Thermostats

[Patrick67BJ8]

I use a non-bellows common thermostat with the blanking ring on my 3000 engine. Seems to work fine. Supposedly, it takes longer to warm the engine, but I don't drive in freezing weather anyway. The blanking ring has some small holes to let air out of the head. The major worry is that the rim of the blanking ring + the thermostat + gasket can be a bit thick for the groove, so one might have to deepen the groove.

Someone posted that you can install two gaskets.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

I talked with David Nock today and told him what I removed from my car and what I had in the way of the bellowed thermostats.

he was familiar with both and said not to use the bellowed thermostats because they fail closed and you will overheat quickly.

David told me what he had and I ordered that and I should have it on Monday. I will post photos as soon as I receive it.

Thanks to all who participated on this post

My new thermostat that I ordered from BCS came in today and it is the shiny one in the center. It is a 167 degree F and is stamped “WAXSTAT” 74 degrees C.

I did a little bit of measuring on the outside diameter of the ring and the waxstat is the smallest diameter. The Robertshaw one is the largest diameter and the bellowed one is very close in diameter to the Robertshaw one. The gap on the waxstat is a 1/16” smaller diameter compared to the Robertshaw one which means, imo, that the ring will allow more water to flow by it and David Nock did confirm that. The waxstat also has a small hole that should take care of bleeding off the air in the system.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Patrick

Good luck with your cooling system. Although, I am not sure anything will really help much when it is 104F to 108F day-after-day as it has been this summer.

red57

There really isn't a perfect solution. For what it is worth, I use a sleeved wax thermostat; watch the temperature gauge religiously and carry a spare thermostat and gasket in case of failure. So far so good.

You can hedge your bets by using partial blanking.

My thermostat looks exact like one in the photo you posted.

 

[WHT]

Hi Patrick,

Yep, they look to be the same. It appears to be a good compromise given those available today.

As John said, they require either a housing modification or a thicker gasket.

Seems to work well!

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Hi Patrick,

Yep, they look to be the same. It appears to be a good compromise given those available today.

As John said, they require either a housing modification or a thicker gasket.

Seems to work well!

Hi Bill,
David did not say to add anything, but I think there’s enough room for a thin blank off ring. I will check with David again. He said he uses the mechanical fan he sells plus a reworked radiator and a electric pusher fan. It does get hot In Stockton, Cal.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Hi Bill,
David did not say to add anything, but I think there’s enough room for a thin blank off ring. I will check with David again. He said he uses the mechanical fan he sells plus a reworked radiator and a electric pusher fan. It does get hot In Stockton, Cal.

I found this on a Facebook site last month and saved it and I just found out where I saved it., (don’t ask where) Let me clarify my "don't ask where" comment. I found it in my wifes "cooking files" files. How it got there, I do not know, but I must have saved it there.

 

[WHT]

Hi Patrick,

Looks like a great recommendation.

I think that will be our next change to the BJ8. So far, running temperature has been no more than 190F; but I have not tried driving it at 108F ambient yet since it is down as we install a new leather interior (almost finished). BTW, I saw one of your posts on installing carpet with the recommendation to buy a "good" pair of upholstery scissors. Thanks, doing so really helped!

While the car is out of service, I did a final tweaking of the hardtop side window openings and interior trim pieces after using it for 8 months. The side window openings fit the window glass perfectly with a consistent 1/2-inch overlap weather-seal. I guess practice does make perfect. Anyway, I am out of epoxy resin and don't intend to buy any more! Just have to cover the two fiberglass side trim pieces with vinyl (again) and install the top.

While using epoxy, I made two fiberglass covers for the top panels over the toe boards. The covers have inner neoprene gaskets and screw on with 4-rivnuts installed in the metal panel, and they make a tight seal. Will cover their outer surface with carpet. A cardboard template for the passenger side is shown below. Good heat seal and its easy to unscrew them to access the area.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Hi Patrick,

Looks like a great recommendation.

I think that will be our next change to the BJ8. So far, running temperature has been no more than 190F; but I have not tried driving it at 108F ambient yet since it is down as we install a new leather interior (almost finished). BTW, I saw one of your posts on installing carpet with the recommendation to buy a "good" pair of upholstery scissors. Thanks, doing so really helped!

