Regarding the thermostat housing.
I got slightly side tracked by my MAP sensor going faulty on me.
That problem has been sorted now, and I can give you feed-back on how the thermostat works.
In one word: perfectly.
Since my resurrection of the engine, it has not used one drop of water. In open traffic, it runs at 90 degrees on the gauge, also if in town with AC on. Even if 30 degrees outside.
In town it will run up to about 105 degrees and then come down quickly when the fan starts.
But apart from this, there is now a calm in my heart, that I can ride this car without any sudden surprises, I never approach the car with fear of having lost water. I know I won't have. It is now as unlikely to suffer a sudden loss as my old reliable Rovers. And this makes such a difference!!!
I have looked into having these units cast in brass. The pattern maker has quoted me a price he thought would scare me, and it did! However I will pursue it again, my prototype really works.
Now I don't know how handy you are, but I will gladly let you know what I did if you are interested. If you have a TIG or MIG welder, access to a lathe and a pedestal drill, then you can make one out of steel as I did.
I nearly fell into a couple of traps, but luckily I avoided them, so can you.
Apart from the thermohousing itself, you also need to replace the two plastic cooling pipes in the V, and you will have a normal engine with normal reliability. And that is quite a relief!!
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