Thermostat

[Livin' in the 80's]

Originally Posted by Roadster

Wow, they did some serious surgery on that stat....
Good idea with the tote and great pics....
And I assume the engine is running just fine!!!

I took my wife to diner after the surgery and the new t stat works great. I drilled two 7/64 ths holes because i didn't have an 1/8" bit. I filled with green coolant and blew into sys until all bubbles came out-pulled off hoses at the the t body to burp.

I love this car for sure! I smile every time i drive it.

[A26B]

Originally Posted by Dynomite

That is what I call a FAILED Thermostat. It appears the thermostat was open all the time and further.....the lower spring pressure to keep from recirculating was near zero.

I agree, "butchered" comes to mind. Bypass spring pressure would have been the same when the thermostat was restricted to the confines of the t-stat housing, bypass valve seated and gooseneck installed.

Without the top valve spring to hold the valve closed like the new one on the right, the Bypass spring has the t-stat valve shaft at maximum extension. Bypass spring looks the same, 6 coils, same gauge wire. You probably see the same extension when you "cook" a t-stat to test it.

Picture is sort of an optical illusion.

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by A26B

Bypass spring pressure would have been the same when the thermostat was restricted to the confines of the t-stat housing, bypass valve seated and gooseneck installed.

Without the top valve spring to hold the valve closed like the new one on the right, the Bypass spring has the t-stat valve shaft at maximum extension. Bypass spring looks the same, 6 coils, same gauge wire. You probably see the same extension when you "cook" a t-stat to test it.

Picture is sort of an optical illusion.

Yep.....you are correct on the bypass spring being pushed back compressing the spring once in the housing. I do not think correctly this time of night.

It does look like that top spring is missing which must have been by someone who wanted to maintain the recirculating function but have a wide open thermostat. That is the trouble of those thinking they can just remove the thermostat completely which cannot be done because of the resulting recirculation. They do not realize a lot of coolant would then always bypass the radiator.

[A26B]

Originally Posted by Dynomite

Yep.....you are correct on the bypass spring being pushed back compressing the spring once in the housing. I do not think correctly this time of night.
You think that was a modified thermostat or failed thermostat??
It does look like that top spring is not complete.

Looks like the whole spring is gone to me. I think what may look like a black coil of spring is actually the valve rubber seal on the od. Looks like it has been cut or extruded around the metal on the right side.

I think it was modified. Someone cut the coils & removed it.... at least I hope so

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by A26B

Looks like the whole spring is gone to me. I think what may look like a black coil of spring is actually the valve rubber seal on the od. Looks like it has been cut or extruded around the metal on the right side.

I think it was modified. Someone cut the coils & removed it.... at least I hope so

I was thinking and editing and you caught me in the middle

At least the modification someone did to that left thermostat makes a lot more sense than eliminating the thermostat. I wonder how that modified thermostat performed when 100 deg ambient...that would have been interesting as the open area was definitely greater than a stock thermostat when full open at say 185 deg or a bit higher.
That is a test I would like to do sometime leaving the recirculating function in place.

I could take one of my older stant thermostats and modify it as shown on the left and measure that open area as a start to see what can be done compared to a stock thermostat. There WILL be more flow through the radiator and probably less radiator pressure because of the reduced resistance to flow as compared to the stock thermostat with a smaller Full Open area.

Originally Posted by Livin' in the 80's

OK. Here is the deal. I changed the thermostat today.

Do you have any data on engine temperatures and ambient temperatures and other conditions running with that modified thermostat you removed?

[Livin' in the 80's]

Originally Posted by Dynomite

I was thinking and editing and you caught me in the middle

At least the modification someone did to that left thermostat makes a lot more sense than eliminating the thermostat. I wonder how that modified thermostat performed when 100 deg ambient...that would have been interesting as the open area was definitely greater than a stock thermostat when full open at say 185 deg or a bit higher.
That is a test I would like to do sometime leaving the recirculating function in place.

I could take one of my older stant thermostats and modify it as shown on the left and measure that open area as a start to see what can be done compared to a stock thermostat. There WILL be more flow through the radiator and probably less radiator pressure because of the reduced resistance to flow as compared to the stock thermostat with a smaller Full Open area.




Do you have any data on engine temperatures and ambient temperatures and other conditions running with that modified thermostat you removed?

I didn't drive it too much as the engine temp was extremely low. The ambient temp was between 30 degrees and 50 degrees. The temp gauge read maybe a needle width above the 100 degree line when driving it. If you let the car idle for 15 minutes, it would come up about 1/4 of the gauge and return just over 100 degrees after driving it a short distance. Someone definitely took the spring out when they installed it. I found no evidence of the spring anywhere in the housing.

[Livin' in the 80's]

I test drove the car at temperature and there are some clear issues with the SuperChips PROM. It still backfires on decel and the fans run all of the time with the climate control off. It also seems to run rich. I will be ordering the PROM from Marc. Holy crap this car is fast-I still have a perm-a-grin from yesterday.

[Livin' in the 80's]

Originally Posted by Dynomite

That is what I call a FAILED Thermostat. It appears the thermostat was open all the time and further.....the lower spring pressure to keep from recirculating was near zero.

The new thermostat is from Jerry and it does have a gasket on it. It is a little different of a design and has a rubber sharp lip on it. It appears as not having a gasket, but it is there if you look close. I used a thin scraper to hold the thermostat in while I got the housing in place. I then crossed my fingers that it was in place correctly. It doesn't leak, so we are all good.

[rush91]

Originally Posted by Livin' in the 80's

I test drove the car at temperature and there are some clear issues with the SuperChips PROM. It still backfires on decel and the fans run all of the time with the climate control off. It also seems to run rich. I will be ordering the PROM from Marc. Holy crap this car is fast-I still have a perm-a-grin from yesterday.

I would throw that SuperChip PROM in the trash.....I just got my PROM back from Marc and wowie!!!! The car idles better, doesn't have the hard restart issue, no 1-4 shift, and seems to have more torque down low.

[Livin' in the 80's]

Originally Posted by rush91

I would throw that SuperChip PROM in the trash.....I just got my PROM back from Marc and wowie!!!! The car idles better, doesn't have the hard restart issue, no 1-4 shift, and seems to have more torque down low.

It will be ordered today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!