Well... the electrical end of things will be happening here soon, so I've been gathering parts and whatnot to re-wire. I've been studying diagrams and have come across a question I can't answer. Are the gauges in the '56 f100s 12v gauges? I know the pre-'55 gauges are obvoiusly 6v and looking at scematics for 57-58 F100s shows a voltage reducer in the diagram but I don't see one in any of the '56 diagrams?? So does that mean the '56 gauges take on a full 12 volts?

 

1955 and prior years: 6V positive ground / 12V (negative ground) introduced in 1956.

The gauges are 12V and the temperature (B6C-10884-A) sender and fuel gauge (B6AZ-9275-A) sender are 1956 FoMoCo Passenger Car/Thunderbird/Truck only.

At one time the temp sender was almost impossible to find NOS, was selling for up to 50 bucks...30 years ago!

1CVR (Instrument Cluster Voltage Regulator) introduced in 1957 Passenger Cars/Trucks. There is no ICVR on any 1956 or older FoMoCo vehicle.

You need a 1956 shop manual, 1957 trucks were an all new design, had myriad different changes. Try faxonautolit.com for an original or reprint.

 

Thanks for the info! Was wondering about that. Ford must have found an issue then added in the voltage reducer for the '57 model year and on. My guess would be a more accurate reading from 6v gauges rather than 12v gauges. Yes I do have a factory '56 Shop manual. Knowledge is power and I've already used that thing a countless number of times!

I see that Dennis Carpenter carries that temp sender for $60. Ouch! I wonder if I can get it to work with a later model sender, perhaps adding in a voltage reducer for that gauge.... hmmm... Be worth a shot before dropping the $60.

 

The '56 sender is a different design than what was used 1957 and later, has larger diameter threads and is much longer.

B6C-10884-A .. Temperature Sending Unit / Obsolete

COLLECTORS AUTO SUPPLY in Oroville WA has ONE = 800-414-4462.

B & L FORD in Ashland PA has ONE = 570-875-4417.

GREEN SALES CO. in Cincinnati OH has TWO = 800-543-4959.

KLIMESH MOTOR SALES in Calmar IA has SEVEN = 563-562-3241.

 

Wow! Thanks Bill, appreciate the sources and the info!

 

Well I managed to locate a used '56 temp sender, unaffortunately it's not gonna work, too long to go into the intake. So- now I'm thinking... can i use a later model sender withteh '56 gauge? There's a style that's 3/8 pipe thread and typically a single stud terminal used throughout the 60s and 70s (seem to be common sender throught these years) I have one on my late 70's Ford trucks.
Or- is there a gauge I can swap into the '56 cluster that will allow me to use this sender?

I realize Mid-fifty sells and gauge/sender combo for over $100 but I'm trying to avoid having to shell out for that by using some junk yard or commonly available parts.

Does anyone know the ohms sweep of these later model senders?



How about the ohms sweep of the factory '56 gauge?

What has everybody else used for their stock guage with a non-stock engine?

 

Sorry I don't know the Ohms range for the sender, but I think Mid Fifties Ford sells the senders. I bought a complete sent of reproduction senders & gauges to fit my 56 F-100 cluster. They are very helpful.

Mid Fifty F-100 Parts - Home

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h50/flstni05/052.jpg

 

Hope this helps.

Ohms/Resistance
(Empty/Full) Popular Models
0-90 Ohms most GM cars, 1965-up
73-10 Ohms pre-1989 Fords & most Chryslers
240-33.5 Ohms Industry standard, works on many popular cars
0-30 Ohms most pre-1965 GM cars
16-158 Ohms most '89-up Fords
http://www.fordification.com/tech/fu...ding-units.htm

 

The temp sender doesn't go in the intake on these, they originally went in the back of the head.

 

The original intake set up has the heater fitting in it only, and no other fittings, for a correct '54-'56 Y-block layout. Originally, the oil sender went down on the left side rear, near the oil filter location, and the temperature sender went to the rear of the left head. Left and right as sitting in the cab looking forward.

 

Like this, except the '56 272 is yellow, not red

 

Oh yeah, the aftermarket senders that are "stock" work fine with the original gauges. Bill refers to what is NOS available. You will have to decide if you only want NOS, which is fine, but expensive, or willing to use available reproductions, which look, and function exactly like original, and are not the crap that they have been reputed to be.

 

Yeah that's helpful for the fuel tank sending unit end of things, my my fuel sender seems to be ok, so we're good there. I need something similiar for common temperature sending units. Thanks though!



I have one of these which I believe is a stock '56 sending unit, the orange one on the left. (has 12V stamped on the hex area) The other could be for '53-'55 but not sure.


This is where I'm trying to put the sending unit.



Problem comes in where it's too long to go into the intake manifold where I have an available spot. The probe bottoms out inside the intake before the threads tighten up. It's just too long. I'm running a 390 FE rather than the stock 272 so that's where some of the problem is created. Was hoping to find a suitable substitute for a sender that will work with the gauge itself.


@Screw That-
Yeah I have the voltmeter and oil pressure/sender from mid-fifty. Figured I'd be able to run the factory temp sender in the intake, but it won't fit in my application. Mid-Fifty wants to sell a gauge/sender combo to the tune of $70 and I'm trying to avoid paying that as much as possible. I see they sell a sender that is supposedly for Ford/Datcon. I wonder if that would work? I'd like to know the ohms sweep of the stock '56 temp gauge, that's probably help quite a bit.