on my '53 Vrs. works now and again, usually when stopped it works. plugged into vagcom and the ecu still thinks its the right temp (will be reading 90 on vagcom but guage will show nothing) any ideas?

I think the coolant temp sensor has two circuits, one for the ecu and one for the dash temp guage, could be the sensor has failed or there is a wiring fault.

ive had a nose in my haynes but cant seem to find where said sensor is. any ideas?

On the right hand side of the block (looking from the front of the car), I'm not totally sure where it is on your car as I have a diesel. There was a recent thread on this which had pictures. You will just see four wires coming from a plug on a hose.

ill take a gander, cheers for the help!