While the car is out of service, I did a final tweaking of the hardtop side window openings and interior trim pieces after using it for 8 months. The side window openings fit the window glass perfectly with a consistent 1/2-inch overlap weather-seal. I guess practice does make perfect. Anyway, I am out of epoxy resin and don't intend to buy any more! Just have to cover the two fiberglass side trim pieces with vinyl (again) and install the top.

While using epoxy, I made two fiberglass covers for the top panels over the toe boards. The covers have inner neoprene gaskets and screw on with 4-rivnuts installed in the metal panel, and they make a tight seal. Will cover their outer surface with carpet. A cardboard template for the passenger side is shown below. Good heat seal and its easy to unscrew them to access the area.

Hi Bill,
I agree with you about David Nock's recommendation for our cooling problems. He certainly has had enough experience with the temps in Stockton!
I don't think we need to be out driving around in our Healeys with 108F, either. I am glad you saw my post about using upholstery scissors for carpet cutting. Best $45.00 tool I have ever purchased! Some guys in the club borrowed them and said they helped a lot when they did Dick Solomon's BJ8.

I am tweaking my Hardtop seals a little, too, with my downtime. I can find many posts about installing Hardtops for Roadsters, but hardly anything on Convertible Hardtops! I think the custom window trim pieces we made for our Hardtops may be the best modifications to the Tops. Andy at Xtreme Upholstery did a great job on the Headliners too! Did I send you a photo of my compass installed on my Hardtop? (That may be a good topic for the Forum someday.) I am not sure what you mean by "toe boards" Can you post a photo or two?

Hopefully, I will have my engine/radiator all flushed out and the thermostat installed by the end of the week, with results to post. The instructions say I must drive 300 to 400 miles before draining the cleaner and installing the new coolant. Okay, maybe in a few weeks unless if it cools down outside.

 

[WHT]

Hi Patrick,

The compass was a good idea.

We spent a lot of time and effort to seal the car to improve heat transfer and road noise. The tub and tunnels were covered in KoolMat and then with 1/4-inch closed cell waterproof foam sold for boat decking (and used here as a replacement for jute). The foam was glued to vertical surfaces as would be jute and left unglued on flat surfaces for removal if needed. The KoolMat is sealed like a shower floor liner and the tub is waterproof.

Used a press and silicone adhesive to glue the waterproof foam to the silicone side of the KoolMat around the toe boards and transmission opening (other adhesives will not stick to this side of the KoolMat). And then, I glued carpet to the foam as you would normal jute. The first picture shows the fiberglass side of the KoolMat, and then the closed cell foam glued to the outer silicone side.

The second picture shows the KoolMat/foam composite glued to the toe board areas and transmission tunnel opening. Holes were punched in the KoolMat and foam so they would lie flat over bolt and screw heads. The holes were later filled with sealant.

The last slide shows a cardboard form used to make a template for the fiberglass covers I mentioned. The cardboard was used to make a wood mold to layup fiberglass covers to close off open area on both sides of the car. Everything in the opening was first sealed with grommets before installing the covers; but, the covers are an additional "layer" of sound and heat proofing. I realize, most people don't cover these openings.

The floor carpet snaps were sealed with automotive seam filler on the bottom of the BJ8 so the entire structure is waterproof inside and out, Not that the car will ever see water!

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

I have videos of all three thermostats opening up under heat, but I can not get the files reduced to post and I would like to do that. Can anyone edit the files and post them? Message me.
Thanks

 

[François]

Hello, hoping some of the preceding dialogue-folks are still paying some attention to this riff.
I purchased a 57 TR3a with many of its parts in buckets. One is a bellows type thermostat, as pictured below. I'm wondering if this is one of those originals that some people prize, or is it a later imitation. Original picture has tons better resolution. States: "Smith's Motor accessories," "43570/22," as well as "71C 160F."
Any info would be appreciated.

 

[Bristol401]

Too expensive to do that! A I hope she never finds out that I put the wire wheels in the dishwasher pot scrubber setting.

You can get your own pot at goodwill for just a few $$.

 

[BoyRacer]

Real car guys have their own pan.

 

[steveg]

I ran a fail-open 180 with a cutaway Moss blanking ring for a while. I used a second green gasket to compensate for the double thickness of the metal parts. The blanking ring was cut away except for enough to cover the transfer port.

 

[Healey Nut]

I have an original blanking sleeve kicking around in my parts boxes if anyone is interested .
I don’t plan on using it . PM me if you’re interested .