Back in the seventies, I ran a Torker 340 intake. It had no provision for a mechanical temperature gauge. I just drilled and tapped a hole in the intake's water jacket, between the thermostat and the driver's side head - basically where the factory location was, and where Edelbrock puts the boss for a temp gauge on their present intakes (see below). The casting isn't real thick there, but I put several washers under the adapter, JB welded the washers and the adapter into place, then ran a mechanical temp sender. I ran this setup for over 15 years without any problem or any leaks. I don't have a picture of the old setup; the pic below is my present setup, but it shows where I put the temp sender on that old Torker. Cost: near zero. Sometimes I think ya'll overthink this stuff.
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