VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 1932...Themostat or No Thermostat

I have heard people debate this issue a number of times. Some people swear the 32 used a thermostat but I don't see any evidence of it like a recessed ring for it on the head. What is the opinion of the experts on this. Some have said their car runs cooler with the stat in it.

A thermostat for 1932 was an accessory item. My all original 1932 Chevy doesn't have a thermostat and on a warm day the temperature gauge reads right on the normal mark or slightly below.

I've had my 1930 since 1969 and have never used a thermostat. No problems in hot or cold weather.

I have had our 31 for 51 years. Per the advise of a man that ran a radiator shop I put a .020 brass plate with a .625 hole in the center between the head and the top hose adapter to slow the water flow down. I run straight water. No problems. I do not run our cars in the winter. I drain the water. Fill with straight anti freeze. Run the engine about 5 minutes and drain. No problems here either. When I had more than one 30s car I used the same solution in each car.

Just courious why you run straight water rather than leave the antifreeze mixture from over the winter??

Thanks, Larry.

I was having a problem with the water/anti freeze foaming the one time I tried it. I'm told it is because the water pump packing is letting it suck air. With straight water I do not have the problem and the packing does not leak water and it doesn't foam. I'm no expert but it works for me. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I run straight water in my '32 as well.

Using a 50/50 mix of anti-freeze is supposed to increase boiling point of coolant slightly and supply lubricant to water pump. I have used straight water and added some water pump lube coolant just to be safe. I was having overheating problems and did not notice any cooling advantage of antifreeze over straight H2O.

Anti-freeze does not have cooling advantage, it raises the boiling point. This might help in some cases.

Actually the increase in boiling point with 33% to 67% antifreeze approximately retains the original heat transfer of water only at a proportionately higher bulk coolant temperature. The testing to determine that is fairly complicated and I will not go into the details only summarize. The group I worked for did extensive testing in the 70s using rotary engined test vehicles to determine engine metal temperatures under various conditions. We also measured bulk coolant temperatures and flow rates allowing total heat transfer calculations.

We also tested several other cooling system additives to determine their effectiveness or deficiencies. Most coolant additives like soluble oils (aka corrosion inhibitor and water pump lube) inhibit heat transfer while doing little to nothing to lubricate the pump.

My 32 with a new FS radiator core and without a thermostat ran so cool it hardly moved the gauge, which has been checked and working correctly. I added a 160 degree stat as I think it helps the combustion process with a little warmer engine. With the original correct carb and no stat I only got 10-12 mpg.The carb was rebuilt by a VCCA member and performed well in all other areas. Since adding the 160 deg stat and changing the carb to a replacement 569s I get 18-20 mpg.

All internal combustion engines run best at 180deg.

Actually the higher the combustion temperature the more efficient, up to a point. That point is determined by the construction of the engine, materials used and ignition timing. The other point is the boiling point of the cooling system which is controlled by the pressure and coolant mixture.

An example is most modern engines run ~ 200 deg F coolant temperatures. Of course emissions requirements are part of the compromise. NOx increases with increased combustion temperatures so that becomes a limiting factor with newer engines but not the antiques.

Probably not the right forum for this reply,but thought I'd put down my observations.My '28 1 ton truck engine would not run properly,even on a very hot day,and the motometer hardly ever registered.Cured the problem by fitting a 160 degree thermostat.It now runs nicely at about 160-170 degrees,and warms up better and the MPG has improved.

What modifications did you have to make to the neck to install the thermostat in your 32? Did you have to cut a recess in the neck or does the thermostat just sit inside somehow?

Hi Guys,

For 30 years I ran no thermostat in my 28 Tourer. Fitted one about 4 years ago, standard unit fiited into head water outlet. Stayed with standard small by pass hole in thermostat.

The engine reaches operational temperature quicker and maintains a constant temperature.

I run an overflow tank, with a low pressure cooling system, keep the water right up to the top of the filler neck via the overflow tank, and check the water once a week, but only need to top up every 4 months or so.

The other benifit of running a low pressurised cooling system is I can use modern coolant.

Regards

Ray

Steve
All that is required is a thick gasket and a small block V-8 thermostat. There will be enough give in the gasket that you will get a good seal. Have done it several times.

I used two gaskets-one that fit the outer diameter of the stat and the second that fit over it. Now that I've read Chippers comments it sounds much easier.

Great pictures-thanks for sharing.

I have had a problem using the "Low silicate formula" anti freeze. This one does foam and it does not have anything to do with the water pump. It probably does not foam when used with pressurized coolant systems.
I aded a small amount of a silicon based anti-foam addititve commonly used in water-based adhesive systems and the problem was resolved.
If you only have a couple of cars to maintain, water works fine but is does cause rust. A 50/50 anti freeze has rust prohibitors in it and it keeps the block like new. One of my cars was in storage for 17 years with the antifreeze mixture in it. When I drained the system and pulled the engine, there was not a spec of rust in the block.

I have used the low silicate "long life" antifreeze for ten years and have not had a problem with foaming.

If you have air being sucked into the coolant antifreeze will foam. Without the added air No Foam. Simple as that but hard to get into peoples minds. The fact that plain water does not foam does not mean that the air does not exist and reduce the heat transfer inside the engine. In this case out of sight out of mind is not good.