Australia '71 Ford Falcon New Fuel Gauge?

In Australia a '71 (XY) Falcon counts as a classic car, I think, because the Falcon GTS when in introduced there won all the races and is still widely acclaimed as the best car Ford ever made.

So I hope I'm in the right forum.

But really it is a general question.

Can I fit a generic fuel gauge? That's the question.

I've fitted a new gauge and it is not working right. The problem supposedly in the sender unit, according to the electrician who charged me $200 for fitting the gauge (and a water temp gauge).

The prices of these original Ford parts are getting prohibitive, our family doesn't have the funds for restoration projects and such.

Reading an article on Digital Fuel Gauges made me think maybe there's such an animal available nowadays that you can fit to any car and recalibrate to the suit the car you've got (or the fuel tank you've got, is the point I guess).

Not being a purist and wanting to save money and wanting to keep the old car running I'd be happy to fit anything that works better than the original and yet doesn't grossly alter the nature of the car - like I'd love to fit a new indicator switch system, Ford's original being weak, prone to fault. Same with the door openers on the XY.

So I've already asked this question of a friend and been told 'No' - but there's much more knowledge in these forums than my friend has, and knowledge of the USA scene, a much bigger market with many more things available...

So.. ??

ab :)

You have several choices for a universal or generic fuel gauge.

There are a number of companies that sell fuel gauges designed for custom cars, race cars and hot rods, including VDO, Auto Meter and Smiths gauges.

http://www.autometer.com/

http://www.vdo.com/generator/www/com/en/vdo/main/home/home_en.html

http://www.gaugeguys.com/Smiths/smithsindex.htm

Alternatley, farm and industrial machinery suppliers sell generic gauges intended for farm and construction equipment.

Boat and marine firms make marine fuel gauges, too.

Virtually all of these use variable-resistor fuel senders. You can probably find one that can use the existing fuel sender that you have in the gas tank.

Simply find the ohm range of the sender (its usually 0 to 90 ohm) and the grounding (older North American Fords are designed to send close to zero ohms when the tank is full, and ohms increase as the tank empties). Then find a compatible gauge.

So easy? So many choices? I had no idea. Thanks a lot for that.

:)