Aftermarket water temp gauge sensor placement.

[BlueBaron762x39]

Where would the best location be to place an aftermarket water temp gauge sensor on a Pontiac 301 engine on a 1979 base model Firebird.  The factory gauges only have a warning light so I'd like to add an aftermarket gauge to better monitor the coolant temps.

[SoupMan]

If you have the map pocket (under the radio), you can take that plate off and make custom place to fit a 2" gauge. I did it a while back but now it's where my radio is installed.

My extra gauge are in the dash where the AC would usually come out but since I didn't have one I drilled holes in the bezzel.

[b_hill_86]

Good spot is on the water crossover on the intake near the water neck but if you have a stock setup you probably still have TVS’s installed there. I can’t recall if the passenger head has a plug.

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

I'd just put it where it is supposed to be in accordance w/ factory specs if you're using factory gauges.

And add teflon tape to the last few threads of the sender. I know they're NPT and are supposed to seal bare, but they almost always weep/leak trace amounts of coolant as the metals contract when cooling down if you don't use sealing tape, especially when they are in the cylinder head where gravity favors leaking. This is why a lot of temp sending units come with sealant on the last few threads brand new out of the box. The whole myth that the tape disrupts the ground is unfounded - the cutting action of the threads removes the tape from the peaks of the threads and restores ground, plus you don't need to cover all the threads with tape.