Thermostat or not ???

Depending on which water pump you have, with no thermostat, the car will overheat. The 3/8" hole in the brass washer under the thermostat leads to a radiator bypass circuit for quicker warm-ups. The 351C thermostat has a little plug on its bottom that enters that hole at full-open and plugs it. Otherwise, 25% of the water simply bypasses the radiator, and the Pantera's cooling capacity will not absorb that. Some aftermarket aluminum water pumps like Weiand do not have the bypass passage cast in, so in that case, any thermostat will work. But for all other cases, you need a 351C-specific thermostat.

Thanks very much
The replies arrived a little too late, I remounted the housing as it was before : without the thermostat !!
I'll get another gasket and re-open the housing next week and install the 180�F thermostat I have (for a 351C)
I tested the car and it was not over-heating , as I wasn't sure , I drove it with the 2 fans always on , so it runned around 160�F (according to the gauge).
Well thanks
Thierry

Gromo,

J deryke is right! I went through the whole gambit with mine this past year. I didn't know about the radiator bypass disk under the thermostat then, nor did the local Ford parts guy or the local parts store. I went from a 180 to a 160 thermostat and it got hotter. I couln't understand until I ask the folks at Wilkerson Pantera (it may be Wilkinson). They advised the water went through too fast and would continue to heat up. They said the Cleveland engine is designed to run between 180 and 190 degees. I then had do-gooders advise me to "plug" the bypass hole. This is a BIG mistake. The engine can't circulate water and heats up VERY quickly. Then the stagnant water has to heatup way too much before transfering to the thermostat and it then pops open. Then the cold water is sucked in by the water pump and hits those, by now, hot heads. If the thermostat happened to stick and delayed opening, you've got yourself a warped heads.

I run the correct Cleveland 180 thermostat with a Miloden high volume water pump, a Fluidyne aluminum radiator with two sucker fans. I have no problems even on a 100� day here in South Georgia while running the A/C.

[This message has been edited by Pantera1252 (edited 07-04-2002).]

Try a Stant # 29468
180deg./82c.
Got mine at pep boys.
You need a thermostat!

optional as needed:
Add modern rad available from any vendor with sucker fans from flex-a-lite(I sound like an ad,sorry)will cure all.
Don't forget the Rick Mosely relay kit too.
no problems.