Motor Meter readabliity

F

Fred Ryan

Junior Member
I have a 29 Coupe. The Motor Meter is difficult to read from the drivers seat but is easy to read while standing outside beside the front axle.
Question - is it possible to rotate the glass tube 90 degrees counterclockwise so that it is easy to read from the drivers seat?
 
I just put a new thermometer in my quail--very easy to turn in any direction, if yours is the same. Just loosen the brass nut on the bottom of the thermometer, turn it to where you want it, and re-tighten
 
Fred, I think you'll find that the readability issue is related to the very thin line of red. The farther away you get, the less obvious it is. As Russell says, yes you can rotate it any way you want (around a vertical axis), but you may not be able to read it from the driver's seat anyhow. I know I can't read mine until it gets above 200F or so. A temperature sensor and gauge might serve you better. Motometer does look nice, though.
 
This was a problem even when the Moto meters were new. There are many patents from the time of accessories, and accessories for the accessories, trying to fix the fact that the Moto meter is practically useless – it’s difficult to read in the day, impossible to read at night, and prone to informing you about overheating after the car has overheated.
 
If it is an original one turning it slightly towards the driver worked for me ,if I am worried about it at night I have a flashlight.
There was an accessory light that fit on the front.
 
The Moto-Meter is a decoration. When it goes red, the engine is already over-heating. A temperature gauge is far superior if want to monitor the engine's temperature.
 
Actually the motor meter was designed to detect the beginnings of steam from localized overheating before all the coolant was boiling.
 
What do you guys think of the spring on the bottom stem of the lollypop in the radiator, so that it sticks down in the water, or the outlet hose stream?

BTW; I had to take the moto-meter off my car (theft thing...), and have the gage now.
 
My testing with IR thermometer with my 1968 motor meter and original one matched each other.
And the rear of the engine was with a couple degrees of the front,they even swapped the higher readings several times
 
Legend has it that Henry didn’t use or offer them because, he supposedly said, "Any fool can look across the hood and tell whether it is steaming or not." A Moto-Lite helps at night.
 

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I went with these gauges and mount from most venders.The cowl lights light it up pretty good but I like the gauge better.
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I suggest considering the motor meter as an eccentric ornament and installing a temp gauge. Most of us Model A owners are long past the age of having vision capable seeing very a thin line at a distance of 1.5 meters unless the ambient light is playing in our favor.
 
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