VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 1928 thermostat

What is the temp rateing for a 1928 chevy thermostat??
Will other years fit this application?


Keeping vintage Chevy alive.

1928 specifications say that the thermostat must be fully open at 168 degrees.

According to the January 1928 Vol.2,No.1 Service Bulletin,page 8,the original bellows type of thermostat just starts to open at around 120 degrees Farenheight,and should be fully open at 150 degrees Farenheight.

Just remember that in 1928 methyl or ethyl alcohol were the most prevalent anti-freeze additives. So the thermostats were rated to help keep them in the cooling system. Another consideration is the radiator, cooling passages, water pump, etc. were also designed for proper cooling at those temperatures.

Today the anti-freeze/coolants have much higher boiling ethylene and propylene glycol and the cooling systems are designed for higher coolant temperatures.

So a 160 deg. is probably the best option but 180 is an option.

Just remember that the whole idea for the thermostat was to warm up the engine quick from cold starts to minimize oil dillution and improve engine efficiancy while running in cooler weather. You may not need one if you are just going to putt around the block and change the oil twice a year. A theromstat will not keep an engine from overheating if the pump isn't working of if the rad core is clogged or dirty. Not having one will make the engine run too cool at lower speeds depending on the temp outside. I personally will use one just because I am kind of a stickler about those kind of things. On my cars that don't use one I don't worry about it unless I am driving it in winter and then I cover the lower part of the rad with a cloth to manually raise the water temp some.