Oil Pressure Gauge Fitting

[Booker T]

Does anyone know what fitting was used on the factory oil pressure gauges (specifically for my 54)? When I purchased my car it did not have anything hooked to the oil pressure gauge. I added an aftermarket gauge in the glovebox when I did my rebuild. I now want to go back to the factory gauges.

It looks like 1/8 pipe but none of my fittings will thread in past about 1 turn. I thought the threads might just be buggered in the gauge I have but I recently acquired another gauge and it is the same deal there. It looks like the factory fitting would mate up with a flare of some sort once bottomed. My hope was to just use an aftermarket copper line and fittings and mate it to my factory gauge. Even if it did not mate to the flare I figured I just needed it to seal and not leak...

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Young Ed]

You might need one of these....

[Booker T]

You might need one of these....

Yeah, that looks like it would work! What exactly is that? Is it a standard fitting or a specific part for the gauge? Do you know the thread on that? Or I guess the real question is where could I get one and what would I ask for?

I took the gauge to the local Napa and a fitting supplier and they couldn't find anything...

Thanks for the help!

[Young Ed]

Go to a good hardware store(not depot or menards) and ask them for the fitting for the pilot light line for a gas water heater. Bring the gauge with if you can. If that doesnt work I could mail you one. I paid just under $4 each for them here.

[Jerry Roberts]

In our area we have appliance part stores , that might be a good place to look too .

[Booker T]

Go to a good hardware store(not depot or menards) and ask them for the fitting for the pilot light line for a gas water heater. Bring the gauge with if you can. If that doesnt work I could mail you one. I paid just under $4 each for them here.

I may take you up on that offer. Struck out at another two places locally. At this rate (I live a little bit out in the sticks) I will have $100 in gas invested in finding this thing!!!

Quick question...does the one you have thread all the way in and then mate up to the little flared part inside? Or does it just thread enough to seal the fitting?

[Young Ed]

The old ones I took apart looked like 2 pieces a fitting with a compression ring looking thing on the line. Supposedly when you tighten the fitting I pictured it breaks off and becomes two pieces like the original. Last weekend I helped ggdad1951 install one of these in his 51 1ton. It wasn't leaking on the few minutes of test running we did but we also didn't pull it back apart to see if it separated.

Oh and to make it more complicated Dad thought his 50s plymouths just used flare fitting.

[Booker T]

I'll make one more pass through my giant bucket o' fittings and see what I come up with. I had the male end of a compression fitting that would thread in quite a way. As long as it seals I guess I am good to go.

Problem is that even though I have 2 working gauges I am not sure how to test it for leaks at the moment because I just started re-wiring my car and have no way to start it. I guess I could used compressed air and see if it holds pressure to test for leaks?

[TodFitch]

I guess I could used compressed air and see if it holds pressure to test for leaks?

That should work as long as you regulate the pressure down to something the gauge is designed for like 40 PSI.

Wish I'd known about that pilot light fitting years ago when I was trying to replace an after market oil pressure gauge with the Dodge original on my '63. I ended up with a plumber's nightmare under the dash getting something that would go into the gauge on one end and on to the tubing on the other. And for years after there would occasionally be a small drop of oil that would escape that Rube Goldberg setup...