Something is missing

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Hi, well I seem to running into a little problem. I have a Victor Jr manifold and am trying to use the Stewart/EMP thermostat. As expected there is a recess in the thermostat housing that the thermostat must sit in. The problem is that the thermostat mounting surface has a raised area on the back side and when inserted into manifold, it has to be perfect or it will not seat correctly. Since the thermostat needs to go into the housing first and then have the gasket placed on top, there is really no way to be sure it has been placed in the manifold correctly. Hence the dang thing does not seal well and once it starts to come up to temp, drips coolant around the housing. I'm going to look at some other thermostats and see if I can find one that fits into the manifold with some room to spare so I have some room to play with. Small but frustrating problem.

EMP Stewart High Performance Thermostats 301 - Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing

I did warm it up good last night :)

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... Small but frustrating problem.

Mike, if I understand you correctly, couldn't you use a gasket adhesive vs a sealant to bond the gasket/thermostat as an assembly to the manifold base, then offer up the thermostat housing?

Sounding good but the WOT will be better! They sound totally different from inside the car vs outside.
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Yes, was going to try that approach tonight. I'm going to take a close look tonight and compare a standard thermostat and how it fits as compared to the Stewart.
 
I had to use rtv on mine

Permeated makes a specific product for just this application--thermostat housing gasket maker. It's a specialized cousin oF RTV. Available at any auto parts stores in a rather small tube, next to the conventional gasket maker silicones.

You could put a few dabs on the back side and essentially glue the thermostat in place in the intake, then use a good gasket between thermostat and thermostat housing. Or just use the goop exclusively.
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Thanks guys I'll find out tonight if problem is resolved. The Napa unit was a much better fit than the Stewart unit. If problems still exist then I'm thinking the housing may not be flat. It looked good against a straight edge but we shall see. There are no reasons I can see that it would not make a good seal at this point.
 

Keith

Moderator
Mike,

Here is the link: Le Mans in GT40, LM Classic 2008 - YouTube

Notice the rpm of his shift points and then listen on the straights. He revs higher down the straights and sounds like he lifts to avoid over reving. If that is a 220 mph speedo, then he is doing 200 on the straight. Therefore, he runs out of gears before he runs out of power. That is an original GT40 with a 289. Fantastic sounds. I think that is what I will enjoy about my GT40 as much as anything.

On the nostrils, I did the same thing. http://www.gt40s.com/forum/gt40-build-logs/42186-tornado-gt40-texas-9.html?highlight=tornado+gt40+in+texas #163.

After I did that, I found out that evidently the CAV comes with the deep double nostrils. I think it is a mandatory modification.

The attached photo shows my finished nostrils.

-Bob Woods

The poster of your clip, Hans Hugenholtz, says that he topped out at 280kph on the back straight, but the final drive at 4.22 was a little short..
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Problem not solved. Call me a purist but if two mating surfaces are properly machined and prepared, goop should not be required. I think the housing mating surface is probably not true. I'll call Dennis tomorrow and see if he has another one available. It's always the little things. The rest of the engine install and dash work seem to be perfect knock on wood. Sounds so good, can't wait to get do a nice pull through the gears :)
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Had a few things working against me. Olthoff overnighted me a new housing. Just the best resource to have if you own a SPF car. In any case, turns out it was not needed. Having assembled and disassembled the thing a few times I was determined to get to the bottom of it. First problem was the manifold was threaded but not precisely. The ARP bolts were black anodized and also threads were not precise. This combination caused the bolts to bottom out in the threads right as they were contacting housing. Chased the threads in both and bolts then could properly torqued. The next problem was the Stewart/EMP thermostat has a little lip around the edge of the mounting surface. The housing does have a recess in it but not enough to prevent the lip from sticking above the mounting surface. Then every different gasket cutout I tried rested on top of the lip. Great for holding the thermostat stationary but then also would not allow the gasket to properly seal when housing was torqued. Did a little trim work to gasket and now gasket seals. The last contributing factor was the mounting surface on the manifold. I had had the manifold burnished to close off the surface pours and allow it to be easily wiped down and kept clean. This process had put a little polish on the mounting surface which I took off by scuffing with some emery clothe. My inexperience led me to assume that everything was fully engineered to precision. That turned out to not be the case and caused a week of headaches messing with it. Next time I'll check everything thoroughly and not assume anything is correct ;)
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Set F/R toe, camber, corner weights, and ride height today. Car weighs 1924 lbs. Have a weeping seal on one of the front lifts that is going to delay things yet another week sigh! Was very pleased with gal who did the setup. Have to say I liked having a female working on the car. Very detail oriented. She can work on my car anytime :)

Some really neat cars at RaceKraft. Some cars with a lot of racing history and pedigree. Here are just a few. Two Allards. One powered by a Hemi and the other Buick powered. Cool cars.

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Mike

Lifetime Supporter
Shift knobs. Hat tip to fellow forum member James for the GT medallions. Thx

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Mike

Lifetime Supporter
First official maiden voyage tomorrow 6am. I took a quick rip up to the next interchange and back. No leaks or issues of any kind knock on wood. I am going to have a hard time sleeping tonight with the anticipation. Can't wait!
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
After nearly 2 years it is back on the road. This morning was magic if I had to describe it. No drips or leaks. Coolant stays right at 180-190F and oil hovers around 200F. Front lift really comes in handy and cycles very quick. Probably adds 2"+ to front ride height at the flip of a switch. No more oh shit moments when needing to cross a low point in the road.

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