed hut because I wanted fahrenheit rather than celsius. No issues. I think the power and light connections for the clock are the same as the oil temp gauge. You will need to run additional wires to the sender. Where do you plan to put the sender. I tried the oil pan and was not getting a good reading as it was above the oil level. I added a spacer (Glow Shift Sandwich Adapter) between the engine and oil filter that had a threaded hole for installing the sender. Better result but if you have a location for the sender that reads the temp of oil exiting the engine rather than entering you will get a more accurate reading.
154998

Thanks for the info, I was planning on running oil temp off the bung hole off the Champ oil pan. Would you rather have a vacuum gauge or oil temp gauge between the two? Speedhut also offer a fuel pressure gauge. I figured I would just remove the clock because I really don't use it at all and it never seems to keep the correct time. Having any gauge there would make use of the space.

[egchewy79]

Clock runs fast. Would be less of an issue if it ran slow. Now I have to go through 11+hrs to get it back on the correct time. I've been using the GPS clock function on the speedo instead.

[JIMOCO]

Others may know more than I but I think if you are pushing your engine to its limits racing or other motorsports a temp gauge may be most useful since excess heat is an engines worst enemy. If you put the sender on the oil pan make sure it is fully submerged in the pan. if it is too high in the pan you will get a temp reading of the air and engine gasses circulating above the oil. You want to know your oil temp. If you are monitoring overall engine health a vacuum gauge can tell you a lot about your engine. Steady reading = normal operation. Continued fluctuation of 1 to 2 inches may indicate an ignition problem. You should check things like spark-plug gap, primary ignition circuit, high-tension cables, distributor cap or ignition coil. Fluctuations of 3 to 4 inches may point to sticking valves. Head gasket problems will show significant drops. Lower than normal vacuum might be caused by bad rings or other compression or vacuum leaks. Since I do not race, I like the vacuum gauge as an indicator of normal conditions.

[nuhale]

The gauge is not a big issue. Just a resistance 1 wire. I have coyote with Moroso pan. Fit in PS port one wire to speedhut gauge. One pointer is to make sure you specify F or C with speedhut. I didn’t and got F. Didn’t realize it til all together and one of those minor annoyances that my water temp in C and oil in F.

[Fman]

The gauge is not a big issue. Just a resistance 1 wire. I have coyote with Moroso pan. Fit in PS port one wire to speedhut gauge. One pointer is to make sure you specify F or C with speedhut. I didn’t and got F. Didn’t realize it til all together and one of those minor annoyances that my water temp in C and oil in F.

I will make sure and get the proper gauge thanks for the heads up... I actually already converted my water temp to F, was not a fan of the C display.

[CraigS]

I'd go w/ oil temp. Although I don't race on a track I do autocross. There and on the street I use oil temp to tell me when I can flog it. W/ an 8 qt pan, on the street, it takes longer than one would think to get the oil warmed. I use 180 as my minimum temp for full throttle.

[tonywy]

I'd also go with the oil temp gauge,especially if you are doing any "spirited" driving. I always keep my eye on oil pressure, oil temp and coolant temp. The last gauge I would put in is a clock. When I'm out in my favorite car I don't want or care what the time is.

[CraigS]

I should ad why I like the oil temp gauge. I once snapped the oil pump shaft at an autocross on a cold day when I didn't think to get the oil warmed enough. Of course it was replaced w/ a stronger shaft but I had learned my lesson.

[RBachman]

That's strange. Mine clock keeps great time, only requiring adjustment if the battery is pulled. I wonder if SpeedHut will replace or fix it for you?

Clock runs fast. Would be less of an issue if it ran slow. Now I have to go through 11+hrs to get it back on the correct time. I've been using the GPS clock function on the speedo instead.