Re: IML: 1960 Temperature Gauge

["Rob van der Es" <r.vdes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks Paul for your excellent answer (as always!)

To make things clear, what I have done is the following:

I replaced the thermostat that the previous owner has fitted in the car, it 
was
a 160 degrees one..
I guess he has done this due to the hot weather in California.

I always noticed that the temp gauge was reading quite low, just at the 
first mark after the C on the dial.
Since we have beautiful weather overhere at the moment with brigt sunshine, 
but temperatures at the freezing point the car can't reach a proper 
operating temperature anymore.

I have now fitted the normal thermostat that has the OEM specs of 180 
degrees. Since this one is opening later then the 160 degrees thermostat 
that was fitted previously it is quite logical that the needle is climbing 
higher then before. Question is: what is a normal reading on the dial of a 
60 Temp gauge?

Right now the needle points exactly at the middle of the dial, sounds quite 
OK to me but it is also the highest reading I ever noticed since I owned the 
car..

So I am a little concerned, but I guess that my car was always running on a 
too low temperature since the previous owner fitted that 160 degrees 
thermostat (which I wasn't aware of since last weekend when I decided to 
have a look at the thermostat..),

Robert
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "PAUL WENTINK" <randalpark@xxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 2:32 PM
Subject: Re: IML: 1960 Temperature Gauge


The gauges on these cars (1960 through 1963) were never very accurate.
Adding to this problem, over the years voltage regulator failures have
often overheated them. The regulators are notorious for burning out and
pegging the gauges. Usually, they can be saved if the car is
immediately shut down, but this can happen anyplace, and disconnecting
the gauges on the fly isn't a simple job. Most of them are just run
until they get too hot or burn out completely.

The cooling systems on our cars is able to handle just about anything,
as long as it is properly maintained and in good condition. I am okay
watching functional gauges for readings that are out of the ordinary.
The temperature and oil pressure gauges on most of my '60 through '63
Imperials read low, possibly due to what was explained previously. I
checked the actual temperature and oil pressure by having the cars
tested at the shop under normal operating conditions.

If I see the temperature gauge move high, or in the case of oil
pressure, low I shut it down and check for a problem. This occurred on
my '62 once after exiting a freeway. The temperature gauge suddenly
began to climb. Pulling over and checking things, I found a broken
belt. The car did not reach boiling, and I was able to change the belt
and resume my trip without trouble or having damaged the engine.

I think that the key here is to get to know your car, and then watch
and listen for change. That is usually the first sign of trouble. J.C.
Auto can rebuild and recalibrate the gauges on these cars if you want
them to read properly. Their contact information is on the OIC we site.
They do an excellent job.

Paul W.


-----Original Message-----
From: sjak brak <imperial1973@xxxxxxxxx>
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 2:17 am
Subject: IML: 1960 temperature gauge, was: 1960 Imperial brake bleeding



In my experience from the speedshop, the original Mopar gauges can
often get very inaccurate over the years. This can have various causes.



The only way to correctly check the temperature is to install a
calibrated gauge and sending unit. This will not affect the originality
of the car, since you can remove it after comparing the readings from
the calibrated unit with the one on your dash.




On 10/23/07, Rob van der Es <r.vdes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


Thanks for sharing this Richard!,



Your father is absolutely right, you need to adjust the cam adjusters
(4 in the front and 2 in the rear) frequently to get a good working
braking system.

I have adjusted the way you father described it, and I must say I have
a firm pedal that travel only halfway to the floor!



Maybe the other 60 owners, Paul, Tom, Kenyon and Charles can jump in on
this and tell us how much pedal travel they have?



And since we are talking about 1960 Imps here, what is the correct
reading for the temperature of our cars?

Since the weather is almost freezing cold here, my car doesn't reach
normal operating temperature. It just passed the Cold mark on the dial
and thats about it. Since it is a Californian car I thought the former
owner might have installed another termostat that opens earlier, so I
checked it and I was right!



The previous owner installed a 160 degrees thermostat!, I guess to
prevent the car from overheating in hot Californian summers.

I now have installed a 180 degrees thermostat (OEM standard
temperature) and the needle on the gauge goes higher then ever before!
It now stays exactly in the middle of the dial.

Is this correct?

I have never seen the needle climbed that high before, so I am a little
worried allthough common sense tells me that the middle of the dial
sounds quite good...



Just curious to know the readings on other 1960 owners temperature
gauges!



Thanks,



Robert


----- Original Message -----

From: richard burgess

To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ; Kenyon Wills ; Larry Blomburg

Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 2:47 PM

Subject: IML: 1960 Imperial brake bleeding





Hi Folks,



After spending countless hours working on the brakes on my '60 Crown
they are finally working properly. I think we bled them entirely three
times before getting everything repaired properly. The shop that
"restored" my chasis did not double flare the brake lines correctly and
had overtightened the flares at the bronze blocks creating distortion
and leaks. We ended up replacing all of the lines again and the blocks
as well, at the front frame and on top of the axle. The IML web site
was helpful but did not really address the issue of pedal going to the
floor. See below. Another tip, we elevated our brake bleeding bottle
on a small step ladder, that really helped keeep the air from returning
to the cylinders during the bleeding process. After all of this my
father had this to say:





For Imperial Club under "Repair" , "Brakes", "Brake Bleeding".



The 1960 Imperial and like years brake systems can be perfectly bled
and the pedal still go to the floor if the brake shoes are not adjusted
to require minimal movement to brake the drum. The bottom line is
that with six cylinders to provide fluid too, the master cylinder will
be at the end of its stroke (to the floor) before the wheel cylinders
have enough fluid (pressure) to push the shoes tight against the
drums. Chrysler knew this, as in the Maintenance Manual under "Pedal
goes to Floor" you (a) check fluid in master cylinder and (b) adjust
for worn linings . The obvious implication is that it does not take
much slack at the brake shoes to allow the pedal to go to the floor.
With the shoes properly adjusted tight against the drum and just
loosened enough to allow the wheel to turn freely you still will not
have a firm pedal until you almost reach the floor. That's just the
way it is. If you want to see this then tighten all the shoes against
the drums and then see how much pedal you have. You cannot see this by
pumping the pedal as the strong shoe return springs will push the fluid
back out of the wheel cylinders faster than you can stroke the master
cylinder. Adjust the shoes properly and frequently and you can get
good braking.



Richard Burgess

'60 Crown





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