Got a question for you guys. Can you run these engines WITHOUT a thermostat installed?? And when I mean "these engines", I mean like the "68-'72 350, 455 engines. A family member of mine who does mechanic work told me that it wont hurt the engine, that actually if you encounter a "stuck closed" thermostat, you could possibly do damage to the engine due to no coolant circulation. What do you guys think????
Can you? Sure. Should you? probably not. Whenever you change the thermostat its a good idea to confirm thats its opening, drop in a pan of water on the stove and turn up the heat. I've had several new stats that didn't work and it will save some headaches. Why do you want to run without one? Oh, and don't let your wife or mom catch you:laugh:
you can run without one but you should run a plate. Summit sells some but all it is is a round plate with a 1-2 1/8-1/4in hole in it. Which is plenty for proper flow as the water needs turned up or it will not cool properly. But what allot of people do is drill the same 2 holes into a stock thermostat. That way if it ever gets stuck, well it wont matter.
