Yep the temp gauge is a bit poor to be fair,
As long as you let it come up to half way before giving it some you'll be ok,
Mine takes 5mins of stationary idle before it's about halfway, the only reason I don't drive before that is mad piston slap which is embarrassing.
Anyway it gets up to temp and doesn't move that much, but by the time it's gone to the red you'll have problems cooked the engine anyway. So you could either fit an aftermarket one if your that worried, or just keep an eye on all your fluids.
It's a big old engine with the blower strapped onto it next to no 3 cylinder so it takes a good couple of hours to cool completely
Have a look at the expansion bottle about an hour and a half later and it will still be at the hot full line