My 1971 Costello is nearly finished its resto has its MOT and just sorting out the snags. It's fitted with a factory V8 oil temp gauge but it's not fully working. Obviously when new it wasnt the gauge used when Costello did it in 1971. What should it be fitted with. Will a standard MGB oil temp gauge work correctly or should I get my factory V8 gauge rebuilt? Help and views appreciated Thanks Paul
If your car was converted in 1971 a normal MGB oil pressure/water temp would have been used as in my 1970 roadster and it is fine - this gauge is oil pressure 0 to 100 lbs and water temp in deg F .
I understand ( from factory people years ago) that because the Rover V8 engine is a low oil pressure/high volume system that the works MGB GT V8 gauge was altered slightly to show the oil pressure range of 0 to 80 lbs so that the needle would run more in the centre area of the gauge and not worry new owners !
I don't know if this was really true but it makes some sense as my car runs around 25 - 30 lbs when hot (and has done for 30 years) and this means the needle is barely past the quarter scale on the 0 - 100 range.