What water necks/outlets/thermostat housings match the Kent?

[alangbaker]

Folks,

I'm in the middle of redoing my cooling system and I seem to have misunderstood something about our Kent engine. I thought that because the Kent could use the same 2.125" diameter thermostats as Chevy small block engines, that that also meant it could use the same water outlets.. ...necks... ...thermostat housings. Apparently, not so much.

What I'm trying to find is an swivelling water neck that will allow me to send the silicone house coming off of it in what ever direction seems best. I've been reading and I THINK that perhaps a housing/neck/outlet meant for a newer Chrysler V8 (or slant 6, or, or...) might do the trick.

But someone here must know.

[Gary_T]

I went to the local NAPA, talked nicely to the guy behind the counter, until he let me peruse through his book of thermostat housings.

I can't remember if it is the kent or pinto that has the bolts not quite on the center line of the thermostat, but with a few measurements, you should be able to track down one that works without too much trouble.

Gary

[alangbaker]

I went to the local NAPA, talked nicely to the guy behind the counter, until he let me peruse through his book of thermostat housings.

I can't remember if it is the kent or pinto that has the bolts not quite on the center line of the thermostat, but with a few measurements, you should be able to track down one that works without too much trouble.

If my current plan doesn't work out, I'll try that, but I think I've found a solution that might be useful to some people around here:

Meziere Enterprises makes water necks for modern Mopar V8s with a 2.875" bolt centre:

Straight up with a modified 20AN thread

From there, they have fittings galore to adapt to any plumbing you might have.

And there is one more fitting they have that they don't actually list on their website: a 90 degree fitting that has the same thread as the straight up plate has. It's part number is WN2090 (Water Neck 20AN 90 degree).

However, it is in their parts catalog, page 39

Their stuff isn't cheap, but it is very well made by all accounts I've read and heard.

I hope this is useful to some people.

[Gary_T]

I'm not sure that will work.

The kent thermostat housing doesn't have the bolts on the thermostat center line - check out a pic of the gasket:

http://www.burtonpower.com/thermosta...ket-fp706.html

I'm not sure, but I think the mopar part has the bolts on the thermostat center line, meaning it won't bolt up. This is only based on a quick google images search though, so I may be wrong.

I recall this part being a PITA to find when I changed from FC to FF.

Gary

[alangbaker]

I'm not sure that will work.

The kent thermostat housing doesn't have the bolts on the thermostat center line - check out a pic of the gasket:

http://www.burtonpower.com/thermosta...ket-fp706.html

I'm not sure, but I think the mopar part has the bolts on the thermostat center line, meaning it won't bolt up. This is only based on a quick google images search though, so I may be wrong.

I recall this part being a PITA to find when I changed from FC to FF.

Your head may have an outlet that looks like that, but mine is just 20 feet behind me, and the bolts most definitely are on the centreline. I just laid a 1" tape measure across the thermostat opening and with one edge of it on the centreline, the other edge is just slightly more than 1/16" from the outer edge of the 2-1/8" diameter thermostat recess; with the tape on either side of the opening. And the thermostat housing I have spare from Pegasus agrees

Attached is a quick pic I just snapped of my thermostat in my new aluminum head (Yes! It's coming, but not this race weekend! ) I promise you: it's symmetrical.

[Brian]

What I would do is make a new water outlet of aluminium, make it about 6" tall with a rad cap on top, vent hose and radiator air returns if you use them, and put the water outlet hose wherever you want it. Combined swirl pot, expansion tank and all together.

Brian

[alangbaker]

What I would do is make a new water outlet of aluminium, make it about 6" tall with a rad cap on top, vent hose and radiator air returns if you use them, and put the water outlet hose wherever you want it. Combined swirl pot, expansion tank and all

I may do that eventually, Brian.

In fact, it would be pretty easy to take the new aluminum swirl pot that's going in and weld on an extension with a radiator neck at the top! I'd have to just slightly reroute a few things like the fire system tubing, but just answering this post has let me see exactly how it could work.

Thanks!

[alangbaker]

I thought I should post a pre-post-mortem.

The job isn't quite done; I'm waiting on a silicone cap to block of the "Y" adapter for the water pump inlet (we're going sequential radiators now, so there won't be two feeds into the water pump), but here's what it looks like. The first is the much larger swirl pot with outlets feeding left and right rads, the second is the new pot with a single bottom outlet feeding the left radiator, which will then be routed across the engine bay to the right rad.

You can also see my beautiful billet aluminum, three-piece (plate, 90 degree adapter, 1-1/2" hose nipple adapter) Meziere Enterprises water neck.

The top is plumbed, I'll plumb from left to right tomorrow morning and I'll block off the extra water pump inlet on Monday as soon as 034 Motorsports gets me my silicone cap.