Outstanding!!! fig.3 (partial load) most closely resembles operation without thermostat.
As it stands with system wide open, combined with new water pump.... the needle hardly ever leaves the 175* range.
Old water pump seal was not shot..... but blades were eroded down to nubs. This tells me water pump efficiency can fade away unnoticed. Replaced the WP in July when the needle climbed 3/4 to redline on rare occasions. Discarded T-stat might have been shot too, have a new one in the trunk.
Had no idea the bypass plate closed under heavy load to mainline engine coolant to the radiator. This might have hurt me if mountains were nearby. I always thought it just cut off engine coolant when closed, otherwise it opened all channels.
Jim, you made a believer out of me!
Nevertheless, can understand how pulling the T-stat increases efficiency of coolant flush that I've been doing twice each year, running 95% staight H2O in Summer months, better than anti-freeze for cooling the engine.
Next month I'll pull the radiator and spray out cooling fins with garden hose and soap to atone for my errors. The shroud?? .....nah, its still a nuisance device to me. Am still suspicious of it blocking airflow at high speeds.
Dont judge me too harshly - i grew up owning primitive finbodies back in the '80s that had none of these issues.
Thanks for taking time to post the coolant flow chart - something for everybody who searches "Thermostat"...... immortalized in archives that will never be lost or forgotten.
