65 Big car fuel gauge. Burnt resistor?
 

Is it common for the resistor on the back of a 65 fuel gauge to get burnt? The one that came with the car looked burned and overheated. The Bakelite board also looked cooked. Still functioned within a few ohms of the replacement, and the gauge is in car now working perfect.
Did the car perhaps have a short to ground at the sender for a prolonged period of time?

Just curious as to what might cause this...

Hard to say from just a photo, but that resistor is designed to handle at least 3 watts of current.

In normal operation it does get warm to the touch and after 55 years in the car it is a part that can fail. Heat and the passing of time are the enemies of anything electrical.