All you guys who have mounted and plumbed a new mechanical oil gauge instead of using the IDIOT light, please help me out. Which gauge did you use? How do you plum it into the exisiting oil pressure sensor connectition? And did you still have the idiot light working? Also how/where did you run it through the firewall? and lastly where did you mount the gauge?
Do they make a small one that you could actually put inside the dash inplace on the red light area? thanks in advance

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66 dodge dart 270, 225ci, 3.7l, L6

I used the relatively cheap universal mechanical gauge you'll find at every auto parts store. I think it came with multiple threaded connectors/adapters for the line, and the one you need is the 1/8" NPT fitting. This will thread right into the same spot your idiot light's sending unit went. If you want to leave the idiot light working as well, you would have to add a T fitting of some kind and connect both the mechanical line and the stock sender.

I don't recall where I routed my line, I just found a convenient hole in the firewall. Probably through the worn out large grommet where the shift/park cables go through. Just make sure you secure the line well, and protect it from abrasion and heat. One cut in that cheap plastic line and you're spraying ~45 psi oil all over your engine bay. I replaced my mechanical gauge with an electric one when my Dart became a race car, because I didn't want to worry about this happening on the track.

The gauge I used mounted under the dash in a cheezy little chrome bezel. I think I found a pre-existing screw to mount one side and had to drill and use a self-tapper for the other. I doubt you could mount an oil gauge inside the stock dash without significant modification.

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Somehow I ended up owning three 1964 slant six A-bodies. I race one of them.
Escape Velocity Racing

good info. My sensor is much larger than the 1/8in npt. it looks big, like 1/2" or more?
does that make sense?

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66 dodge dart 270, 225ci, 3.7l, L6

I started with a cheap Equus 2-1/16" and it worked perfectly, then I moved up to a AutoMeter 2-5/8", used the same line and it worked even better, because I could actually read it!
I put in a "T" so I could have the idiot light and a gauge. I put the gauge cluster (Water Temp, Oil Pressure & Volt Meter) centered under the radio, bottom of the dash.

The water temp. gauge was more stressful to install, because I had to tap the head to a larger size, but it is Well Worth It!

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1964 Dart GT

Here is my installation in the cluster, I cut the idiot light hole open on the top (following the angles) and cut a rounded opening in the cover plate (where it said "oil") so the pressure gauge face is readable. It looks almost like it was made from the factory that way. I had to remove some material from the cluster case body and cut the circuit board a bit to fit it in there, but see for yourself:

http://s785.photobucket.com/user/67dart ... ort=3&o=80

The VDO back lighting is lighter green than the rest of my dash, I haven't figured that out yet, I need a darker green filter for the VDO bulb. I haven't installed it yet, too busy with other stuff. But, since this pic was taken, I have painted all the gauge needles to matching bright orange.

Brian

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https://tinyurl.com/yynpj4v2

that is cool. tell me, these gauges that say they are backlit, where are they getting power for that? do they use a small battery?

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66 dodge dart 270, 225ci, 3.7l, L6

No separate battery. They will have an extra wire (or two, if the light has a separate ground) that you wire to the same circuit that feeds the stock dash lights. If it's an LED type backlight the dimming function may or may not work light depending on the gauge electronics. Or you could wire it to the headlight circuit so you could dim the dash lights separately.

NPT sizes refer to the size of the line, not the size of the thread. 1/8" NPT has threads around 3/8" diameter, but they're tapered. Where is your stock sender located? On my '64 engine, it's on the passenger side of the block, low and to the rear. Other engines I've seen have the sender attached to the back of the oil pump housing, under the oil filter. I thought they all used the same thread, but I could be mistaken.

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Somehow I ended up owning three 1964 slant six A-bodies. I race one of them.
Escape Velocity Racing

Mine fit in the hole where the idiot light was originally. I had to use a brass fitting to make it work, but I don't recall the size threads. Worked perfectly for 4 years or so. It's the aforementioned Autometer mechanical gauge that is ubiquitous to most parts places. same cheesy chrome bezel, but I mounted mine in the instrument cluster where the idiot light was originally. The lights on the gauge simply splice into the dash light wire.

Do not use the plastic tube that comes with them. I did and it leaked, and stained the carpet. Then I switched to a stainless, braided line, and all has been well.

Sam

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NPT = National Pipe Thread. It has to do with the pitch of the thread and the taper of the fitting.

NC = National Coarse- coarse thread (fewer threads per inch [or TPI])

NF = National Fine- more TPI

Pipe threads are used in applications such as plumbing.