When an older GM gauge "chatters" that is a sure sign that the buffering fluid inside of the gauge is gone.
FYI: GM put inside of all of it's gauges 2 or 3 drops of glycerin. The fluid actually serves 2 purposes: A) it acts as a lubrication for the moving parts inside of the gauge and B) it dampens the movement of the pointer so that the gauge reads smooth and steady. Over a time span of more than 50 years (summers & winters) the fluid eventually leaks out of the gauge. Once the fluid is absent the gauge bounces around with a herky-jerky motion, especially an oil pressure gauge. The final failure is that the pointer will detach from it's shaft and fall down into the cluster.
The fluid can not be expected to stay inside there forever.
I agree with all posts above that, in general service parts (in this case the sender) sold today for a 50 year old car are no longer made to the same quality standards as the original GM parts.
The cure in this case is to replace the dash gauge.
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Peter Serio
Owner, Precision Pontiac
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