I'm wanting to put the thermostats inside the radiator hoses (like an 59AB) but need something smaller than 1 3/4 OD. Any ideas?
If you aren't concerned with quick warmups but want to maintain a certain temp you could use a washer with the correct size hole in it. A lot of us who do a lot of towing hull out a thermostat so that it works the same way. Otherwise it is probably a case of opening boxes at the parts house of checking a thermostat catalog to see if they show od dimensions. This link shows the Stant brand numbers temps and dimensions http://www.rockauto.com/dbphp/mfr,STANT,Cooling+System,2200,Thermostat It looks like there are some that are close to what you want and they shold be available locally without problems.
I just bought a new thermostat for my 93 ford ranger with a 2.3 liter 4 banger and that thing is small,check one of those out!
Right on......I just finished putting head gaskets on my wife's '01 Forester today, and the T-stat is pretty small. I have seen smaller though, just ask your local parts store to let you rifle through their thermostats.
Prestone makes a high-flow t'stat that fits well with the later flatties. Drawing I made indicates you may be able to wallow out the head port on a 59AB and slide them in after t******* the outer ring. When open the area of the open slot is greater than the area of the 1-3/4" hose. Part number is 330160 or 33180 depending on temperature desired.
I'm using 180 degree thermostats from 1976 Chevy Chevette 1.6L 4cyl in mine. Have about a thousand miles on the car and they seem to work good.
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