58' Thermostat

[Dwight B.]

My 58'283/270hp is no different from my 78'L82 or most vettes in that it is hard to keep the temp down in the summer. Is there any reason to have a thermostat if you do not drive during the winter months? Seems to me that removing the thermostat removes a restriction to water flow that has to help keep the temp down.

Thansk
Dwight

[Dennis C.]

Re: 58' Thermostat

Dwight - Suggest you leave the thermostat in place, whether it be a 160, 180, or whatever. It does no harm, causes the engine to warm quickly to operating temp and keep it there. Removing it will not cause your engine to run cooler under hot temp conditions. I'm sure we will hear from folks more "expert" than I. Best, Dennis

[Dennis C.]

Re: 58' Thermostat

Dwight - Suggest you leave the thermostat in place, whether it be a 160, 180, or whatever. It does no harm, causes the engine to warm quickly to operating temp and keep it there. Removing it will not cause your engine to run cooler under hot temp conditions. I'm sure we will hear from folks more "expert" than I. Best, Dennis

[Joe L.]

Re: 58' Thermostat

Dwight-----

The thing that folks sometimes forget is that a thermostat controls only the engine's MINIMUM operating temperature. The temperature that the engine actually operates at is dependent upon a whole lot of other factors, including the capacity of the radiator and the overall condition of the cooling system components. If you were to remove the thermostat it will have no effect, whatsoever, on making your engine run cooler. It may even have a deleterious effect on coolant flow.

Generally, you want an engine to run at as steady-state temperature as possible. A thermostat helps make this possible as long as the cooling system is able to maintain the temperature of the thermostat's set-point. If the cooling system can't do this, removing the thermostat isn't going to gain you anything. Whenever the temperature in an engine rises ABOVE the thermostat's set-point, it means that's the best that the cooling system can do under the circumstances.

[Joe L.]

Re: 58' Thermostat

Dwight-----

The thing that folks sometimes forget is that a thermostat controls only the engine's MINIMUM operating temperature. The temperature that the engine actually operates at is dependent upon a whole lot of other factors, including the capacity of the radiator and the overall condition of the cooling system components. If you were to remove the thermostat it will have no effect, whatsoever, on making your engine run cooler. It may even have a deleterious effect on coolant flow.

Generally, you want an engine to run at as steady-state temperature as possible. A thermostat helps make this possible as long as the cooling system is able to maintain the temperature of the thermostat's set-point. If the cooling system can't do this, removing the thermostat isn't going to gain you anything. Whenever the temperature in an engine rises ABOVE the thermostat's set-point, it means that's the best that the cooling system can do under the circumstances.

[Dave Suesz]

Yikes!

If your radiator is not cutting it nothing you can do to the thermostat will help. Isolate the problem by checking to see if the thermostat you have is working. Take it out and boil it in the kitchen, check to see if it is open. Radiators can easily be caked with sediment on the inside, make sure it is clean. People also forget the outside of a radiator, a couple of nice coats of paint can cut down on heat dispersion just as badly as a bunch of crud on the inside. Removing the thermostat assures that the only time the engine runs right is when it finally starts to overheat after taking way too long to warm up. BTW, my 55 original radiator and 0.030 over engine do not overheat, are kept clean inside and out.

[Dave Suesz]

Yikes!

If your radiator is not cutting it nothing you can do to the thermostat will help. Isolate the problem by checking to see if the thermostat you have is working. Take it out and boil it in the kitchen, check to see if it is open. Radiators can easily be caked with sediment on the inside, make sure it is clean. People also forget the outside of a radiator, a couple of nice coats of paint can cut down on heat dispersion just as badly as a bunch of crud on the inside. Removing the thermostat assures that the only time the engine runs right is when it finally starts to overheat after taking way too long to warm up. BTW, my 55 original radiator and 0.030 over engine do not overheat, are kept clean inside and out.

[Dick W.]

Re: Yikes!

Another function of a thermostat is to slow the water flow down. Too much flow and it does not speend enough time in the radiator to remove the excess heat. Even racing engines that use the stock style water pumps have flow restrictors installed in place of the thermostat

[Dick W.]

Re: Yikes!

Another function of a thermostat is to slow the water flow down. Too much flow and it does not speend enough time in the radiator to remove the excess heat. Even racing engines that use the stock style water pumps have flow restrictors installed in place of the thermostat