How's the temperature gauge supposed to be read?

[Secret Chimp]

Until today (warmest day so far), my 67 Coronet only ever barely got the needle inside of that inner bracket on the temperature gauge. Usually it'd stay a needle width outside.

Today, it got a good needle-width or two inside and was pretty close to the middle after I shut the car off at home and the coolant stopped moving around. It moved around a little from inside to outside as I drove the car around.

Is that inner bracket a normal-to-hot range, or is that hot-range that I'm supposed to be staying out of? I don't know if the car is taking forever to get warm or if it's been getting warm just fine and is now starting to run too hot.

 

[Deleted member 214]

the bracket is the normal range. I like to see my needle dead center when warm.

 

[hunt2elk]

If your gauge is accurate they usually run between 3/8 and 1/2. That's where my cars run anyway. When I had my gauges calibrated by Auto Instruments they considered it normal if the engine running temp. was anywhere inside the center bracket.