I have a 73 F100 with the 360. While doing a head gasket change I saw that I had two thermostat housing gaskets. Both of the line up but I see no way to hold the thermostat in place. Thanks in advance for any help.

Joel

 

The recess on the thermostat housing is where the stat fit's into. The thermostat goes in the housing then you stick the gasket over it to hold it in place. Then bolt it to the intake. Keep in mind the FE used 2 different sizes on the thermostats. Some 66 and earlier used the larger size (same as Mopar 318) and mid 66 and later used the smaller size all the parts houses carry for the FE. You might either have the wrong housing or the intake was swapped with a early one with the larger stat opening. Or someone stuck the gasket on the housing first and covered the recess. Hopefully that's the case and a easy fix. There are steel spacer plates you can buy for under $10 that allow any combination of stats and housings if your parts are mixed and matched. So a few more details exactly what you have would be helpful.

 

It looks like the it is just like you mentioned. Either the wrong housing or the wrong manifold. The guy at the parts store told me that the gasket was supposed to hold it in place, which I'm a little sceptical about. I have it in and let it idle, brought up to temp with no problem but I will look into that adapter for my peace of mind.

Joel

 

In your post you mention using a steel spacer plate that is available for approximately $10.00. Where can a person purchase these adapter spacer plates?

CountrySquire