The water manifold and thermostat housing were already off the car when I got it. The thermostat is missing. What is best used as a modern replacement thermostat, and are there any modifications needed to the manifold or the housing.
Thank you.
You can buy a correct casting for the water manifold and the correct complete thermostat and housing from Alan Gibbins in UK
They are NOT the same as post war Mk IV / Vs
I have seen in a couple of messages, that SS parts are available from Alan Gibbins in UK.
Is there may be a list available from SS parts which can be ordered from Alan ?
Thanks.
Thank you. Do you have a contact e mail or telephone number for Alan?
I have the manifold and thermostat housing, I need a thermostat. I am not sure if it fits in between the manifold and the thermostat housing, as there is no receiver groove in either part for the rim of the thermostat, as there would be for a conventional type of thermostat.
I also need a pair of SU h4 main bodies and the high top dashpots, the rest of the carb parts are original, float bowls, elecrics and fittings etc.
I found his email, and have contacted him.
There are different Teddington housings.
Here is one from a '38 SS 2.5 Litre.
And here is one from a 3.5 Litre Mark V.
Notice the different orientation of the bypass port and mounting holes relative to the temperature bulb fitting. There may be other variations.
If you find one with a working thermostat you are in luck.
There is no modern replacement that will just pop in.
There are 4 options for a non-working one.
- Pull out the guts and run it as is with continual bypassing, as a DPO of my '38 did. Thus a portion of the coolant never goes through the radiator. Not smart.
- Pull out the guts. Plug the bypass holes with a through bolt and nut and big washers, or put a dowel inside the bypass hose. Then you can run with no bypass. The consequence is warmup time will be increased.
- The bypass port can be cut out with a hole saw, the small hole plugged by welding on a steel disc or brazing on a coin or something, the port reversed and welded back in. Then the big hole will be forward and you can fit a modern thermostat in the forward end. You have to attach it to the casting. This is not going to work with my '38 because of the bend in the port.
- The small hole on the forward side can be milled down 1/4" and opened up to about 3/4" ID, the big hole on the rearward side plugged by welding on electrical box punchout, and then you can fit a modern thermostat in the forward end. Weld a couple of nuts inside and drill screw holes for attaching the thermostat. This is what I will do. I’m using a Stant 13726 (160 deg) or Stant 13728 (180 deg).
Rob, thank you for the info and the pictures.
I understand now, how this assembly works with a bypass thermostat. The thermostat housing I have, has the thermostat support part of the casting removed. As a temporary measure to get the car running, I will use a standard type thermostat on the end of the housing, but I do not relish the idea of blocking the bypass completely. The longer the engine takes to warm up the more wear occurs. I may even try to adapt a later xke bypass thermostat with some modification. I will get the correct parts at a later date.
My housing is different from the 3.5 mk5 housing in your picture. Its has two downward facing outlets opposing sides. It has been rewelded at some time.
My advice would be to make a complicated job easy. Alan Gibbins will sell you a complete thermostat housing with internals that work correctly . It has the correct writing cast into it, It is aluminium but if you want the appearance of originality, you can paint it black, He will also sell you the " Z " shaped bypass hose. All you need to do is attach it with the 2 x 5 /16" bolts and attach the hoses. Voila…
And here be one, On a saloon engine but exactly the same.
Aaaaand how much will that set one back?
Well s a very good SS100 now brings over US$1 million., not an over capitalisation.
I don’t have the current price , but even I could afford , as you can see.
Thanks Ed,
I have emailed Alan, and the parts are available. I am just finishing the engine rebuild, and as a temporary set up to start it, I will use what I have. I will fit the replacement parts at a later date.
The last one sold in monterey this year went for $675,000, and another was due for sale in the UK recently. I do not know what or if that sold for. Prices have softened quite a bit since 2015.
I’ve seen 2 sold for just over US$1 million [ inc buyers premium] and the Van den Plas bodied car for about 1.3 million. Damned if I know why , it’s ugly.
Still depends son condition.