Coolant???

cederholm

cederholm

Senior Member
I was reading the installation manual from Vintage Precision's thermostat housing here and they say to not use anti-freeze.

My car is stored in an unheated garage and the thought of running "water-only" scares me.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks!
 
I installed a Vintage Precision thermostat nearly two years and 4000 miles ago. Have used antifreeze from day one. No problems with foaming etc.



I don't want to be the one who forgot they left water in the system over winter and then find they have cracks in the block when it thaws out.
 
Their instructions state, "it is generally better not to use antifreeze, it seems to foam easily and blow out of the radiator making a mess everywhere."

... I don't know what their problem was, but antifreeze certainly wasn't causing it. I'd ignore this particular gem.
 
Good Morning...I run the Vintage Percision system with 50/50 antifreeze and have for several years...Ernie in Arizona
 
alexiskai said:
Their instructions state, "it is generally better not to use antifreeze, it seems to foam easily and blow out of the radiator making a mess everywhere."

... I don't know what their problem was, but antifreeze certainly wasn't causing it. I'd ignore this particular gem.
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I saw that as well when I installed my VP thermostat housing. Couldn't understand just what that meant, as cars have been running antifreeze for years. So I use antifreeze and the 165 thermostat that VP supplied.

BTW, hats off to VP for excellent customer service. The VP operation is apparently a side to the company's main business, which seems to be heavy fabrication and machining in support of the many oil refineries in the communities surrounding Benicia, CA which is where they're located.

There is one guy (Casey) who "is" Vintage Precision, and he fabricates parts when he can get time on one or more of the machines. (I got the impression talking to him that his dad owns the parent company, and I think the person who answers the telephone is also part of the family). So he doesn't always have stock. I ordered my housing, and it came in, and only then did I realize that I should have also ordered the special $5 spacer they offer to stand off the sensor for my temperature gauge. No problem, a phone call, some mea culpas and I had it in two days, and no shipping charge for the separate mailing (they just popped it into an envelope and sent it out). A truly class act all the way around.

JayJay
 
JayJay said:
I saw that as well when I installed my VP thermostat housing. Couldn't understand just what that meant, as cars have been running antifreeze for years. So I use antifreeze and the 165 thermostat that VP supplied.

BTW, hats off to VP for excellent customer service. The VP operation is apparently a side to the company's main business, which seems to be heavy fabrication and machining in support of the many oil refineries in the communities surrounding Benicia, CA which is where they're located.

There is one guy (Casey) who "is" Vintage Precision, and he fabricates parts when he can get time on one or more of the machines. (I got the impression talking to him that his dad owns the parent company, and I think the person who answers the telephone is also part of the family). So he doesn't always have stock. I ordered my housing, and it came in, and only then did I realize that I should have also ordered the special $5 spacer they offer to stand off the sensor for my temperature gauge. No problem, a phone call, some mea culpas and I had it in two days, and no shipping charge for the separate mailing (they just popped it into an envelope and sent it out). A truly class act all the way around.

JayJay
Click to expand...

I found that too but getting a spacer from VP was not possible, even if I knew they were available. At that time, USPS couldn't get a letter from the US to Australia (nor New Zealand, I think). I couldn't use the gauge I had already fitted in the car. I pondered making a spacer using a collection of fittings but the American threads (NPT) are not so easy to get here. I have since found a supplier but I have also now installed a digital gauge which looks terrible.
 
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I like the way the Aussies chime in on every thread to remind us all not to take parts availability for granted. Like messages from some awful dystopian future (directed by George Miller of course).
 
Synchro909 said:
I found that too but getting a spacer from VP was not possible, even if I knew they were available. At that time, USPS couldn't get a letter from the US to Australia (nor New Zealand, I think). I couldn't use the gauge I had already fitted in the car. I pondered making a spacer using a collection of fittings but the American threads (NPOT) are not so easy to get here. I have since found a supplier but I have also now installed a digital gauge which looks terrible.
Click to expand...
The spacer is relatively straightforward - 1/2" NPT male to 1/2" NPT female - but it's not something you'd find in a hardware store simply because there is no application for it in conventional plumbing. Relatively easy to make if you have pipe thread taps and dies (and recognizing for our friends across both of the ponds that we here in America continue to go our own way with thread standards), but I don't happen to have a 1/2" pipe thread die (I do have a tap).

When I was talking to Casey at VP on the phone I suggested that he include the adapter in the standard thermostat housing package and just up the price by $5 if he had to. He said that wasn't the first time he had that suggestion would take it into consideration.

JayJay
 
Water first to test the system and look for leaks. That way, if there is a leak, anti-freeze will not make its way into the engine or onto the garage floor. Then drain the water and use 50-50 antifreeze and water. Use the antifreeze for older vehicles. If you get foaming it can be caused by other chemicals in the system, possibly from cleaning, or the wrong antifreeze.
 
I guess we are a bit lucky but we have no need to use anti freeze which is just as well. I have been told by more than one radiator shop to never use a glycol based additive in a Model A radiator. They say it attacks the solder and will destroy the radiator from within. They made it quite clear that if glycol was used, the warrantee was void so I never use it.
 
I’ve driven the Vintage Precision thermostat housing for about 2 years and about 10,000 miles without issue. I installed it with my new radiator.


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