Thermostats?

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Owlseye

Member
OK I am running an 8BA/EAB flat head in my 1933 BB truck. When I got this engine it had no thermostats in it. Guessing it is around a 1948-1952 engine. I am running dual temperature gauges. One left head and one right head. Both are in the head between 2nd and 3rd cylinder on each side. Should this engine have thermostats? If so what temp and where do I put them? In the upper hoses or in the heads? I realize that flat head Ford V8's are basically 2 four cylinder engines that share a common radiator and crankshaft. The temps that my engine is running are not even. The right runs hotter then the left. Do I need to flush the engine again or look for a reason for the temp difference? Before I put the engine in the truck from another truck it had been sitting many years. I pulled off the water pumps and flushed each side as well as I could by running water in thru the pump opening and back thru the heads to remove loose sediment in the block. I put new water pumps on the engine. I had Ronnie Robbins at Robin's radiator repair the radiator. It did not get a new core, but has great flow and no leaks. The truck seems to run hot. 190 to 200 degrees right hand, 180 to 200 left hand. When moving temp seems maybe OK. When you stop after about 5 or 10 miles it hisses and loses some water from the overflow pipe. I know these are not a pressurized system, so what is expected? Sorry for the long post, just trying to sort out the old boy and not do any harm.
 
Thermostats install in heads under these >


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1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 Ford / Mercury Flathead V8 Thermostat Housings 8BA

I don't know if you are running a stock radiator or not but the 8BA in my stock '53 was pressurized with a 7 lb. radiator cap. Uses 180° stats. Given the temps you state, I don't think your engine is running hot. You might want to attach a puke tank on the radiator...
 
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Engine seems to be running in the temp range it´s suppose to be.
OEM thermostats being 195F.
They should be located under the 2-bolt housing at the water outlet.
Since the engine is designed to run pressurised and the radiator ain´t...dependind on if the top tank can take some pressure you can install a pressure valve on the overflow tube of the radiator to make it loose less water.
 
The thermostats will help bring the engine up to operating temperature quicker and maintain a minimum temperature, but should have little to no impact on the temperature above that minimum. I would run at least 185 deg thermostats or higher.
 
Thermostats will also act as restrictors when it gets hot so that the liquid can stay in the radiator longer to be effectively cooled during higher rpms.
 
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