Finnaly on the road and loving it.

[olblu66]

Got my taggs finally. Put a couple 100 miles on it and it is a thrill.It's a unique complete turnkey 427.Motors a Southern Auto. 428.I've had the car about a mounth now, but was having trouble with the dmv.in Georga. Have a couple things to run by you unique owners.1 I have S.W. GAGES. The rpm sets on 300rpm when not running, It dosn't 0 out. 2. While running the car the oil temp. gage dosnt register anything,but when you shut it off it goes to 160. 3. The fuel gage with a little over 12 gallons reads full and its 20 gallon tank. Does anyone else have these problems? It's a hoot to drive thow. HAPPY NEWYEARS. PAT

[pgermond]

Glad to hear you got everything squared away with DMV and are on the road - legal! There just ain't anything better than driving a Cobra, bar none [:P]

I have Autometer gauges and the tach stops at whatever RPM I'm at when I shut off the ignition. The oil gauge sounds like it needs some looking into - 160 when it's off? Didn't now the SW gauge went that high! You DO need an accurate oil pressure gauge (personally, I wouldn't drive until I had it operating properly - when oil pressure is low you find out to late). My fuel tank is pretty much dead on, but I'm of the understanding these are 16 gal tanks.

Have a great 2005 filled with lots of fun/hazard free driving.

Phil

427 Roadster, #4279436
Southern Automotive FE
3:31 and Toploader

Roseville (N.Cal)

[olblu66]

Hay Pgermond. Thanks for reply. On the oil pressure item. There's two gages. Oil pressure and oil temp. The oil temp. goes up to 325 and starts at 140.Thats the one i don't get a reading on when the cars running.The oil pressure is aroud 50 psi.

[pgermond]

Ah, oil temp... missed that part. 140-160 degrees is where mine runs.

Happy driving!

Phil

427 Roadster, #4279436
Southern Automotive FE
3:31 and Toploader

Roseville (N.Cal)

[GeorgiaSnake]

Phil, If you only reach 160 on the oil temp you need to check it out. Either you are getting a bad reading (could be the location of the sensor) or you are not generating enough heat. The oil needs to get hot enough to boil out gas and water from what I've read. I block my cooler off in the cooler months.

Randy

Unique 289 FIA
Southern Automotive 396
Team III 16's
Brilliant Silver

[Brent]

Pat,

Your first trip sounds VERY normal. Lots of fun, oil temp does not read, SW gauges are junk! Fuel reading off about 50%.

All perfectly normal.

If the oil pressure gauge works your set! Drive it and have fun.



Brent
4279401
Candy Apple Red/White
402 FE/Toploader/3.54

[dmiller]

my tach reads whatever the rpm is when the engine is shut off. but switching to "acc" or "on" again without starting the engine will zero the tach. the tach is very erratic, indicates various rpms regardless of true engine. seems more erratic when the weather is hot than when weather is cool

my oil temp reads about 220 degrees after 30-45 minutes of driving. it is very slow to indicate any temp, but seems to stablize at 220 regardless of outside air temp. my sensor is in the line to the remote oil filter, at a "t" coming out of the remote filter adapter, no oil cooler.

doug

[clayfoushee]

Old Blue, all normal for the SW gauges. My tach stops wherever it was indicating when I shut down. Turning the key to accessory will drop it down to 200 RPM, which is really zero for this tach. Sometimes it sticks at about 1000 RPMs too high, but a knuckle tap will also drop it down to more or less accurate. SW gauges are just like old aircraft gauges, and pilots have used the knuckle tap for years.................

On oil temp, if you're running a Canton pan with the sensor on the pan, it will tend to be cooler than actual oil temp. Mine rarely indicates above 160, but if I put an IR thermometer on the pan after running, it indicates the same as water temp (where it should be).

Phil and Brent are right about the oil pressure gauge. That's the important one.

Clay

'98 Unique #9299, 427FE side oiler (452.1-stroker), top-loader (close), 3.31 rear

Annapolis, MD

[weaver]

Pat, we set the fuel sending unit to show empty with 5 gallons left in the tank, depending on what your gauge showed when you filled up it may have only held 12 gallons, did it go all the way to full? Your temp gauge is probably correct, on a cool day with an oil cooler your oil temp just isn't getting up to temp, it is a mech gauge so the temp will rise when you shut the engine off, that is normal. Don't worry about the tach as long as it reads correct when its running.

Alan

[pgermond]

So, is the fuel tank 20 gals or........?

Phil

427 Roadster, #4279436
Southern Automotive FE
3:31 and Toploader

Roseville (N.Cal)

[weaver]

It is a 20 gal tank, I just filled up a turnkey we are about to deliver and the gauge didn't move until it hit 6 gallons and I shut it off at 18 gallons with the needle just hitting full, I could have put more in but I try not to fill up the filler neck, it might splash out under hard cornering.

Alan

[pgermond]

Thanks, Alan. I don't know where I got crossed up with the 16 gals, but 4 more gals allows me an extra 25 mi! :D

Phil

427 Roadster, #4279436
Southern Automotive FE
3:31 and Toploader

Roseville (N.Cal)

[ralphscott]

Alan I use a Racket Ball (blue)on my 427 to keep the fuel from splashing out cut a small hole in the top of the ball and pressed it on the nut on the inside of the cap in the center. Been on there for a couple of years now, works great. Is Maurice hard to live with today?? Love it when an SEC team wins in the big bowls. To night will be interesting but not as exciting at least for for me

Ralph

[Mike Geddes]

Phil....16 gallons is what the tank is good for in REAL Imperial gallons. ( oh to be a Canadian.)
I get kinda mad when I go to a bar in the States and they give me a
16 oz. PINT of beer......it's 20 oz pints here, North of the line.

Anyway...I agree with everyone about the notes on the gauges,
My oil temp has only moved above the 140 mark once in 14 years,,,got to
about 142....Wow.

Mike

Mike Geddes

[ralphscott]

My oil temp also runs at 140-145 the sensor is off of the remote oil filter adapter. I am also running an oil cooler.

Ralph