i have autometer manual oil temp and oil pressure gauges. well ive had them hooked up for about 2 weeks but theyve remained in the engine bay(car isnt driving).

i went to put them in the car yesterday and i came accross a problem. the oil temp has a probe and a massive nut on it. the nut is over about 3/4"(just guessing, im probably off a little). well the problem im having is, how the heck am i going to get this through my firewall? id have to use a massive drill bit to get a whole to accomidate this thing. i got the oil pressure ran fine, no problems, but this is going to be a task.

is everyone just using electric oil temp gauges? i thought manuals are more accurate. i have an oil pedestel to use electric. i just want having to buy another gauge to be my last resort. i figured someone on the forum may have already faced this problem and had a creative alternative. thanks

 

Remvoe the carb's manual choke cable but I used a large uni-bit to enlarge the hole.

 

My car had an AutoMeter oil temp, pressure, and water temp gauges installed when I bought it. Those big nuts were passed through a hole in the firewall just a few inches down and outboard of the oil filter housing. I'm not sure if this hole was stock, or drilled oversized to suit, but the nuts on the probe ends just barely fit through. If you do need to re-drill, use a step-drill (UniBit is one brand) as wackyracer says. This drill type is far superior to conventional drill bits for thinner metals. The local chinese tool supplier will probably have one for under $10 that will suit for light duty/occasional work.

 

i thought about going through the choke hole, but id like to retain my choke if i could. ill check it some more and see if i can come up with anything.

 

Go to harbor freight and buy the step-drill set (3 sizes) for less than $20 IIRC. The other place where I would do it is thru the transmission tunnel (driver's side/near the heater core). Thats hidden enough. Be sure to put lots of silicone to prevent water from coming in but I high doubt it unless your washign the engine bay.