Hmmm.... never put that much thought into it, but makes perfectly good
sense. So why not run a steel line from a hole drilled near the t-stat
button and run it back along and into the head or block? That way the
"pod" would get heated but water would run back into the block instead
of bypassing it. A 5/16" line would flow enough but not too much water
this way. Would be easy enough to drill into the side of the block and
tap for a fitting, then bend a line around. Or tap into the pipe going
up to the heater valve. A shorter pipe, T, adapter... no drilling back
there at all!
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Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 12:30:06 -0800
From: tom jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>
On the 195.6 OHV head, the thermostat is in a cast housing waaay up in
front
of the cylinders. It's clear in the photo below, the little 'pod' that the
thermostat lives in. It's a design mistake for sure.
http://wps.com/AMC/1963-Rambler-American/Nash-195.6OHV-engine/small/cleanheads2.JPG
The water pump wants to suck water from the bottom of the radiator, push it
up the block, and into the head; the head is filled with many passageways
around all the combustion chambers and exits out the thermostat, into the
top of the radiator.
If the thermo is closed, water doesn't flow to the radiator, and the
cylinder head heats up fast(er). The cylinder head is long and thin.
Remember, no water is flowing to the thermostat, so the water there remains
cold until it gets how by conduction!
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