Has anyone installed a Mechanical Auto meter water temp. gauge in a 258or 232? A friend of mine just ordered one for his Charger and the sensor is huge. I looked at the hole for the sensor on my 232 and it looks like only a 3/8 fine thread bolt would fit in there which is almost the same size as the entire sensor on the gauge. Will I have to drill out and tap the hole for this sensor or will the sensor be different when ordered for an I-6 or maybe some kind or adapter?

i called Autometer and asked real nicely if they would send me the correct sized adapter...for free...and i had it within a couple days.

or, you can buy them from summit racing.

matt

From: Jeff Reynolds
Subject: Attack of the Auto-Meterites
CJ,
FYI, I installed all new gages (also spelled gauge) to go with my new 4.4L, I-6 engine. The factory $2 gages were o.k. when I had a $2 engine. None of them read very well. Slow and erratic. Here's some info if you are going the upscale gage route anytime soon. I have the Laredo Pkg, so in the dash were, from L to R, 2-5/8" clock, (sterring wheel), 2-5/8" tach, speedo cluster w/ fuel and temp, 2" volt meter, 2" oil pressure. The tach was the only gage that I thought was worth a hoot.
I spent some time perusing the AutoMeter cat. and figuring out what style was the best for my '82, CJ-8. The object was to replace the poor gages and add any I thought important. In the case of the water temp and oil pressure gages, I decided on mechanical instead of electric. They seem to respond more accurately, and the temp.gage will read all the time, engine on or not. I now wear bifocals, so the "large print" gages were in order. I settled on (5) 2-5/8" gages, including the tach. By installing the tach in an easy to read location on top of the steering wheel, I gained another hole in the dash. The tach has a black cup and black bezel that the ga. fits in. The rest of the gages have a black background, white numbers, red needles, and matching silver-gray bezels. The good news is the gages on either side of the steering wheel fit the factory holes perfectly. With the tach installed on the steering wheel, I had to trim the crash pad back a bit to clear the gage. I started digging into the foam with my Leatherman (use no. 39734189a), only to find the wiper motor was hidden behind about a half inch in. A bit shallow on clearance. The adjustable steering column won't go up to its highest setting. the Vacuum gage installs where the clock used to go. So from L to R the new gages are: Vacuum, Tach (over wheel), Water temp., and over to the right of the cluster, Voltmeter, and Oil pressure. These last 2 required enlarging the holes from 2" to 2-5/8" in an up direction. The clearance with the radio precludes enlarging down. I will needed some time to do the other installs as I had to drop the A.C. evaporator down and lower the windshield to get at all the screws to pull the dash back. These are the gages I settled on:

Auto Meter Vacuum Gage #3482, 2-5/8", 0-30 inches vacuum, 270 sweep, $30.95 from
Summit Racing. Needle straight up is 16 inches. (Mine idles at 15.)
Auto Meter Tachometer #2890, 2-5/8" Black, Low-Rev (0-4000 rpm), 270 sweep, $75
I had to set it at the 4 cyl. setting for MPI, I-6.
Needle stright up is 2000 rpm.
Auto Meter Water Temperature #3432, 2-5/8" mechanical, 120 to 240 degrees, 270
sweep, $49.95, Summit Racing. Needle straight up is 196 degrees (on
spec for MPI).
Auto Meter Volt Meter #3592, 8 to 18 volts, $28.95, Summit Racing.
Needle straight up is 13.2 volts ( on spec for good batt. cond).
Auto Meter Oil Pressure #3421, 2-5/8" mechanical, 0-100 lbs press., 270
sweep, $27.95, Summit Racing. The pump will go to bypass @ 65 lbs, so
this goes plenty high enough. (Needle straight up is 52 lbs.)

Notice that virtually all the gages read at a nominal engine setting when straight up, making them very easy to read at a glance. This little report got a bit anal, but I wanted to post it while I was in the throes of all these numbers and critera.
regards, as always, jefe