Hey there. I've got a 64 valiant with no working gauges. Nothing on the cluster works. I really am only concerned with having the temp. gauge working for now to keep an eye on it. What is the easiest, most practical way of hooking up a temp gauge? What is a decent gauge to use? The original wire and sender are gone. There is an aftermarket gauge installed that doesn't work and the sender hole is plugged. What is the difference between a mechanical and an electrical gauge? The guy at NAPA wasnt any help with this one. Thanks....hope you guys can help.

The easy way out would be to buy a new aftermarket temp guage and install that.

The mechanical temp guages have a tiny hard line filled with freon which moves the guage as it expands with temp. I have had bad luck with the tube getting damaged and leaking out it's fluid (gas) so be careful with it and route it out of the way.

The electrical gauges are pretty easy to get working as long as the gauge itself is good. You can test them with the instrument cluster out, using 12 volts and a couple of jumper wires.
DD