ERA 753 - Final Assembly in Progress

[fkemmerer]

Well the brackets for my Canton Oil Thermostat came back from the powder coater and I completed the installation in the car tonight. Here is a picture of the oil thermostat mounted on the powder coated brackets ready to go into the car:



It took me quite a bit of time to fabricate a new set of lines for the remote filter/ oil thermostat/ cooler combination. I used -10 Aeroquip fittings and braided stainless steel lines for the entire installation. Its important to take the time to make sure that all of the lines and the thermostat are completely clean before installation. I used a combination of a parts washer tank and an air hose to make sure that everything was clean and free of any fillings from the stainless braid on the hose. I also have an AN pressure test kit which I used to ensure that all of the lines did not leak before installing them.

Here are a couple of pictures of the final installation:





As you can see, everything is tucked up nicely down low between the radiator and the front frame cross brace. As you can see from the next picture, the thermostat and plumbing are hardly visible when viewing the engine bay from a normal angle - exactly what I was looking to achieve.



Before installing the thermostat, I could only get the oil temperature up to about 65 degrees C (150 degrees F) in the cool (50 degree F) fall weather here in New England. This was the case even with the oil cooler blocked with cardboard. It was too cold to take the car out at midnight when I got done but I did see the oil temperature rise to 80 degrees C (175 degrees F) with the car idling in my garage. I have never been able to get my oil this warm before so I'd say that the thermostat definitely helped. I will post some more temperature info when I get a chance to drive the car.

- Fred