I know I know one of the simplest things on a hot rod and I have questions on it. But I'm hoping most of you will remember the old saying "No such thing as a dumb question." Anyway, I have a mildy warmed over SBC in my '32 Ford. The thermostat housing has developed a leak this past weekend and while I am replacing the gasket I was wondering if maybe I should go ahead and replace the thermostat since I will be right there and the car has been put together for over 15 years. Just to give some backstory on the car: What is the rest of the cooling setup? 0 to Cool aluminum radiator, Edelbrock Chrome water pump, Cooling Components fan and shroud. Does it currently overheat? No, I can cruise around at parade speeds and never get over the 180 mark. Currently has a 180 thermostat in it. My questions are: Should I go ahead and replace the thermostat since I will literally be right there? Are there any benefits to these "high flow" thermostats? Should I consider upping the temp to a 195 thermostat to maybe make the motor run a little more efficient? Or should I take the stance of "If it ain't broken don't fix it." Thanks in advanced for all the opinions. Sorry for the dumb question.
If you have the shiny aluminum thermostat housing, you might consider replacing with a factory steel housing. The aluminum housings are nortiorus for rotting out from the inside out
if it's been 15 years-I'd swap it out with a Fail Safe- unit that fails in the open position instead of in the closed position. keep it at 180- no need to go 195 on an old school carbureted mill. -rick
I like drilling a 1/32 relief hole n the cheaper stant brand stats, I've pulled n returned at work all the fail safes sadly due to them actually doing what their supposed to. They worked n people brought them in wondering why they stuck open ? Flux
I remember iron ones on tri 5's. Aluminum ones work just fine if you keep fresh antifreeze in them. A little permatex will fix a leaker as well.
Chevy used iron water outlets (thermostat housings) in the 50s, into the early 60s I believe, then they switched to molded aluminum. The aftermarket chrome outlets are almost all made of zinc, and zinc is not very stable, it warps over time. For decades the aftermarket stock replacement outlets were made of cast iron. Now they're made of sand cast aluminum. About $10-12 at places like Oreilley, and they seem to work ok. You could probably spend some time and smooth and polish one if you'd like. to answer your question, I'm a cheapskate so I'd leave the old thermostat, since it's still working.
use a Stant 160 degree thermostat. drill a 1/8 hole inthe flange. always use a 160 with carbs,180 with fuelinjection. Chevy used cast iron and aluminum housings. a factory aluminum housing is much better then the cheap chrome imports. housings will rot from the inside out due to electrolisis. make sure engine is well grounded. run a 50/50 mix of conventenial green antifreze. do not use well water, in some areas the mineral content is to high and will cause corosion.
I just replaced my "factory" aluminum housing with an old iron one I had laying on the shelf. I was fighting a leak as well. While I was in there, I cut the guts out of the fail safe, it drove me nuts going up and down, up and down. I should probably have put a regular? 180 in it but it works fine now. Tim
Damn !! I had a 55 &2-57's between 62-68... just don't remember any cast thermostat housings...maybe that's the problem , I don't remember ... dave
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