Aftermarket Mechanical Temp Gauge Hookup Location

[Stephenorf]

I'm adding a set of aftermarket gauges to my 1959 Monterey. The stock gauge is still hooked up, but it pegs to the hot side after the car idles for 5 or 10 minutes (incidentally, the fuel gauge also pegs to the full side....I'm thinking the CVR in the dash is maybe bad?). Anyway, the only other place I could find to mount the sensor was at the water pump.



Running for 20 or 30 minutes at idle the new mechanical gauge barely moved off the cold side (like ~170 degrees), whereas the factory gauge was pegged all the way to the right.

I assume the waterpump is an OK place to gauge water temperature? I'm mainly concerned with monitoring the coolant temperature so as to avoid the engine from overheating.