Thermostat housing
 

I think I’m going for a painted look on my thermostat housing.
Are the after market aluminum ones all the same or are there sources for better made and finished ones?

Those cheap chrome ones at least for chevys start flaking and the less expensive rotating billet one I’m Leary of also.

I’m not going the 130$+ route on a billet one.

Thanks for the help!

Rock auto has cast iron ones for around $12 . Better finish - IDK but I painted it and it looks as good as the factory aluminum that was roached out .

What year and model?

Depends on the year and car. 66-70 is one style, 71-later is another, 65-earlier yet another, and then there's tripower cars. I have a '65 LeMans 4-bbl. with the radiator inlet on the LH side, so I just use an OEM aluminum 66-70 style. Might have an extra if you need one.

Thanks for the tip’s fellows.
My bad for not telling the year and model. My car is a ‘75 TA.

I am pretty sure you should be able to find reasonably priced really nice OE housings out there - they should all be very well priced...

I just flipped open my latest Ames catalog, and your housing is... wait for it;

.

..

...


$17.

Thanks for all the help!

This is a great forum

Just get a used original take-off. Either way, you'll readily find out that gaskets usually leak and will end up just using straight RTV as the service manual recommends.

I just bought one from Oreilys online store like a month ago. Cast aluminum. Fit fine, doesn't leak. Could easily be painted. I think the cast grain is a little more course than the factory unit, so maybe it doesn't look perfectly stock but only the most anal of observers would notice.

I cant remember the brand, but it was about $20. There were two options IIRC. A dorman unit and the one I bought.

My original unit had internal corrosion that made the hole too large to hold down the thermostat adequately. Because of that experience I would personally advice against a 60 year old take off.

This short video doesn't show the new one because I didn't have it yet, but it shows the problem I discovered I had and was leading to strange cooling issues.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FHUtY2uQkkY

i really like the CVR one i have, but OUT was it expensive, but i do like the orings and the ability to swivel it....
but over a $100+ now, i'd explore other options for sure

65$

http://nitemareperformance.com/waterneck-pro.html

Did you fix your cooling issue? Any root cause? I ask because my 67 was running 185-ish just fine in the winter, but on a recent drive on warmer days it would pop to 205-210, not where I want it. I just bought a new tstat to put in, but such a simple answer is rarely the case...

It was the housing.

Car used to run bang on the thermostats +/- 2 degrees unless you sat at idle for a good long time. Then it would creep.

Then all of a sudden it was taking longer than normal to get to temp but once it got there it wasn’t staying put. Especially in hot weather. (In the winter it wouldn’t get to temp at all)

It’s because the stat was sitting cockeyed and not sealing. Caused all sorts of issues because it wasn’t controlling coolant flow like it should have. Once I replaced the housing I’m back to where I was. It will still creep up higher than I like if I sit in a long drive through. But normal driving it’s bang on the thermostat.

The bare aluminum neck that Ames sells has worked well for me. You can paint it easily.

https://www.amesperf.com/parts/23926/

second this

Interesting. Yeah, I looked up a 1973 LeMans and the dorman neck looks as if it is cast iron. May grab one and look at it.


.

I just bought the MotoRad brand thermostat housing from Rock Auto where it’s listed as “steel”. The one in the box is cast aluminum. At the time of the order, it was the only one in stock.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...r+outlet,10337

This is the one I used. I put lions head gasket sealer on both side of the gasket and stuck it to the housing and bolted it down. No leaks

That would be OK for a strip only car but without provisions for a correctly baffled PCV pick up it would not be suitable for the street. The Tomahawk Valley Pan is the best for a street car, factory style baffled for the PCV plus it clears roller lifters.

https://butlerperformance.com/i-2445...pp-tp-042.html

The link is for a water neck, not a valley pan.