Do the Thermostat and the transducer need to be alike to provide and accurate temp?

HI to all, i bought my 1987 90 earlier this year with a 2.5N/A. unfortunately on the drive home one of the core plugs in the top of the head cracked and popped out mixing all of the oil and coolant... lovely. So as a result of this i replaced the offending plugs along with the others to be safe. and while i was at it i rebuild the head. whilst i was at it i also changed the thermostat again as a matter of care. the thermostat it was fitted with was a 74 degree which i believed to be wrong for this engine as in the haynes and other sources it said a 82 degree should be fitted. so i fitted an 82. engine runs and cools fine, however temp gauge reads a little high now is this because the temp sender is 74 degrees too??
regards james

If the sender is calibrated to put the gauge needle in the middle at 74, then with an 82 degree stat it will read higher as the temperature is higher. You can change the sender if you want to. Personally I'd take the opportunity to upgrade to a gauge with numbers on it.

Thanks thats what i thought however i could not find the correct sender on paddocks well not clearly anyway. any ideas??

Leave as is, the gauge is only an indicator that the engine is running within thetemperature range.

That is unless you want to chuck your cash away on a calibrated digital system!

It's a Landy FFS!

I know im not bothered everytime i leave it parked uphill it leaves oil behind and that is just a landy thing aswell it doesnt bother me just one of those niggly things lol